騨̨production
11-09-2005, 08:34 PM
heres the evidence off housekeeping
"Water Squad" - Red Leader Goes Down in a Splash!
HIGH CONCEPT DOCUMENT
VERSION HISTORY
- 1.2 Tuukka Savolainen, 13.4.2005
- 1.0 Tuukka Savolainen, 8.4.2005
Short description
An adaptation of Laser Squad to Habbo World – turn-based water fight! Fun! Splash!
Promise / Objective
There are no good turn-based strategy games for cell phones yet, and as that genre goes, LS was always very easy to play. Water fight is fun!
Platform
S40, S60
Genre
Single- or multiplayer Turn-Based Tactical Aquatic Fighting!
Target Audience
Boys and Girls of all ages. Habbo fans, too!
A quick mockup of Water Squad on S60 - with a
scrolling help in the lower part of the screen.
Concept description
You are in a boring holiday resort. With water guns. You quickly assemble teams and decide to FIGHT!
Water Squad is an old favourite yard game of Water Fight played in turns - each player, during his/her turn, controls a small number of Habbos, designated by the color of their clothing. Each unit has its own individual name and characteristics which affect the abilities and activity of that unit. It’s based on Laser Squad, a classic Commodore (and Spectrum, Amiga and, later, PC) game by Julian Gollop.
(Info on LS: http://www.geocities.com/lasersquadclassic/ (http://www.geocities.com/lasersquadclassic/) )
The characters will have different abilities – Strength (shooting range and carrying ability), Dexterity (aim), Hit Points (how much soaking the character can take), Reaction (determines how well the character notices others and their reaction speed) and Action Points which determines how much a character can do in one round. The players also have a number of weapons to split between their teams. The characters are visually distinguished by their hairdo.
The weapons include stuff like Water Pistols (also dual-wielded), Super Soakers, Water Balloons (act like grenades), Water Rifles and stationary Garden Hoses. Each of these has its strengths and weaknesses so balance is the key here.
The game areas are mostly built of simple graphical elements – walls and corridors – to make the game fit into S40 cell phones. The levels are pre-defined but have enough nooks and crannies for an interesting and varied long-term game experience. The walls from buildings are cut off according to the player position so that he won’t get obscured. The player only sees what the characters see.
Missions and Modes
The aim of this squad strategy game is to squirt water at the other team – there’s no way around that! However, we might have simple “Capture the Flag” or “Stay Dry for 10 Turns” – missions along with the traditional “Last Team Standing” mission type to make the game experience deeper.
There are two game modes – single player against the computer in pre-defined missions and multiplayer against each other. Of course the single-player missions can also be played together – with players controlling different characters of the same team.
In the original LS the game session ends when a team has 100 victory points. Victory points are accumulated by getting hits on enemy players and completing other goals (in some missions one team has to destroy something and the other defend it, as an example). This is a rather good mechanic since it tends to end the game when the situation is truly hopeless for the other player.
Gameplay: Revolving Turns
In the original Laser Squad and many derivatives, the turns are played in order and interrupted only if another player has left his/her troops waiting in a good sneaking position – the controller (in this case, phone) is then temporarily given to the other player who gets to shoot or run away with that character. After a player has moved all the characters they want to, it’s time to pass the game over to the next player who then plays his/her turn.
There are later variants in which the turns are played out simultaneously. When the turns are simultaneous, both players will see the events of the previous turn in the beginning of a turn and will then determine what their characters will do during the next turn (10 seconds or so). However, we’ll probably en up doing the turns separately because doing simultaneous turns makes combat actions too complicated – the players would have to specify the conditions of their attack (such as “at this moment of my turn I’ll shoot in that direction if there’s an enemy to shoot at, if not, I’ll go further north”). Which is all fine and dandy for a PC game but a bit excessive on the cell phone screen.
If the game turns are not simultaneous, a recap in the beginning of the next players round would be cool: this would show the player all the times that his/her character sees the enemy so that he/she know what has happened in-between his/her turns. Also, there should be a loud sound emitting from the speakers when turns change or another player gets an Opportunity Turn with one of his/her characters.
