Super Mo Bros

present

The Games Design Document

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Contents

2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.

10.11.13.15.16.18.19.

IntroductionThe TeamGame DescriptionDesign PillarsCharactersGameplayControlsIn-game CurrencyMenu FlowLevel DesignSample LevelArtAsset ListMoustache BoothMarketing

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IntroductionIntroducing...Super Mo Bros is a 2D puzzle platform adventure game for IPhone and Android that will cause its players to view platform games in a whole new light! Super Mo Bros utilises three main characters to achieve three times the puzzling action and three times the fun! Super Mo Bros will be easy to learn, cheap to produce, yet take a month to master!

A Quick BackgroundSuper Mo Bros (SMB) is specifically designed for the Movember men’s health charity. Movember cam-paigning primarily takes place during the month of November, a month where a Mo Bros (male Movember participants) will attempt to grow moustaches in order to raise awareness and generate revenue for the charity. SMB has been designed with staggered content release in mind (always during the month of No-vember) however it will be playable and generating revenue all year round.

The SMB game will be made from scratch with no need to use any pre-existing coding, all assets will be made specifically for SMB and MMF2 developer edition will be used as the primary creative tool hence licencing will not be an issue. This is the first version of the SMB Design Document.

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The TeamThe team assigned to SMB by Fishslap Productions will comprised of four people.

Producer: Tom CoppenThe producer’s role is to ensure the smooth running of the game development process. He is the person that coordinates the designers, artists, programmers and the marketing department to ensure the game heads in one overall direction. He will also be in charge of updating financiers of the games development progress.

Core designer: Tom ColeThe core designer is in charge of coming up with the ‘ludic elements’ of a game. That is to say he realises the games individual components before they are sent to the programmers to build and the artists to draw. This includes the games menu functionality, the level selection system, the character’s movements and abilities, the levels and puzzles themselves and the way in which a player will interface with the game.

Lead artist: Sandy KingThe lead artist is in charge of the visual design element of the game. In a four person team such as this the artist’s role will cover menu art, level art, icons and anything else that requires visual design skills. They may also be required to use their skills to design well laid out documents and visual aids that will clarify issues for intra-team meetings and meeting with the financiers.

Marketing director: Thor JonssonThe marketing director will handle the games marketing as well as advising the rest of the team on how to best shape the game for a large target audience. The marketing aspect will include how to best launch the game onto the market and how to increase its visibility and saleability across as much of the market as pos-sible once it’s launched so that profits may be maximised.

Sound Designer / Composer: ?Fishslap productions is still currently reviewing for this position. We will be hiring a sound engineer who can help bring our vision to audible fruition.

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Game DescriptionIn Super Mo Bros you will take control of three distinctly unique characters in order to solve puzzles in a variety of different worlds, a similar concept to that of Lost Vikings, an early Blizzard game on many older platforms. The aim of the game is to reach the end of every single level that has been released while col-lecting an array of goodies along the way. Each level will present you a new set of challenges, each more fiendish then the last. You will have to utilise the characters in perfect harmony in order to bypass any level. Picture this if you please: Your characters encounter a set of 3 doors, each a different colour so each one corresponds to a different switch. However, the three switches are in different areas of the level – with each area only accessible to one of your characters. A series of platforms without ladders that can only be scaled by the aviator, a fast moving set of blades that only the scientist can navigate, a perilous corridor of missiles that only the trucker can deal with etc.

This is just one small example of the trickery that SMB uses to confound yet delight its players. SMB offers a variety of such puzzles and tests of skill and each and every one has a juicy layer of complexity masked only by the games apparent simplicity and as far as simplicity goes, SMB really wins out!

In order to play SMB you won’t have to press many buttons at all! In fact SMB works with a beautifully sim-ple one button and virtual joystick control scheme (excluding the character selection portraits) that is highly accessible to any level of gamer. The menu system will be as simple and intuitive as possible allowing you to get into the thick of the game with minimal hassle. The level select system will also be simple and in-tuitive as well as being progressive and unlockable. This will allow the developers to constantly release a steady stream of content allowing players to keep coming back for more! The design will also be aestheti-cally pleasing as well as ergonomically practical in a simple pixel art style.

