Get that Human!

KIT109 Assessment 2 

Student: 639970 - Angus Wilks

Overview

Title: Get that Human!

Concept Statement:

Get that Human! is a fast paced 2D action maze chase game, bearing similarities in structure to early arcade games and hand drawn art style featured commonly in modern indie game titles. Get that Human! sees the player, a ravenous zombie, navigate the streets of Hobart in search of one thing…human flesh! To survive you must kill humans, each kill adding time to your expiration countdown. To aid you, find the powerups hidden across the city for consumption shall provide extraordinary abilities and perks.

Genre: 

Get that Human! is an arcade style action game that contains elements of survival and strategy games. 

Concept Creation Process:

Gameplay:

In creating the gameplay of Get that Human! Firstly I looked towards the games of the 1980’s. These early video games were simple in gameplay, design, and visuals, perfect for a beginner game. The gameplay is inspired from Pacman, as seen in the maze-like map structure and simple movement. Next I looked at ‘anti’ games, games in which the dynamic between player and enemy had been switched. This inspired the ‘chaser’ aspect.

Secondly, I looked for inspiration in mobile games, such as doodle jump, temple run, and subway surfers. All of these had that infinite, single level style to the structure of the game. A game like this was ideal as it minimises the amount of level design and the need for a progression system. 

Finally, the objective of my game came from the ‘infected’ gamemode in Call of Duty games in which you play a zombie and attempt to infect everyone around you. Once I simplified and combined all these influences I was left with the premise of Get that Human!

Special Features:

In designing special features for my game I sought to create interest and depth. I implemented power ups as a result of my experiences of Super Mario games and finding power ups that gave me special abilities, or gave me another life. Similarly, a powerup progression seen in Pacman was appealing, where if the player collects enough of one item they receive a desirable advantage. Finally I added the countdown timer to give the game a central obstacle/struggle. Without it the player would endlessly play, essentially making the game pointless. This idea came from carnival games, in which you have a limited amount of time to complete a task.

Art Style:

The artstyle for my game is sketchy, and messy. I chose this direction as it is consistent with my own art skills and available resources and time. To aid me I looked at simple cartoons online and towards early Pokemon games to understand how to create 3D objects in a 2D space as well as an environment that didn't feel dead and static.

Story/Setting/Scene:

For the setting I chose Hobart where I live. The story is the standard zombie outbreak rundown as the game doesn’t require anything more. I was inspired to create a zombie theme through games such as Left 4 Dead, Plants Vs Zombies, and Call of Duty.

Audience and Competitive Analysis:

Target Audience:

For Get that Human! the target audience aims to be younger ‘casual gamers’. The gameplay is simple and lacks proper progression or a desirable skill ceiling so it is best played in short bursts by those not interested in a fully fledged gaming experience. Whilst the game is zombie themed, I do not wish this to affect the target audience, the game is neither scary nor violent and the zombie aspect is not pivotal to the gameplay or story. This means that the game has a larger target audience and does not 

How is Get that Human! unique?:

Get that Human! is a zombie game, but unlike other zombie games on the market currently, you are the zombie. Currently most zombie games see you as an enemy to the zombies, fighting them, killing them etc. By switching this role Get that Human! creates a unique and different dynamic to what is currently available. Get that Human! also offers a range of creative power ups to drastically alter and differentiate your gameplay everytime you play. On top of this a unique artstyle is presented, being sketchy, hand drawn and messy, straying from animation or pixel art. Despite these unique characteristics, Get that Human! bears significant resemblance to old arcade games such as Pacman, as heavy influence was taken from them. This can be seen in the map design, structure,  and overall gameplay and objectives.

How have other games in the genre performed?

Get that Human! is an arcade style action game heavily influenced by the game Pacman. Although not a recent game, Pacman is a perfect example of simple done right. Pacman has proved itself to be the best selling arcade game of all time, with over 400,000 gaming cabinets sold and $3.5 billion in sales by 1990 (Buchholz & Richter, 2020). Similarly, the spin-off game Ms Pacman became one of the 5 best selling arcade games, being released only 2 years after Pacman. Looking towards modern games, it becomes quickly apparent that the zombie genre is extremely popular. Modern games tackle so many different ideas and iterations of the concept of zombies, leading to unique experiences and gameplay for so many games within the genre. For example, games such as Left 4 Dead take the route of standard ‘shoot em up’ while games such as Plants vs Zombies see a turn based, tower defence take.

Game Treatment and Concept Art: 

Backstory:

In Get that Human! you awake to find yourself patient zero in a zombie outbreak! Suddenly overcome by an overwhelming desire for human flesh, you begin to hunt down and devour the humans of Hobart city in order to feed your appetite. Find weapons and power ups to help you on your endeavour, but beware, for your rotting body decays more and more with every second, sustained only by human flesh!

The Players Role:

In Get that Human! the role of the player is to stay alive. As each player has a timer on their current game, they must find and kill enemies in order to gain more time. Powerups can be collected to change the gameplay and assist the player in gaining more time. Ultimating each game, the player will be attempting to stay alive for as long as possible and gain the highest score they can. 

