Team Profound Misunderstanding

1. Team Profound Misunderstanding

2. Team Profound Misunderstanding The Team • Luke • Matt • Sean • Omari • Mohammed • Alan 1

3. Team Profound Misunderstanding Introducing Alkaid • Our group was tasked with producing a concept document for a game. • After considerable discussion and much deliberation the end result was Alkaid, a hybrid adventure platformer for the Nintendo DS. 2

4. Team Profound Misunderstanding Introducing Alkaid What is Alkaid? • Alkaid is a unique and exciting platform adventure hybrid unlike any other. • The city of Alkaid is an expansive industrial metropolis brought to life on the Nintendo DS/DSi. As a cog in a much larger machine, the player is offered a plethora of opportunities in how they want to progress. 3

5. Team Profound Misunderstanding Introducing Alkaid What is Alkaid? • Brimming with a diverse populace, the player is able to talk and interact with the citizens of the city, forging their own path toward one of several possible game endings. • Will you join with the “Concerned Citizens of Alkaid” in overthrowing the tyrannical oppressors, or prioritise your own swift egress from the city. • With Alkaid’s branching plotlines the choice is yours… 4

6. Team Profound Misunderstanding USPs and Special Features • Talk to your friends, talk to your enemies! Enemies can be taunted, bullied and tricked into doing the player’s bidding. • The player can freely expand and develop their repertoire of “talk topics” as they progress through the game, gaining the ability to mimic others and even imitate monsters. • A branching narrative provides extensive replayability with certain bosses and areas unique to each individual story arc. 5

7. Team Profound Misunderstanding USPs and Special Features • A time system in sync with the DS. Different game options appear depending on the time of day. • A living, breathing industrial city uniquely realised on the DS’s dual screens. 6

8. Team Profound Misunderstanding USPs and Special Features E.R.I.X (Encounter Resolution Interactive Axis) • Utilising the innovative E.R.I.X system, the player is able to interact with the inhabitants of Alkaid. • Through ERIX, the player can interact with both enemies and allies, bargaining, bribing and tricking them into doing his bidding. • By pressing and holding the stylus over a character a “branched menu axis” will appear showing the possible communication options available to the player. • While the E.R.I.X axis is displayed, all other gameplay is paused until the player removes the stylus from the touchpad. 7

9. Team Profound Misunderstanding USPs and Special Features R.E.M.S (Represent Enemy Moods/States) • R.E.M.S is a system for managing and displaying the moods and states of the inhabitants of Alkaid. • Moods and states affect all creatures within the game world and are changed daily based on the Nintendo DS’s internal clock. • An enemy’s “mood” is shown subtly – the player will need to watch their actions and listen to the sounds they make to gauge their “mood.” • An enemy’s “state” will be displayed via an emoticon-like system, which is displayed in a thought bubble over their head. • Depending on an enemy’s mood and state, the player will be able to interact with them differently. 8

10. Team Profound Misunderstanding USPs and Special Features A.C.D.N.S (Adaptive Challenge Day/Night System) • A.C.D.N.S is a system that links time in the real world with time in Alkaid. • The system uses the Nintendo DS internal clock to randomise certain elements of levels, vary the number of enemies and traps encountered and provide the player with numerous routes to reach their end goal. • In addition to variance the system also aims to enhance the sense of immersion for the player,helping create the illusion of a living, breathing city. 9

11. Team Profound Misunderstanding Game Controls and Modes Game Controls 10

12. Team Profound Misunderstanding Game Controls and Modes Game Modes Single Player Story Mode • The player begins a new journey through Alkaid. • The player is free to choose whatever path they wish to reach one of several diverse game endings. Free Mode • The player gains access to this mode after completing the game once, achieving any ending. • In this mode the player can freely explore the city, with no set objective. It is impossible to complete the game in this mode. 11

13. Team Profound Misunderstanding Game Controls and Modes Game Modes Character compendium • The player gains access to this mode after completing the game once, achieving any ending. • This keeps track of all NPCs the player has interacted with and contains their information. • Collecting all character’s info can be a reason to replay the game. Cut scene / Ending Recap • The player gains access to this mode after completing the game once, achieving any ending. • The player is able to watch cut scenes and endings that they have unlocked in the main game. 12

14. Team Profound Misunderstanding Characters • Name: Hiro • Age: 17 • Height: 5”4 • Weapons: None • Special skills: “Silver Tongue” • A resident of Alkaid. Following the death of his mentor, Thax, he becomes swept up in the tumultuous events gripping Alkaid and seeks to escape the city. 19

15. Team Profound Misunderstanding Characters • Name: Tiger-Lily • Age: Unknown • Height: 6”1 • Weapons: Sceptre of Shadows • Special skills: Mental manipulation • A ruthless member of the Alkaid Preservation Society. She reigns over the city by controlling a number of key resources, using them to further her own twisted ambitions. 20

16. Team Profound Misunderstanding Characters • Name: Thax • Age: Unknown • Height: 4”9 • Weapons: None • Special skills: None • Before his death, Thax was a the wise leader of the Concerned Citizens of Alkaid. 21

17. Team Profound Misunderstanding Characters • Name: Baron Talon • Age: 49 • Height: 7”7 • Weapons: Blunderbuss • Special skills: Advanced Flight Skills • A high ranking Strawk general, he is a cunning adversary and a staunch supporter of Tiger-Lily. His aerial combat skills are unmatched. 22

18. Team Profound Misunderstanding Themes and Setting Key Themes (Matt) • Oppression – A key theme within the game is the oppression of the citizens of Alkaid. • Sense of struggle – Their struggle for a better life is the proponent of the story. • Hardship – Many citizens came to Alkaid under the pretence that life in the city was a glimpse of the future, but instead have only found hardships. • Hope – Any sense of hope within the city has been decimated with the fall of the CCA. 13

19. Team Profound Misunderstanding Themes and Setting Setting • Outside the City • The Badlands - A cruel and harsh land, devoid of life. It is why nobody ever leaves the city. • Level 1 – The lowest elevation • The Slums – The residential area for the vast majority of people, it is vastly over populated. 14

20. Team Profound Misunderstanding Themes and Setting Setting • Level 2 – Mid level elevation • The Bazaar – The city’s trade district. Working class citizens deemed unfit to serve in the Industrial District make their living here. • The Industrial District – The city’s industrial district, it supplies the city various resources. A thick cloud of smog lingers throughout this district. • The Aqueduct – The city’s source of water, a station that maintains the aqueduct lies deep underwater. 15

21. Team Profound Misunderstanding Themes and Setting Setting • Level 3 – The Overlook & Tower • The Overlook – The residential area for the middle class citizens. It is a well-maintained, well-ordered district. • The Tower– The residential area for the upper class citizens and the headquarters for the city’s government. At the very heart of the core, a large tower rises far into the sky. 16

22. Team Profound Misunderstanding Themes and Setting Story • Alkaid, a mutant filled dystopia situated in the Badlands. In a desolate world, this city stands as the final sanctuary for all walks of life. • The ruthless Tiger-Lily has designs on the city, now controlling key resources from the Core Tower. • The Concerned Citizens of Alkaid seek to restore the harmonious balance that once existed within the city. 17

23. Team Profound Misunderstanding Themes and Setting Story • The recent death of Thax has crippled the organisation, leaving its remaining members in turmoil. • One such member, Hiro, is now on the run from the authorities. • Now a fugitive, