Disclaimer! I scrapped this idea because of several reasons the first being that the storyline was slightly weak and boring with not much for the player to look forward to. I was also very unsure about which genre the game fell under and later realized that the reason for that was because it categorizes as an Adventure game which is a genre I have rarely played – definitely not within the last few years! However, what bothered me the most was the fact that I wasn’t excited about my idea and was somewhat embarrassed to share it with others. My heart was not in it which saddened me as this is what I love doing and is what I aspire to do once I finish my degree. Click HERE to go to my more recent blog post where I talk about my inspiration for my new game or click HERE to go straight to the completed concept document!).
CONCEPT ART: COVER
My Concept Art
PLOT
The player would take the role of the protagnost and follow him on his journey as he grows from a mere baby to a old man. Depending on what stage in life he is, the gameplay will change to reflect it. Here are some examples:
Baby/Toddler Life is easy when one is a baby/toddler. Everything is given to you on a silver plate and you don’t have to worry about anything. To reflect this, the gameplay will be very easy and laid back focusing mostly on introducing the simple mechanics to the player.
Adolescence When you’re a teenager you’re constantly faced with choices and decisions you have to make which could result in either rewards or consequences. To convey this, this particular level would require the player to make a series of choices which would immediately reward or punish him/her.
Adulthood Normally around this age you’re settled with someone and even possibly married. Throughout this level, you will have a companion (your wife in this case) and by controlling both the protagonist and his wife, you have to complete puzzles toegther in order to progress in the game. This mirrors the struggles that a newly-wed couple can go through and how they have to overcome certain struggles by working together and being a team.
Old Age In Maltese we have this saying “Darbtejn insiru tfal” which served as the inspiration for this level. Literally translated, it means that we become children twice but I believe the proper expression is “Once a man twice a child” . This means that we are born as children, come into adulthood and lead a good and strong life (hopefully) but then become a child once again once old age hits us. Keeping that in mind, this level will mimic the baby/toddler level in many ways to emulate how as old people we tend to revert back to our childish ways and must once again rely on other people to perform the simplest of tasks.
Inspiration The games I looked at most for inspiration were ones which focused on creating an emotional bond between the game and the player usually by causing him/her to ponder on one or multiple aspects of life. In order not to the deter the player from doing so, these games tend to be very direct and simple but also very beautiful. Some examples of games I looked at:
Brothers: A Tale of Two SonsJourneyLimbo
Environment As the protagonist, the player will constantly follow a sort of path which surrounds itself with different and various scenarios and graphics depending on the level the player is on. So for example, during the Baby/Toddle stage, the objects surrounding the path will be very vibrant and exciting and possibly unrealistic to echo the vast imagination we have when we are kids and how exciting and new everything is to us. Here are some references:
Life is easy when one is a baby/toddler. Everything is given to you on a silver plate and you don’t have to worry about anything. To reflect this, the gameplay will be very easy and laid back focusing mostly on introducing the simple mechanics to the player.
When you’re a teenager you’re constantly faced with choices and decisions you have to make which could result in either rewards or consequences. To convey this, this particular level would require the player to make a series of choices which would immediately reward or punish him/her.
Normally around this age you’re settled with someone and even possibly married. Throughout this level, you will have a companion (your wife in this case) and by controlling both the protagonist and his wife, you have to complete puzzles toegther in order to progress in the game. This mirrors the struggles that a newly-wed couple can go through and how they have to overcome certain struggles by working together and being a team.
In Maltese we have this saying “Darbtejn insiru tfal” which served as the inspiration for this level. Literally translated, it means that we become children twice but I believe the proper expression is “Once a man twice a child” . This means that we are born as children, come into adulthood and lead a good and strong life (hopefully) but then become a child once again once old age hits us. Keeping that in mind, this level will mimic the baby/toddler level in many ways to emulate how as old people we tend to revert back to our childish ways and must once again rely on other people to perform the simplest of tasks.
Thea Chetcuti 