Concept Art:

Game Structure: (all designs sketched on personal iPad using app Goodnotes)

Zombie climber game idea, similar to that of game Doodle Jump Player would ‘climb’ the screen in order to gain score and find enemies Difficult to create an ‘endless’ level style  REF: Doodle Jump	Game structure concept sees player ‘leap’ around the map, perhaps a pull back/slingshot mechanic, similar to leapfrog games Doesn’t suit or fit the gameplay chosen

Game Map:

Map concept design reminiscent of 2D open world games such as Pokemon, player would roam freely but would have to be large and intricate, not necessary for chosen gameplay	Map concept of open street, player would roam freely but would have to be large and intricate, not necessary for chosen gameplay
	Final design for map concept Flat arcade style map with top down building graphics for city aesthetic Simplest design and is best suited for chosen gameplay, reminiscent of Pacman map style REF: Pacman

Player Design:

Running player designs Requires multiple designs of different directions players can travel REF: Vector Illustration of Cartoon Zombie REF: Fitness Man Running Cartoon Vector Illustration	Zombie design brainstorm Sketched, pixel art Pixel art not chosen as can be incredible hit or miss, very easy to get wrong especially with creating movement  REF: Plants vs Zombies

Powerups:

Various powerup designs Strength, speed, freeze, shield, super powerup

Basic Features:

• Game Timer: The game timer tells the player how long they have to keep playing if they do not kill any more enemies. This feature adds a sense of urgency to the game and gives the player something to fight against. Without it the game would be seemingly endless and would feel pointless.
• Killing Enemies: Killing your enemies is the main objective of the game, it is what you do to continue playing and gain score. To kill an enemy the player must get their game character close enough and press the spacebar.
• Gaining Score: To gain score in Get that Human! the player must find and kill enemies. Each kill will give the player score, which will be displayed on the screen. 
• Movement: Movement in the game will be simple, restricted to up, down left, and right. The player may choose to move through the use of keys W,A,S, and D, or the four arrow keys.
• Map: The game map will be fixed and a constant in each game. It will be maze-like, viewed top down by the player and be visually decorated to look like a city.

 

Advanced Features:

• Difficulty Levels: The game will feature a number of different difficulties that the player will be able to choose from. If the player chooses a higher difficulty a number of different variables will change within the game, these include decreases in: enemy spawn rates, powerup spawn rates, the starting time on the counter, and the score and time gained from each kill. 
• 2 Player: The game will feature a 2 player mode, which will be played locally on the same device. The first player will use the WASD keys to move and the space bar to interact, and the second player will use the arrow keys to move and the right shift button to interact. When played in 2 player, the game will spawn more enemies but will decrease the starting time given, and the amount of time received per kill.
• Powerups: In the game a number of different power ups will spawn incrementally and be available to the player throughout the game. These powerups will include: 
  • Speed: Temporarily increases the players movement speed for a limited amount of time
  • Freeze: Temporarily freezes the movement of the enemies for a limited amount of time
  • Timestop: Temporarily stops the countdown of the timer
  • Strength: Temporarily Increases the score and time given to the player with each kill
  • Anti-Power Up: Temporarily changes the roles of the player and enemies. The enemies will now chase the player and the player must survive until the timer given finishes.
  • Super-Power Up: Temporarily provides the player dramatically increased speed and points per kill, while also freezing the timer. This power up is only achievable after collecting 4 smaller ‘jigsaw’ power ups in a single game.

• Scoreboard: A scoreboard will be available on the main menu of the game. It will show the highest scores achieved, when they were achieved, and who achieved them. You are able to select a short name with each playthrough that will be attached to the score you receive.

Target Platform:

• Web Browser (Itch.io): The game will be played on the website itch.io as an in-browser game. 
• Mobile Game App: Ideally the game would be best suited for a mobile app release given its low technical requirements and simple controls.

Development:

Get that Human! will developed using Unity game engine and all scripts will be written in C# programming language.

References:

Buchholz, K. and Richter, F. (2020) Infographic: Pac-man is the best-selling arcade game of All time, Statista Daily Data. Available at: 

https://www.statista.com/chart/21768/best-selling-arcade-games/

 (Accessed: 20 August 2023). 

Plants vs Zombies - Video Game - Published by Electronic Arts - Used in concept art inspiration

https://www.ea.com/en-au/ea-studios/popcap/plants-vs-zombies

(Accessed: 17 August 2023).

Vector Illustration of Cartoon Zombie - Image - Contributor: Sararoom Design - Used in concept art inspiration 

Published on www.shutterstock.com

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/vector-illustration-cartoon-zombie-152581976

(Accessed: 17 August 2023).

Fitness Man Running Cartoon Vector Illustration - Image - Contributor: Jemastock - Used in concept art inspiration

Published on: www.alamy.com 

https://www.alamy.com/fitness-man-running-cartoon-vector-illustration-graphic-design-image178049802.html

(Accessed: 17 August 2023).

City Illustration - Image - Contributor: FSC - Used in concept art inspiration

Published on www.pinterest.com 

https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/321585229645045686/

(Accessed: 18 August 2023).

City Tiles Top Down - Image - Contributor:  MortMort - Used in concept art inspiration

Published on www.opengameart.org

https://opengameart.org/content/12x12-city-tiles-top-down

(Accessed 18 August 2023).

Doodle Jump - Mobile Game App - Developer: Lima Sky - Used in game concept inspiration 

Developer: http://www.limasky.com/

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/doodle-jump-insanely-good/id456355158

Pacman - Arcade Game - Developers: Nintendo, Namco - Used in game concept inspiration

Developer: https://www.nintendo.com.au/