Key Features•Three characters played simultaneously that when used in harmony can solve progressively harder

challenges and puzzles.•Great special power unlockables that will add a lot of replay value and allow access to secret areas

and alternative routes.•A constant stream of downloadable content post release.•A special moustache booth that utilises phone cameras and posts directly to social networking sites

to show gamer prowess and raise awareness for Movember.•The game will provide an excellent and practical medium through which players can make donations

to the Movember charity using their devices account rather than having to sign up to another one.

PlatformSMB will be designed specifically for iPhone and can later be scaled for use on Android and other Smart Phones. There will be no multiplayer; hence no need for multiplayer support. An internet connection will however be required for content downloads.

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Design Pillars

•2D puzzle platformer for iPhone and eventually Android.•Classic 2D platforming movement.•3 different characters with different abilities.•Emphasis on puzzles rather than real-time combat.•Puzzles to be solved by combining complementary abilities of the 3 characters.•Colourful 16-bit era styled graphics (to appeal the nostalgia in target market).•Humourous narrative set across various points in time to provide context for level design from differ-

ent time periods (see below).•New levels every day throughout the Movember campaign.•Collectible in-game currency.•Secrets and collectibles linked to social media for extra promotion / money-raising opportunities.•Secret areas of levels plus in-game transactions provide plenty of opportunity and motivation to re-

play the game.

Game StoryThe story in Super Mo Bros is a deliberate link between the game and the Movember foundation. It is far from the lynchpin of the game yet it gives the player a sense of setting and a cause to rally behind. More importantly however, it is a vessel for a message. This message is best understood when the game story is briefly outlined:

It is the near future; in this future there have been incredible breakthroughs within the frontier of medi-cal science. Unfortunately male specific cancers have not been cured yet due to a lack of funding through the ages past. Three brave members of the public who have been afflicted with this vile disease volunteer themselves to undergo a dangerous mission back through the ages. Their goal is simple, they have to find treasure for funding and raise awareness so that when they return to the future there is a cure to their and many others plight.

As one can see, the story synergises both with the games gameplay aims and the games real world aims, as it is a tale of making money and raising awareness so that male specific cancers can be cured.

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Characters

The Scientist

The Aviator

The Trucker

Standard Abilities•Moves at normal speed•Can fire projectile weapon•Slows down time when approaching fast moving

obstacle (e.g. fans, blades, moving spikes etc.)•Uses ray gun to activate switches from a distance

•Can use portal machines located in maps to teleport to secret areas

•Run faster•Jump higher•Glide further

•Charge through walls•Pull blocks•Speed upgrade - allows the character to move at

normal speed

Standard Abilities•Moves at fast speed•Is able to jump and also glide

Standard Abilities•Moves at Slow Speed•Most projectile weapons bounce off the Trucker,

enabling him to act like a shield.•Can push blocks•Heavier than other characters

Upgraded abilities

Upgraded abilities

Upgraded abilities

Abilities activated by Action buttonContext sensitive by Action buttonPassive

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GameplayBelow is an example of a typical level's gamplay represented in stages to give you a flavour of how it will function. On pages 13 & 14 you can see an example level which shows how the the characters can work together to overcome these obstacles more clearly.

1. Characters start:•Same place.•Different places in level.

2. Player moves a character as far as they can in the level, encounters obstacle.

3. Player moves other characters as far as they can go, encounters obstacles.

4. Player uses the different strengths and weaknesses of the characters to reach areas/perform actions that the other two cannot.

5. Player uses one or more characters to remove obstacles for one or more of the other characters.

6. Player progresses through level by solving various puzzles and sub-puzzles presented by level design.

7. Win•Player must guide all 3 characters to the exit in order to complete the level.

Secret exits: •If player has the correct super abilities they may be able to guide all 3 characters to a secret exit in a

previously inaccessible area of the level.•Secret exits lead to completely new secret levels.

Lose•One character loses all three lives forcing the user to restart the level.