Single-Player Missions Detailed
Since most people will, at least first, play Water Fight in the single-player mode, the missions will have to be interesting.
There are differently named computer adversaries, maybe even a funny bit of back story. The computer players don’t have too much AI, they mostly walk along a set path, randomized a bit, and shoot at the player when possible. When the enemies know where the players are, they may start to look for them in that direction. This is how it works in most games, anyway. A good workaround for the stupidity of the computer players (which has been used from the seventies) is to have more of them than there are player characters.
The scenarios for single-player missions could include, for an instance:
1. Enter and hold the outhouse for three turns
2. Take back the jacket the Bully Team stole from you
3. Stay dry (alive) for 20 turns
4. Get from one end of the playfield to the other
5. Soak the enemy leader, hidden deep inside the house
and of course the most common one:
6. Win the water fight
The good part is, of course, that all the levels and mission types designed for the single-player mode can be used in the multiplayer, too.
Controls?
The controls should probably follow the earliest versions of Laser Squad because the joystick control of those times is quite close to the amount of options presented by modern phones. In the old game you’d use the joystick to turn your characters left and right, walk forward (or backwards) in the direction you’re facing and, when pressing fire, have a menu in which you can choose to fire, switch weapons, select the next character, end turn etc.. I suppose we can simplify the original game controls a bit without sacrificing a lot of the fun, for an instance so that each player would only have one pistol/rifle and a number of water balloons that are selected in the beginning of a game and can’t be dropped or picked up. Reloading the weapons is done using water dispensers scattered around the playfield so we won’t have to use an inventory screen for that, either.
If it feels more natural, we can also adapt the control scheme in which the player moves a pointer, the player walks to a highlighted spot on click and the Turn Direction and other options for the character are selected by clicking on him/her. This way switching between the characters and scrolling the map would be easier. We would then have to make wall elements in front of the pointer invisible just as we otherwise do for the character – walls below the pointer on the screen are made invisible.
There should be a Map View (preferably both in the menu and to be activated by a key on the numeric pad) that will show a schematic of the game field along with the locations of player units, visible enemies, water refill posts and other important elements. The stats should also be shown in the beginning and end of each game round and in the end of the game it might be nice to see extended statistics, featuring information such as the Habbo Who Has Wasted the Most Water and Most Dangerous Habbo.
Even if we have very simple command scheme, there should be a tutorial to clarify the basic game mechanics and controls.
Optional Elements (to enhance the game)
The characters could yell stuff like “I’m hit! Iyuck!”, “My Wig!” and “N00B!” at the appropriate moment, badly act like they were dying and leave the playfield. This further reinforces the light, comedic mood we want the game to have.
There might be a cat hanging around the levels – the players will never be able to hit it but it can give signs of other players moving – if the cat runs away, it’s possible there’s someone behind that corner after all!
If there’s room for graphical elements, it’d be extremely nice to have interior and exterior of different areas of the holiday resort available like in my imaginary screenshot – the players could camp indoors and wait for the other team members to walk through the door or past the window! Besides, water fight isn’t ordinarily played indoors so it’d be a fun twist.
Playing a two-player game over Bluetooth or text messages would really be a cool feature for future versions!
Business model - primary
The game is sold in portals. And then sold again with winter graphics. Then the Gold version. And the Party Game edition!
Development Efforts & Investments
The game is supposed to be developed for both S40 and S60 phones. Because we are lacking an asset library, Sulake probably has to provide a lot of the graphic elements.
Later on we might be able to do a version of the game that works over Bluetooth or even SMS. Also, the game is relatively easy to modify into a Snow Fight for the Christmas season.
There is also another game idea using a similar engine that we might want to do if this one is successful: Tag and Hide and seek as a multiplayer party game bundle! So in essence the effort that goes into the making of this game should enable us to easily do variations.
Misc issues
Water Fight is not WAR, just in case someone reading this is overtly concerned about non-violence or brand image and has been left out of the loop for the past 70 years. Water Fight is a fun, good-spirited game enjoyed by all playful people, ages 5 and up. And the guns are colourful and can not be mixed with real ones.
Thread title edited by Seacat (Forum Moderator) Please do not avoid the Forum Filter.
"Water Squad" - Red Leader Goes Down in a Splash!
HIGH CONCEPT DOCUMENT
VERSION HISTORY
- 1.2 Tuukka Savolainen, 13.4.2005
- 1.0 Tuukka Savolainen, 8.4.2005
Short description
An adaptation of Laser Squad to Habbo World – turn-based water fight! Fun! Splash!
Promise / Objective
There are no good turn-based strategy games for cell phones yet, and as that genre goes, LS was always very easy to play. Water fight is fun!
Platform
S40, S60
Genre
Single- or multiplayer Turn-Based Tactical Aquatic Fighting!
Target Audience
Boys and Girls of all ages. Habbo fans, too!
A quick mockup of Water Squad on S60 - with a
scrolling help in the lower part of the screen.
Concept description
You are in a boring holiday resort. With water guns. You quickly assemble teams and decide to FIGHT!
Water Squad is an old favourite yard game of Water Fight played in turns - each player, during his/her turn, controls a small number of Habbos, designated by the color of their clothing. Each unit has its own individual name and characteristics which affect the abilities and activity of that unit. It’s based on Laser Squad, a classic Commodore (and Spectrum, Amiga and, later, PC) game by Julian Gollop.
(Info on LS: http://www.geocities.com/lasersquadclassic/ (http://www.geocities.com/lasersquadclassic/) )
The characters will have different abilities – Strength (shooting range and carrying ability), Dexterity (aim), Hit Points (how much soaking the character can take), Reaction (determines how well the character notices others and their reaction speed) and Action Points which determines how much a character can do in one round. The players also have a number of weapons to split between their teams. The characters are visually distinguished by their hairdo.
The weapons include stuff like Water Pistols (also dual-wielded), Super Soakers, Water Balloons (act like grenades), Water Rifles and stationary Garden Hoses. Each of these has its strengths and weaknesses so balance is the key here.
The game areas are mostly built of simple graphical elements – walls and corridors – to make the game fit into S40 cell phones. The levels are pre-defined but have enough nooks and crannies for an interesting and varied long-term game experience. The walls from buildings are cut off according to the player position so that he won’t get obscured. The player only sees what the characters see.
Missions and Modes
The aim of this squad strategy game is to squirt water at the other team – there’s no way around that! However, we might have simple “Capture the Flag” or “Stay Dry for 10 Turns” – missions along with the traditional “Last Team Standing” mission type to make the game experience deeper.
There are two game modes – single player against the computer in pre-defined missions and multiplayer against each other. Of course the single-player missions can also be played together – with players controlling different characters of the same team.
In the original LS the game session ends when a team has 100 victory points. Victory points are accumulated by getting hits on enemy players and completing other goals (in some missions one team has to destroy something and the other defend it, as an example). This is a rather good mechanic since it tends to end the game when the situation is truly hopeless for the other player.
Gameplay: Revolving Turns
In the original Laser Squad and many derivatives, the turns are played in order and interrupted only if another player has left his/her troops waiting in a good sneaking position – the controller (in this case, phone) is then temporarily given to the other player who gets to shoot or run away with that character. After a player has moved all the characters they want to, it’s time to pass the game over to the next player who then plays his/her turn.
There are later variants in which the turns are played out simultaneously. When the turns are simultaneous, both players will see the events of the previous turn in the beginning of a turn and will then determine what their characters will do during the next turn (10 seconds or so). However, we’ll probably en up doing the turns separately because doing simultaneous turns makes combat actions too complicated – the players would have to specify the conditions of their attack (such as “at this moment of my turn I’ll shoot in that direction if there’s an enemy to shoot at, if not, I’ll go further north”). Which is all fine and dandy for a PC game but a bit excessive on the cell phone screen.
If the game turns are not simultaneous, a recap in the beginning of the next players round would be cool: this would show the player all the times that his/her character sees the enemy so that he/she know what has happened in-between his/her turns. Also, there should be a loud sound emitting from the speakers when turns change or another player gets an Opportunity Turn with one of his/her characters.
Single-Player Missions Detailed
Since most people will, at least first, play Water Fight in the single-player mode, the missions will have to be interesting.
There are differently named computer adversaries, maybe even a funny bit of back story. The computer players don’t have too much AI, they mostly walk along a set path, randomized a bit, and shoot at the player when possible. When the enemies know where the players are, they may start to look for them in that direction. This is how it works in most games, anyway. A good workaround for the stupidity of the computer players (which has been used from the seventies) is to have more of them than there are player characters.
The scenarios for single-player missions could include, for an instance:
1. Enter and hold the outhouse for three turns
2. Take back the jacket the Bully Team stole from you
3. Stay dry (alive) for 20 turns
4. Get from one end of the playfield to the other
5. Soak the enemy leader, hidden deep inside the house
and of course the most common one:
6. Win the water fight
The good part is, of course, that all the levels and mission types designed for the single-player mode can be used in the multiplayer, too.
Controls?
The controls should probably follow the earliest versions of Laser Squad because the joystick control of those times is quite close to the amount of options presented by modern phones. In the old game you’d use the joystick to turn your characters left and right, walk forward (or backwards) in the direction you’re facing and, when pressing fire, have a menu in which you can choose to fire, switch weapons, select the next character, end turn etc.. I suppose we can simplify the original game controls a bit without sacrificing a lot of the fun, for an instance so that each player would only have one pistol/rifle and a number of water balloons that are selected in the beginning of a game and can’t be dropped or picked up. Reloading the weapons is done using water dispensers scattered around the playfield so we won’t have to use an inventory screen for that, either.
If it feels more natural, we can also adapt the control scheme in which the player moves a pointer, the player walks to a highlighted spot on click and the Turn Direction and other options for the character are selected by clicking on him/her. This way switching between the characters and scrolling the map would be easier. We would then have to make wall elements in front of the pointer invisible just as we otherwise do for the character – walls below the pointer on the screen are made invisible.
There should be a Map View (preferably both in the menu and to be activated by a key on the numeric pad) that will show a schematic of the game field along with the locations of player units, visible enemies, water refill posts and other important elements. The stats should also be shown in the beginning and end of each game round and in the end of the game it might be nice to see extended statistics, featuring information such as the Habbo Who Has Wasted the Most Water and Most Dangerous Habbo.
Even if we have very simple command scheme, there should be a tutorial to clarify the basic game mechanics and controls.
Optional Elements (to enhance the game)
The characters could yell stuff like “I’m hit! Iyuck!”, “My Wig!” and “N00B!” at the appropriate moment, badly act like they were dying and leave the playfield. This further reinforces the light, comedic mood we want the game to have.
There might be a cat hanging around the levels – the players will never be able to hit it but it can give signs of other players moving – if the cat runs away, it’s possible there’s someone behind that corner after all!
If there’s room for graphical elements, it’d be extremely nice to have interior and exterior of different areas of the holiday resort available like in my imaginary screenshot – the players could camp indoors and wait for the other team members to walk through the door or past the window! Besides, water fight isn’t ordinarily played indoors so it’d be a fun twist.
Playing a two-player game over Bluetooth or text messages would really be a cool feature for future versions!
Business model - primary
The game is sold in portals. And then sold again with winter graphics. Then the Gold version. And the Party Game edition!
Development Efforts & Investments
The game is supposed to be developed for both S40 and S60 phones. Because we are lacking an asset library, Sulake probably has to provide a lot of the graphic elements.
Later on we might be able to do a version of the game that works over Bluetooth or even SMS. Also, the game is relatively easy to modify into a Snow Fight for the Christmas season.
There is also another game idea using a similar engine that we might want to do if this one is successful: Tag and Hide and seek as a multiplayer party game bundle! So in essence the effort that goes into the making of this game should enable us to easily do variations.
Misc issues
Water Fight is not WAR, just in case someone reading this is overtly concerned about non-violence or brand image and has been left out of the loop for the past 70 years. Water Fight is a fun, good-spirited game enjoyed by all playful people, ages 5 and up. And the guns are colourful and can not be mixed with real ones.
Thread title edited by Seacat (Forum Moderator) Please do not avoid the Forum Filter.