Project: SURVIVE

  1. Executive Summary

1.1. Objective:

Project: SURVIVE is a 3D Survival RPG Game. The protagonist journeys and explores the world around him to figure out how past event occurred while trying to survive at the same time.

1.2. Goals:

The goal of the project is for players to enjoy the story and environment of the game while maintaining great game play.

1.3. Target Audience:

Players that enjoy games that involve a lot of exploration and customization will be big fans of this game. Fans of the Monster Hunter and Elder Scrolls series for example. To be more specific the main target is gamers between  the ages of 17 – 32 years old.

1.4. Problem:

The game will have the issue of the main protagonist being an abandoned orphan and having to survive by him/herself.

1.5 Elevator pitch :

“Fight. Capture. Survive.” As a lone survivor of a horrible incident you must do your best to survive while figuring out what happened the day the incident occurred.

1.6 Core features (unique selling point)

  • Battling monsters and Capturing them
  • Vast character customization
  • Open world
  • Unique progression system
  • 3D Graphics
  • Survival RPG

 

  1. Proposed Game Concept

2.1. Overview:

You live in a world where the only source of sustainable income is to capture monsters in the wild. The game will run as an open world shooter with several rpg elements implemented into it. Your goal in the game is to become one of best hunters that has ever existed. The game progresses with a main storyline with sidequests in the form of monster bounties.

2.2. Background :

The player is an orphan that has been abandoned and has to survive on his own in the world. Luckily he is armed and has been trained in combat mechanics. You are on a journey to discover what happened in your past and also survive the harsh reality of this world infested with monsters.

2.3. Informing Elements:

Some influences for the game are Monster Hunter(http://www.monsterhunter.com/) , God Eater (http://store.steampowered.com/app/438490/) as the game fits into the sub-genre that was created by the Monster Hunter games.

2.4. Game Synopsis:

You are put in the shoes of an orphan that has to survive on his own. All he has is a gun and the basics of armed combat. Your goal in the game is to survive and make a living the harsh nature of this world by capturing the various wanted species that inhabit the planet. You will also dive into the storyline that will reveal the protagonists past.

The gameplay will have you fight and capture monsters by attacking them and weakening them. The player will have a health system that if depleted will kill the player. The monsters also have a health system that needs to be lowered within a certain threshold to be able to capture it. a good example of similar style gameplay is from the game God Eater (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixohJ0E-x6Y)

The genre of the game is an action RPG with an open world. The platform of choice would be Consoles and PC as the controls and mechanics should smoothly port over to both platforms.

 

2.5. Game Mechanics (key features)

  • Open world exploration
  • Battling and Capturing monsters
  • Crafting system
  • Weapon variation
  • Leveling system based on weapons
  • Character customization
  • Elements that make the game not feel like a repetitive grind

 

2.6. Game World (structure, plot, characters, setting):

The game is structured as an open world adventure where the player must explore the world around him and interact with the NPC’s and elements presented to him/her. The storyline advances by talking to specific NPCs or triggering some cut scenes.

The plot of the game is that you are an orphan that has been left to survive on his own in a terrifying environment. The orphanage that you used to reside in was destroyed by an unknown factor. Now all you have is a firearm and the basics of armed combat. In this world, the most efficient way for the protagonist to make a living is through the practice of capturing monsters. These monsters are then put in an arena for entertainment purposes (Monster arena battles). As you continue trying to survive the player encounters various important characters that allow him to figure out what actually happened the day the orphanage was destroyed.

Characters:

  • The Protagonist(Fully Customizable): The protagonist of our story, the game will start with a customization screen that will allow players to customize their character extensively in almost every feature.
  • The Mentor(Male, Age Unknown): Nobody knows his name, where he came from, or where he learned his skills. But it didn’t matter, he came by the orphanage everyday to train the protagonist. He is the reason why he/she was able to survive so long. After the orphanage was destroyed, The protagonist never saw or heard of him ever again. But maybe their paths will cross once again…
  • Zex (Male/Female depending on protagonist gender): He/She was the protagonist’ best friend at the orphanage. He/She coincidentally reunites with the protagonist at the beginning of the story and helps him/her figure out what happened to the orphanage that day.

NPC’s:

  • Shopkeepers: There are going to be various shopkeepers that the player will be able to purchase and sell items to. Every area will have a different shopkeeper
  • Quest Givers: These NPC’s will be located randomly around the world and will give the player side quests that will not affect the main storyline
  • Monsters: The monsters come in various shapes and sizes. The player will have the option to capture/kill each and every one of them
  • Blacksmith: The NPC you go to craft your equipment.

2.7. Other Design Considerations (look & feel, sound design, tone):

The world is a desolate planet inhabited by monsters. It has 4 major cities established on it and a lot of small towns and villages. The monsters roam freely throughout the land but the major cities are heavily protected by an army. Resources are very scarce in this environment, so most of the materials collected are from hunting and capturing the monsters themselves.

The sound design for this game will include a lot of ambient environmental music (example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60cKUASLe3A). Other than that it will have various battle themes depending on the intensity of the battle (example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJJjD-kZ4ck ).

2.8. Tech Spec (target platform, front end, back end, db):

The target platform for this game are consoles(Playstation/XBOX) and PC.

The game engine will most likely be the unreal engine 4 as it has made quality games such as Bioshock Infinite (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNLawRYkUA8) . It would be the perfect fit for a game of this caliber.

  1. Recommendations

3.1. Suggested Team (roles & name, bios):

Raihan Chandra (Game Designer)

3.2. Estimated Budget (for all phases, design & dev)

The estimated budget for this game is about $100 million.

3.3. Rough Timeline (for all phases)

The game will take about 3 years to be completed and   released.

 

  1. Appendix

Concept Art is in the PDF project-survive