Game Flow DiagramStart  

Aviator   Scien-st   Trucker  

EXIT  

Solve  Minor  Challenge  (n)  

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Controls

JoystickThe characters will be moved by the user placing their left hand thumb on the small circle and moving it around within the larger circle to define the vector.

PauseUsers tap the the icon to pause the game and also access the Pause Menu.

Character SelectUsers tap one of the three ‘stache icons at the top of the screen to select the corrosponding character.

The current selected character's corrosponding 'stache will enlarge outside of the bounding box to greater emphasis that character is active at a glance.

The character's current remaining health, repre-sented by hearts in this diagram will be displayed alongside their icon.

Action ButtonThe character’s special abilites and context sensitive actions are performed by tapping the action button.

Some actions will require the user to press and hold the button down to sustain the ability.

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In-game currency•Represented by coins•Placed around level to encourage exploration and player movement around whole level.•Encourages replay value – additional chances to collect in-game currency

Monetisation:

Purchases:•Mid-level in ‘barber shops’•At the end of the level/between levels•From the main menu

Currency can be accumulated in the following ways:•Collecting coins during play

•Accelerated accumulation using purchasable ‘multipliers’ in the in-game store:•Each multiplier doubles the accumulation rate•Multipliers are stackable, for example:

•Player buys first multiplier. This means that players accumulate 2 coins for every coin col-lected in-game (2:1) rather than the usual 1:1 rate.

•Player buys a second multiplier. Player now accumulates 4 combs for every comb collect-ed in-game (4:1) rather than 1:1 rate.

•Maximum of 3 multipliers available for purchase (i.e. up to 8x multiplier).

•Purchasable in fixed quantities using real world currency, (e.g. 69p for 10,000 coins etc.)

•Currency can be used to:•Buy new skins for characters

•Allows access to hidden areas and secret levels. This allows more opportunity for collec-tion of in-game currency in unlocked areas.

•Buy super powers for characters

Donation opportunitiesIn addition to purchases raising funds for the Movember campaign players will be presented with numer-ous and frequent opportunities to make spontaneous extra donations to Movember. Some menus will have a button which, when clicked, takes the player to a donation page (specially formatted for mobiles) on the Movember website.

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Menu Flow

New Game /Level Select

Continue last accessed

level

Options

Main Menu

Title Screen

Play Level

Select Level

Moustache Booth

Create Photo

Publish to Facebook /

Twitter

End Level Menu

Donate to Movember

Sound options

Account Options

Game options

Pause Options

Reset Level

Complete

Choose next level

Fail

Credits

All Levels Complete

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Level DesignLevel StructureSuper Mo Bros will consist of a total of 45 levels. This breaks down to:

•10 Levels unlocked on the day of release.•30 more levels will be unlocked, one each day, during the month of Movember.•These 30 levels can be unlocked early by an in-app purchase of £4.99.•There will also be 5 secret levels, only accessible to those who have upgraded their charcters to the

point where they are able to access them.

Level DesignLevel Start:

•The three characters might start in the same or different locations.•The user must use a combination of all 3 character’s bilities to reach the level exits.

5 themes to provide visual and ludic variety:•Egyptian.•Wild West.•Aztec Temple.•Underground/Mining.•Futuristic/Cyberpunk setting.

2D platforming:•Platforms•Doors/trapdoors •Horizontal/vertical obstacles preventing progress. NOT links to other sub-levels – that is the job of the

exits•Can be different colours to co-ordinate with different buttons to act as locks•Ladders•Switches (binary on/off type)•Pressure plates (Some may be rusted so only the Trucker will be able to access them)•Exits (normal and secret – accessible only in secret areas of levels using one or more super abilities of

characters)•Varied representation in different themes, but similar functions.

Obstacles (examples by theme):

Egyptian•Small Sphinxes that fire energy balls at timed intervals. Damages upon contact.•Scarab beetles crawl left and right along the floor•Spikes eject from the floor when characters are close. Scientist can get past them.

Wild West•Guns shoot bullets across the screen at timed intervals•Trapdoors that open like saloon doors unless they’ve been ‘locked’ with a switch before hand.•Slippery ‘bar-top’ surfaces that are difficult to control characters on (effectively like ‘ice’ platforms)

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Aztec temple•Descending spike platforms. Timed movement can avoid these.•Darts fired from blowpipes across the screen.•Vertically moving circular saws in the wall. Only scientist can bypass.

Underground / mining•Sulphur clouds emit at timed intervals from ceilings/walls/floors.•Crumbling/weak ledges/platforms .•Out of control mining carts that career around the level from left to right.

Futuristic•Evil Igor minions.•Plasma bolt projectiles.•Electrical barriers, permanent and timed on/off.•ED-209-a-like robots that roam around and can fire machine guns (Could say “you have 5 seconds to

comply”).•Sentry guns that aim up and down. Some wil have to be deactivated.

Level Exits•Reachable with normal powers.

Secret exit•Initially cannot be reached using normal abilities•Can only be reached by purchasing super abilities and reaching hidden parts of the level.•Secret exits lead to extra secret levels or collectables.

Barber shops - In-level stores•Placed near areas that can only be accessed with super powers.•Hints at how to access area (i.e. using purchasable super-powers)•Provides opportunity to monetise instantly and allow player to make impulse purchase.•Allows gameplay to continue with minimum disruption (i.e. exiting to main menu, going to in-game

store, making purchase, returning to game).

Secret collectibles•Represented by a moustache comb•Unlocks moustache styles for use with “Moustache Booth” application (details on page 18).

ProgressionWhen introducing the player to the primary gameplay in early levels, the player will be able to simply concentrate on the functions of their characters and how they work together as a whole. As they progress into the larger more complex puzzles further into the game we will start to concentrate on using more skill-based challenges. This serves to mix up the gameplay making it more dynamic.

Although the players will be able to complete the game with just using the standard abilities of characters, it is a probability that some will choose to purchase the upgraded abilities to help complete more easily, or simply bypass certain areas of, the levels that they may find too hard.

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Sample Level

1 2

3 4

1.All three characters begin at the same starting point.

A pressure activated floor switch will open the door to their right

The users will be able to see that the door is stopping projectiles from hitting them. Therefore it should be the Trucker to go first as he will remain unharmed

2.Proceeding to the right, the Trucker may stand on top of a non-functioning elevator plat-form. He will continue to block the projectiles from harming the other characters.

The Aviator can either follow the trucker or head up the ladder to the elevator control room.

3.The Scientist should head up he ladder and activate the elevator console. The elevator will then rise.

If the Aviator has not followed either of the other characters, he will take damage.

This will teach the player to be mindful of character safety when they control other characters.

4.When the elevator has reached the same level as the Scientist it will stop.

The Trucker can then utilize his greater weight to activate the rusted pressure switch and allow the Scientist to follow out of the door at the top of the lift.

Note: It is not vital that this be a rusted pressure switch, but it may be useful to teach the player in the early levels of the game so it is not a shock later and will not cause frustration.

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6

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5.At the end of a long tunnel is a large body of water with a float-ing platform on it.

The trucker can again use his greater weight to tilt the platform to provide a ramp.

6.Trial and Error will show the player that the Aviator requires a longer run up, to reach top speed, if they are to make it over the gap using the Jump and Glide ability.

An arc of collectible coins should be used here to describe the per-fect flight pattern for the Aviator. This will also act as a ludic clue as to how the player should progress as this requires an act of faith on their part.

At the top of the arc of coins there is a Moustache Comb that if the Aviator judges his jump cor-rectly, will be able to collect.

If the Aviator falls in the water, he will respawn at his last safe point. In the case he will reappear at the end of the ramp minus one hit point.

7.The Aviator lands and is able to activate a platform for the other charactes to utilize in order to be able to cross the lake.

All three characters will then proceed to the right and exit the level.

Door

Ladder

Switch

Pressure Plate

Elevator

Water

Tilt-able Platform

Horizontal Moving Platform

Projectile Turret

Key

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ArtSuper Mo Bros will emulate graphics from the 16 bit era of gaming. This reason is two fold. Nostalgia is of-ten used as a powerful marketing tool by our industry. By appealing to this visual sensibility we are hoping to further increase the amount of interest the game will generate. 16 Bit era graphics have also proven to work well on the iPhone’s screen resolution. Games such a Zenoia, Mage Gauntlet and Age of Zombies have all proved very popular titles with a similar aesthetic.

Below are a couple of mock ups of how the game could look.

Left:The Trucker deflects lazer beams, defending those behind him from harm.

Left:See the Scientist and the Aviator rushing across the Wild West to reach their destination.

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Asset ListBelow is a comprehensive list of the majority of visual and gameplay assets we believe will need to be cre-ated for the game.

USer Interface

•Title Screen

•Menu•Play•World select•Level select•Shop

•Moustache Booth

•Options

•Ingame Overlay•D-pad•Action button•Character select•Health•Select pause

•Pause menu•Restart•Exit to main menu•Options menu

All Characters

•Movement Animations•Left / Right•Up / Down•Being idle

•Action Animations•Activate switch•Take projectile damage•Take falling damage•Take melee damage

•Death Animations•Standard death•Death from fall•Death from crushing•Death from flame / energy weapon

Character Specific animations

•Scientist•Fire projectile weapon•Activate portal technology

•Aviator•Jump / Land•Glide

•Trucker•Push / Pull blocks•Passive projectile deflection•Charge

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Enviromental Assets

•Multi-layered Parallax Scrolling background•Foreground•Floor•Middleground•Background

•Platforms•Static•Moving platforms•Rotating

•Barriers•Solid•Electric•Wind•Water

•Projectiles•Dart•Fireball•Laser

•Switchs•Standard•Pressure plate•Range activated

Active Game objects

•Ambient / NPC Character Animations•Movement • Speech

•Melee Enemy Character Animations•Movement•Attack•Pursue•Jump•Death

•Ranged / Turret Enemy Character Animations•Movement•Scanning•Inactive / Powered down•Fire•Flee•Destruction

Sound and MusicSound Effects will need to be created for character movement, abilites and object collisions.

•Character movement on each surface•Character ability activation•Character ability collision with objecs

Here the episodic content of Super Mo Bros works to our advantage. It makes each level an easily con-sumable bitesize chunk. This will make it very hard for our players to become bored with a simple looping soundtrack. Each world will however, require its own theme music which compliments the enviroments. Examples of this may include:

Wild West•Fast paced violin and piano saloon music of the rootin’ tootin’ variety (Bluegrass). Considered cliche

by some, but in the short scenarios early in the game we are proposing it serves a a quick way for our audience to access and accept the scenario we are putting forward.

Futuristic•Our levels become longer as we progress into the game. The complexity of the puzzles increases

to the point where the users will most likely need to attempt the level a few times. Here a simple, repetitive soundtrack may only serve to compound a player’s frustration. We would hope in this case our composer will design a subtle background theme that will allow the player to concentrate an not interfere with the gameplay.

•Ambient Enviromental sounds•Active game object sounds•NPC and enviroental collision

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Moustache BoothThe Moustache Booth is a graphical interface where users can either take or use existing photos of them-selves or friends (or even the dog) and apply mous-taches to their faces.

Users unlock extra moustache types by collecting the moustache combs hidden around SMB’s worlds.

This will be a very easy addition to make for our game as most of the code and functionality comes as standard within Apples SDK. It would be a modified version of the iPhones camera and image library.

These photos can also be seamlessly be integrated into other external apps. Either published to Face-book, Twitter or just sent to friends and family.

All this will be used for two reasons:

•Firstly, this acts as a status symbol for the player to show how they have progressed and conquered the game.

•Second, this will help promote, create hype and raise the profile of the game and the Mo-vember campaign by leveraging the power of social media networks.

Left:The iPhone’s built-in menu system used for publishing images from a standard library.

Right:A user takes a photo with a virtual moustache.

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Marketing

BUYING THE GAME•Will be available on the Apple AppStore for iPhone from the 1st of November 2012 for £0.69/$0.99.•We have choosen the iPhone as our platform because it is simple and reaches millions of users.•An Android version will be available in the future.•If a Mo Bro gets a £10 donation they will recieve a gift code for the game.•People who donate £10 will also be sent an App code.•Donate at least $4.99 in-game to unlock all levels instantly.•The game has a total of 40 levels.•First 10 levels will be available on purchase.•1 new level will be unlocked each day of the month of Movember. Angry Birds Seasons has used the

same method of unlocking new levels at least twice with success.

IN-GAME EXTRASIn-game extras will cost from £0.69 each. Users can purchase in-game currency that can unlock:

•Coin Multipliers•Batches of currency•Upgrades to powers•Player Skins

ONLINE MARKETINGWe will be using online marketing to make people aware of our game. Because the game is connected to Movember, and Movember events are held all over the world, online marketing is the way to go.

•We will be advertising the game on the Movember website which gets well over 15 million visits in one year.

•We will also be using social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.•We will give away gift codes now and then to our friends and followers.•Players will be able to use an in-game “Photo Booth” adding a mustache to their face and posting it

online on the players social media sites (Movember, Facebook, Twitter)•Ads on Google and YouTube

Even more people are participating! In 2007 134.000 people registered worldwide and last year 450,000 registered, bringing the number of total registered Mo Bros and Mo Sisters to well over a million. Various kinds of Movember merchandise are available today (shoes, brushes, clothes and more) and we believe a digital game should definitely be among those.

WHY is NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO MAKE THE GAME?Annual donations to the Movember Foundation have increased significantly since its launch in 2004 (see graph of global funds raised worldwide below). Today Movember is a well known cause and keeps growing each year.

Higher donations: In 2007 a total of 27.1 million AUD (approximately equivalent to 14 million GBP) were raised all over the world for the cause. Last year, 2011, over 70 million pounds were raised worldwide.

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SALESWe estimate that 160,000 copies of the game will be sold in one year.Most of which will be bought in November (Movember).

•If 160,000 copies are sold for £0.69 each, that will bring the total to £110,400.•We estimate that 30% af all players will donate £4.99 or more•If 30% (48,000) players donate £4.99 in the game, that will be a total of £239,520.•If our estimates are correct the game will pay off in just one year, plus bringing approximately

£240,000 in donations.•It is possible to make extra levels for the game.•It would cost a lot less to make extra levels than making the game from scratch.•It would extend the value of the game.•The game could keep on going year after year, offering new level packs each November.

TARGET MARKETsPrimarily players in their 20s, 30s or 40s – Because they:

•Are very likely to play video games regularly.•Are likely to donate to the cause and become a Mo Bro.•Grew up in the 8 and 16 bit era and will therefore link to the pixel graphics we attend to use in our

game.•May recognize elements of the popular puzzle platformer The Lost Vikings from 1992 which influ-

enced us making this game.

However, there is no reason that anyone who enjoys other forms of puzzle games should not enjoy this title, our primary market is the way of creating hype and visibility to promote the game into recognition.

Movember events are held all over the world. No matter where you live, you can always get a copy of the game on your iPhone. We plan to advertise the game on the Movember website for all countries. Movem-ber is held in:

•Australia•Canada•Czech Republic•Denmark

BUDGETWe ask for £75,000 to make this game a reality.

•Salary – £2,250 x 5 employees x 5 months = £56,250•Office space – £850 x 5 months = £4,250•Computers – £700 x 5 computers + £400 hardware = £3,900•Software – £625 for Adobe Photoshop CS5 + £590 for Adobe Illustrator CS5 + possibly other pro-

grammes = £1,215+•One year internet access – £130 to £250•One year web hosting – £100•Domain name – £20•Advertising – £3,700•Testers – £1,000•Advisor(s) – £1,600•Other/unexpected costs – £2,700

•Ireland•Israel•New Zealand•South Africa

•Spain•United Kingdom•United States

•Our adverts will appear on Google and YouTube when searching for “Movember”, “Moustache” and more.

•There are very few puzzle platform games on the market today which makes this game special, more noticeable and unique. There are very few puzzle platform games on the market today. Which makes this game special and more noticeable and not to mention, unique.