Dungeon Brawler
A Game By: The Game Factory
A team comprised of: Yiming Zhou, Peter Kotik, and Donovan Alexander
TA: Eric | Section: Tuesday 12:00-1:45 PM
Dungeon Brawler is a virtual board game that revolves around grid-based
combat and strategy. The objective of the game is to pick up a key, which unlocks the
door in the middle of the map. The first player to enter the door after a player unlocks it
wins the game. There are several obtainable items that are randomly placed on the grid.
They include a sword, which gives advantage in combat when attacking, and a shield,
which provides advantage when defending; based on time constraints, we may or may
not add additional gameplay items. 1-4 players are assigned a corner of the map, a
space they occupy at the start of the game and return to whenever they are killed in
combat.
The game is a balance between strategy, intelligent positioning, and random
chance. Combat outcomes are decided with 1d20 dice rolls and the player’s remaining
hit points, but players can improve their chances with the items distributed around the
map. The sword item provides a +5 bonus when a player initiates combat, whereas the
shield provides a +4 bonus when another player attacks them. In testing, these
mechanics in conjunction with the different player roles lead to different strategic uses of
these items. The player holding the key would prefer the shield to the sword, as they are
most likely not going to be initiating combat for fear of rolling low and losing the key.
Players may possess both items simultaneously, but may not inherit both
simultaneously from a kill. A player trying to prevent the key holder from unlocking the
door would want the sword, to increase their chances of killing the other player.
Movement in the game is based on both a constant and a roll of 1d4. The player is
allowed to move 1d4+4 spaces, allowing a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 8.
The game is similar to arcade beat ‘em ups like Simpson’s Arcade, Final Fight, or
TMNT arcade. You are put in an area with your enemies, and you can kill them to give
yourself an edge. However, it is not just pure fighting, as the game implements turn
based mechanics in the form of movement and combat. This part would be similar to an
older RPG like the early Final Fantasy series or Chess. The game features weapon
powerups similar to Contra or Metal Slug; picking up the item will give you some kind of
gameplay bonus. It also gives the player a PVP-only choice, so you could liken it to the
arena portion of Castle Crashers. However, unlike the games mentioned before, we
decided to derive the main mechanics from a true classic: table-top RPGs. All
movement and combat mechanics will be controlled by dice; movement with a 1d4, and
combat with a 1d20.
The players must overcome several obstacles to win a game. To begin with,
none of the items can spawn exactly in the middle, where the door is, nor can they
spawn on the corners where the players rest. That means certain characters will be
farther than others from certain items, and will be at a small disadvantage from the start.
The greatest challenge, however, is always other players. It is extremely unlikely that a
player will be able to pick up the key and make it to the middle of the map before
someone else can move adjacent to them, so combat can always turn the game around.
Whoever has the key is the target of 3 other players, which are difficult odds to
overcome without proper strategy and a bit of luck. In a similar manner to poker, chance
is always a factor, but effective utilization of your character’s tools and good
understanding of the game mechanics greatly improves your success.
Players interact with the game through keyboard and mouse, choosing where to
move their characters and when to initiate combat. Other aspects of gameplay are
decided by the game engine, such as how far a character can move on a particular turn
and how well they do in combat. Because of this, the choices the players make are
extremely important, as there can be limited room for them to recover from mistakes.
There are multiple ways to advance through the game, some optional and some
dependent on other players. The main arc of a character’s progression would be picking
up the key, unlocking the door, and entering the door, thus finishing the game
victoriously. Along the way, the player can optionally pick up the sword and/or shield, as
well as participate in combat, potentially killing other characters and being killed himself.
The alternative arc would be having another player unlock the door, but entering the
door before they do. The same optional steps can occur in this arc. These two “plotlines”
comprise the two ways to win the game.
The two arcs also suggest strategies for doing so. If a player intends to pick up
the key and enter the door before anyone else, they must chase after the key or the
player who holds it. Along the way, they can collect advantageous items through
combat with other characters or by picking them up off the map. Otherwise, a player can
wait by the door for someone else to unlock it, and try to kill them before the key holder
can enter. Although this strategy requires less combat, and therefore fewer chances to
die and lose everything, it also puts a great amount of importance on the one instance
of combat that matters. A player who engages in a lot of successful combat will
undoubtedly have gathered many combat items, so initiating against them is risky to say
the least.
The map layout does not change, but the items are placed randomly throughout
the map, and players may not start out in the same corner every time. This introduces
great variety into how each game starts and ends.
Task
Create sprites,
objects, rooms in
GM
Description
Create the sprites
for sword, shield,
player, and
playroom in
GameMaker
Time Estimate
4.5 hours
Date Completed
Barebones by
5/6/13
Create Combat
Mechanic
Using GameMaker
systems, create
the framework for
a final combat
system
Using GameMaker
systems, create
the mechanics for
player and NPC
movement
Using GameMaker
values and tests,
create powerup
items
Use Ableton Live 8
and NI Massive to
create game score
and sound effects;
voice acting for
character sounds
Use Photoshop to
create better
artwork for items,
room, and player
Outsource
playtesting to
various members
of the hall; take
notes and record
feedback
Write the game
manual with
details on how to
control the game,
how to win the
game, and other
descriptions
8 hours
By 5/6/13
People Assigned
Yiming – Sword;
Key (sprites)
Peter – Shield;
Room (sprites);
Room
(environment)
Donovan – Player
(sprite); Objects
Peter, Donovan
3 hours
By 5/6/13
Yiming
6 hours
Sword & Shield by
5/13/13
Yiming – Sword
Peter – Shield
Donovan - Key
Create Movement
Mechanic
Create Items
Create Sound
Polish Art Assets
Playtest
Write Final
Documentation
8 hours
All else by 5/27/13
By 6/3/13
4.5 hours
By 6/3/13
Logan McGhee;
All Team Members
if needed
8 hours
By 5/26/13
Others
3 hours
By 6/3/13
All
Peter – Score and
effects
Donovan – Voice
acting