Untitled Wizard Game

Excerpts from a Design Doc

(mostly just the interesting parts)

Writing fiction is fun, but design documents are an entirely different beast.

In concept, you should be able to create the entire game using this document, though their specificity and format can vary wildly.

I had a role in the greater creative direction of the game, so this was an invaluable learning experience. Here’s some of the highlights, as well as some of the earliest concept art by the extremely talented Julia Cory. (see all her amazing work at juliacory.com)

—

I was given a fairly loose premise:

A dungeon diving game about wizards.
There is a distinct suite of magical “classes'' with a detailed magic leveling system.
The magic system is powered via dynamic tattoos on the user’s body.

So, without further ado:

—

Untitled Wizard Game

Game Concept/Back of the Box

The game is a 3rd person ARPG (Action roleplaying game) about dungeon diving, loot hoarding, magic, and frenetic, stylish combat that focuses on movement and spellcasting.

Jump into a humorous, vibrant world where the only thing left of the long forgotten gods is their temples, tombs, traps, and treasure! As you and your eclectic band of wizard friends recklessly smash your way through a diverse range of dungeons, nab yourself some ancient relics to exploit, gold to spend, and (most importantly), the mysterious runes you can use to further your magical abilities.

Story Overview

The main character (working name “Alexandra”) lives in a world where all magic is regulated by the enigmatic High Council. As a child, she has dreams of becoming a powerful mage. Disastrously, those dreams are crushed; the council rejects her application to learn magic in the hallowed halls of their mountain top castle. (Real dramatic stuff.)

But Alexandra’s dreams are rekindled when she encounters a group of outliers: a ragtag wizard’s guild living in the ruins of a beachside villa.

Instead of learning magic through scrolls and wands, this eclectic menagerie uses the power of ancient runes tattooed onto their bodies.

Alexandria joins the guild just in time to hear about a mysterious new dungeon they’ve discovered. Under-equipped and overly-enthusiastic, she gets a few tattoos, learns a few spells, and charges in headlong. No looking back now! throughout their adventures, the group will discover a sequence of dungeons, each more deadly (and profitable) than the last. Within the dungeons are relics, which explain the story of the “forgotten gods”.

As they gather this lore, they realize that one of these dead gods is trying to return.

Grow with Alexandria and co as they breathe new life into their run-down villa refuge, uncover the mysteries of the mysterious wizards council, and save the world from a powerful enemy: The first forgotten god.

Art and aesthetic Direction

Overview

The game’s goals are to be energetic, dynamic, and definitive, visually and narratively.

Elements will be clearly distinct, using fun and sometimes silly tropes spilling across the fantasy and history. This will prioritize visual recognition over perceived continuity.

Desert pyramids, sprawling castles, spooky gothic graveyards and abandoned subterranean steampunk cities will all be on the docket, while Vikings, wizards, vampires, and undead mummies will all frequently be in the same room (or battlegrounds, as the case may be.)

Each dungeon will have small, defined color pallets. Strong static lighting will accent these elements and direct players' vision as needed.

Magic

Though the roster of magic spells is large, each “school” will have obvious themes. Each element will be associated with certain kinds of player animations and VFX. Smooth vs frenetic, flashy vs subtle, organic vs manufactured, etc.

Character designs

The 10 “main character” guild members are vivid and larger than life, while their antagonists, (The mage’s guild and its High Council), are uniform, save for minimally recognizable features for important characters (A big bushy gray beard, a unique staff, etc).

Dungeon monsters fall somewhere in the middle. Though shapes and movements are distinct, their color pallets and features will be limited to reduce screen muddle and accentuate a real hack-and-slash kind of vibe. Lots of enemies, lots of flow, lots of kills, and lots of loot.

Animations

Animations can be a bit extraneous in the name of style, as most movements will be exaggerated in a stage-show kind of way.

Any character who’s part of in-engine cinematics will have the same generic array of animations. This includes idling, taking up battle poses, being in conversation, and laying sprawled on the ground. Unique additional poses will be added as needed, though this may be deferred to pre-rendered cutscenes. See below.

Cutscenes: In-engine vs pre-rendered

Moments out of player control will be short and snappy, but in cases where too much happens to be characterized by the generic animation set, pre-rendered motion comics will be used. Stylistically, these cutscenes are our time to shine.

Novel and dynamic camera angles, dramatic poses, and conveniently well framed tableaux will dominate these short cutscenes. Think something between a broadway musical and any shonen manga of your choice.

—

The following are 2 of my favorite dungeons. Dungeons were to be procedurally generated, though in the initial run, the plot elements would play out in a set seed, and you would unlock a new companion from the guild to join you. On the first run, dialogue throughout would introduce you to each character, and bits of world lore.

It was my goal to have at least one interesting subversion of expectations in every dungeon.

—

Example Dungeons:

Catacombs of the Storm God

Element: water and lightning

New Partner: Brando, master of the spellblade

Twist: Double boss fight (see boss section)

Description:

Viking/norse/nautical/scandinavian. Celtic/Gaelic knots adorn ruins of stone arches and columns of waterlogged ancient oak. This lair is a warrior burial ground, and skeletons, particularly skulls, are packed tightly into the architecture. (Think catacombs of Paris).

Water is constantly leaking from stalactites. Dim, sputtering torches light the halls.

The main environmental hazard is the deep pools. From a distance, they look like puddles, but up close it looks like a hole straight into the ocean. Seaweed growing from the sandy floor, boney looking fish pass by in groups, and the spiked shrapnel of destroyed boats. This is also where the water themed enemies crawl out of.

What/who lives here?

Water elementals wearing crude metal armor
Vague, wolf-like shades (ghosts). Static sparks crackle throughout its body, and it uses lightning bolts to attack.
Weak, fast skeletons brandishing axes and wearing loosely fitting clothes from their previous life as warriors.
The catalogers. A multi-limbed mess of rags and bones with spider-like movement, pulling skulls out of the walls to throw at you. (Note: pallet swap/retool for graveyard dungeon)

Mid-stage boss

Open arena. A ruined longboat is beached on a stone, and a hole in the roof of the cavern shines down on it.
The dragon-like figurehead of the boat turns its head toward you, and the strewn oars crack bend to become gangly legs. The boat charges around like a train/rhinoceros. Let it crash into the rocks and attack it while it's stunned. (It’s that kind of boss fight.)

Dungeon boss - part 1

An open arena. Ground is a water hazard, with platforms/columns of refuge and stone.

The only creature in the dungeon to fully integrate both lightning and water.
The top half is a big viking god. Clouds are muscles, a waterfall beard, and an ax that was once the figurehead of a dragon longboat. Lightning emanates from his eyes.
The bottom half is just a water tornado fusing into the water covered floor.

Dungeon boss - part 2: Attack of the fire god

Halfway through the fight, there is an earthquake in the chamber, causing all combatants to pause.
The wall starts glowing red, and Brando casually mentions the adversarial relationship of the fire and storm gods (which they learned about in the crypt of the fire god).
The wall explodes open, revealing the fire mummy boss from the first dungeon.
The remainder of the boss fight is complicated by the fighting between the two bosses (and their minions, possibly). It begins to rain, and molten balls of stone blow up some of the platforms.
Finally, the storm elemental is defeated, and the fire mummy retreats, collapsing the tunnel behind it.

The Ashen Forge of the depths

Element: ice + metal/spellblade

Initial Partner: Arlo the Water mage + Kylista the sage of air

Twists:

First appears to be an uninspired ice level before discovering that it's just the antechamber of a real, much cooler dungeon.
Get to have 2 NPC followers at once

Description - Part 1

A generic ice cave level. Icicles, rocks, cliffs, and maybe some stuff frozen in the transparent ice. This section is short. Enemies are ice cubes with angry eyebrows and frost covered slimes. A fragile looking wall at the end of the level collapses, revealing a tunnel.

Description - Part 2

A dying volcano. Semi-congealed magma trails slowly flow across the terrain. The main lighting is cracks in the walls revealing active lava streams. Massive pipes, grates, furnaces and other mysterious machines litter the fabricated metal architecture. This was once the ultimate foundry.

What/who lives here?

Steampunk golems powered by chest furnaces.

fire elementals from the first dungeon, but with pieces of metal sticking out of them.
Clusters of living, floating agro’d weapons. (Think the spectral sword from castlevania)

Boss: The Living Forge

As Alexandra approaches the final chamber, all pipes lead through the final door.
The arena is a huge platform attached to the back wall and otherwise held up by a network of steel struts and beams.
The pipes link up to a monolith of plate metal, grates, furnaces, crucibles, and all the elements required for a foundry. It glows dully, with its conveyer belts and mechanical arms moving sluggishly. All this only seems to do is slowly churn out bars of iron, which it dumps out carelessly into a huge pile next to it.
Once Alexandra gets to the center of the arena, the forge flares to life, and using its countless moving pieces and pipes, the forge tears itself out of the wall, now a live monster.
The living forge’s huge weight will tilt the platform as it moves around, all while it hurls glowing hot weapons and metal bars it makes on the spot.
Once defeated, its molten furnaces flare up one last time, then it collapses into a mountain of individual mechanical components.

Example Characters

Absinthe and Ambrosia

Co-leaders of the guild and teachers of fire magic.
The spirited, mischievous twins are held down by their duties, but driven by their sibling rivalry and need for adventure, they still find time to be troublemakers.
Years ago, they split off from a group of nomadic bohemians to pursue their own interests. Ie; researching magic, having fixed structure homes, and being excessively rich.

Nytra the Stone Warrior

Nytra the Earth Warrior comes from a long tradition of fighters, but keenly realized that magic could further enhance her skills.
After meeting a ragtag band of wizards, she was endeared to their antics and enthusiastic (if not materialistic) attitude towards life.
Nytra believes in the power of the world beneath our feet, and happily passes along her skills as a wizard (and a warrior) to anyone willing to learn.

Gaspar the Summon Vampire

While not actually a member of the guild, Gaspar is a friend, and resides alone in the harsh mountains near the mausoleum of the grave god.
Through a bit of long distance correspondence, (and the occasional holiday weekend visit), Gaspar helps the guild discover the secrets of the most elusive magic to date; the school of summoning.
Gaspar's methods are unclear, and it's better not to question how he masters his necromancy powers.
For the record, he insists he’s not a vampire.

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