Fade is a game I designed based on the 7 circles of hell.  It is of the RPG genre and is heavily story driven. Through creating this I learnt how to design a game in specific detail, including all of the core mechanics and functionalities. This means in future projects, I am able to make an in depth design of features and mechanics as well as being able to critically analyse its potentials for future development. 

 

The player will be given many options throughout the game such as choosing to be good or evil, changing the characters appearance, name and more. The game is based on the 7 circles of hell and so a massive exploration takes part through passing each circle of the underworld. This exploits a massive change in scenery for those players who enjoy exploring. The name of the game is Fade due to the constant change in scenery the further you go on towards the end of the main quest. The players interface will gradually fade as well as the environment. This is a feature of the game which lets the player see the progression of the main quest and also gives the player a feeling that you are getting closer to finding your family. The fading might also give an effect that the holy/good are near and that the player’s family are close to heaven. The game platform is set for PC.

 

This document was a personal challenge as I have never created such an in depth document, however after I completed the document I could see just how important each individual part of the design was towards understanding the game, especially from a developers point of view. From this project, I am now comfortable in creating in depth design and mechanics documents, as well as being able to understand how they are used and how important they are in developing games. 

 

After an evaluation of the game mechanics I can see how the game could be implemented as a multiplayer game, making it an MMORPG. The story and all of the other features can be found in the mechanics document below.

After this document was created I later decided to develop the game with a group I formed through LinkedIn. To go ahead with this I formed a team out of Artists, 3D artists and Programmers in which we communicated over LinkedIn, Skype and transfered information through Dropbox. However, after gathering the concept art from the artists, the programmers were no longer interested or available, meaning the game was never produced. From this, I learnt:

 

- A method of developement is needed (eg:scrum)

- Project planning and management

- Communication is essential

- Long distance team work means communication has to be daily 

- Due to long distance and unpaid work, it is difficult to keep team members interested or available.