-Overview- -Intended Demographic/Audience- -GDD- -Game Instructions- -Description of the Creation Process- -Cost Breakdown- -Board Game Design Plan of Work- -Student Copyright Checklist-
The Unfathomable John Ardon-Hodge, Game Art & Design, 2022
Overview
The Unfathomable is a concept game which has the sole purpose to test concepts for mechanics that will be implemented in the finished in the final product, IE the videogame. With a prototype, I will have a better idea of what mechanics may stick, which one may need to be dropped, how certain mechanics should be balanced for the sake of flow, and how the structure of the game will progress as you make it closer to the end. The way the game works, you can have up to 4 players, each of which have turns. You move along the tiles via the rolling of a die, and whichever number you land on is the amount of tiles you move. When the players have all used their turns, an enemy will be spawned from one of the special enemy tiles, until there are 2 enemies on the board. If an enemy is already out on the board, that enemy will also move 2 tiles towards the closest player.
If an enemy ends up on the same tile as a player, that player will be killed and sent back to the beginning. Players can only be killed 3 times before they are taken out of the game completely. There are special tiles that will serve different purposes, such as pit tiles that will force you to roll a die to determine whether or not you die, relic tiles that give you special abilities like the ability to pass through trees or float over pits for 2 or 3 turns, and of course, monster nest tiles, where monsters spawn from. The ultimate goal is to make it out alive, specifically by reaching the exit tile with the key piece, thus opening the exit and allowing you and other players to beat the game when it is reached.
Intended Audience
The prime age group for The Unfathomable is those of age 13 or above, who also have interest in horror and games with complex and mysterious story. The maximum number of players is 4, but this game could also very well be played alone. The reason I say that the prime demographic is those of 12 and up with interest in adventure, horror and mysterious story is because The Unfathomable is meant to feature a significant amount of pretty horrific things, and has a heavy focus on exploration. Heavy themes may also be implemented into the final game in certain ways, which would not make it very enjoyable for the faint of heart, and definitely not for children. The Unfathomable is also meant to have a story tying everything together, even if not every element of said story is immediately obvious. As such, those who have interest in games featuring those elements would most likely enjoy The Unfathomable most.
Game Design Document
Game Instructions
Description of the Creation Process
The process of creating this game has been, as per usual with my big projects in Game Art & Design, both easy and fun, and hard and frustrating. The art bits of it have taken time, but they have been very fun, and acquiring most of the assets for the game has also been fairly simple. However, it has also been frustrating with some of my luck on certain factors, which have also begun affecting my ability to do certain parts of the project in a timely manner. I have hope that I will have the time to finish, but at the moment, it is uncertain with all of the different variables that have come up and made it quite a bit harder than it should have been. However, at the same time, as I said, some parts were easier than they likely should have been, so it's really just a bunch of ups and downs.
I've predominantly used photoshop to make all of the graphics, and put a good amount of effort into them, too. Photoshop was also used for the instructions, and the actual pieces that were used simply came from a Five Nights at Freddy's-themed Monopoly Board I happen to own. The box for the game was made from a box that's typically used to package shirts for Christmas gifts, which worked out perfectly, since it's practically the same dimensions as an actual board game box. As I've said, the process has both been easy and hard, but I have hope that I'll manage to get it all down on time.
Packaging
Cost Breakdown
The cost breakdown is probably the simplest part of this, because the ultimate price was no money at all. We happened to have pretty much everything needed right here at home, so the only thing that this project is costing me is my spare time.