This section is to showcase various personal projects I have worked on and talk about the design decisions I made.

There will be more of my thoughts going into the designs instead of showing off the designs themselves as they are in varying states of completion as well as copying over work from notebooks into a better format.

Unique Classes

My goal for the player character is to have a number of classes to pick from with varying strengths to each. For example, a player could pick a warrior who would have more well rounded stats and be able to use any weapon, but not have a large variety of abilities. They could pick a healer, which is overall weaker in combat but would be able to heal itself and manage the survival aspects of the game much easier because of that. Or if a player wanted to avoid combat when they could, they could pick the trader class which focuses more on trading items between cities and using the economy to survive instead of the player skill required in combat.

Gameplay Features

Here is a list of the gameplay features I have specced out in regards to this game and more details can be found afterwards:

• Fast paced action combat

• Unique Classes

• Unique Companions

• Environment that impacts the survival elements

• Crafting/Cooking system

Unique Companions

In addition to players picking a base class, I wanted to add more depth to the customization. This led to me adding companions that the player can pick from at the start that also have a range of abilities they can use. This allows players who want to play a healer class to potentially pick a more damage oriented companion to help them or a warrior picking a tankier one to assist. In addition to the companions having their own abilities the player would be able to equip them with items that augment their abilities. They can augment directed attack to be an area of effect, add life steal, or augment an ice attack into a fire one that can catch the local foliage on fire. Besides the companions adding more depth to the combat abilities and being able to mix up playstyles at will, it also added a gameplay element in that you had something along with you during the game to help you survive which you had to worry about as well, which added more depth to the survival elements.

Fast Pace Action Combat

The combat is an action game at its core with fast paced attacked and a chaotic feeling. Players hunt down either local wildlife, groups of bandits, roaming beasts, or huge monsters with a range of abilities. For example, the warrior class has the ability to throw their weapon and then teleport to it to increase their mobility. The weapon will also stick into objects, including enemies, which allows for the player to set up combos with their companion attacks as well as chase down faster enemies. There is also a large selection of weapons with different attack types and styles to let players engage in combat however they want. They can fight with a bow at long range or equip a sword and shield and fight up close as well as several other options.

Other design goals besides the main features were to ensure early on that I was planning for the future and making development or iteration as smooth as possible. Some of the ways I achieved this was by creating nodes in the editor that would indicate what resources were available and where on the map at a quick glance. This allowed me to see if some resources were unintentionally lacking or if I had resources spread out in the areas that I wanted them, such as ore nodes in mountainous areas or fish along the rivers. I built a debug system to save me time and allow me to get information on a lot of features without the need to build a robust UI for them when I am still not in the stage where that is necessary. These and other tools helped me visualize and make design decisions on the game from early on, which shaped other decisions and led to creating more engaging experiences.

Environment

I have a full day/night cycle, calendar, and seasons set up. All of these impact the other gameplay elements in various ways. For combat, the player can encounter different enemies in different areas depending on the time of day as well as what season it is. For example some monsters only show up during the winter, but these enemies can give the player crafting materials to make items that are good for surviving the spring and summer seasons. This makes players have to weigh the risks of going out exploring and hunting for monsters in the cold and potentially freezing in order to be more prepared in later seasons. The day/ night cycle also impacts the wildlife as some will go to sleep at night while others wake up to go hunting that could attack the player. The environment effects such as rain, snow, and heat are all built into the survival mechanics and impact the player.

Crafting/Cooking System

I have a deep crafting and cooking system built into the core gameplay loop. Players will be in combat encounters often which will give them various materials and items needed to craft or cook. Cooking provides the player will filling their hunger bar and preventing starvation, but it can also be used to make items that provide buffs to the player such as increased damage for a short time. The crafting system is built around the player getting items from killing monsters or gathering around the world and then using them to create a wide variety of items. Some of the items have specific utilities such as keeping the player warm during the winter while others are stronger and more unique weapons that allow the player to be more effective in combat and even go hunter larger monsters. All which feed back into the crafting system and the core progression loop and keep the core combat interesting and a driving force for the player.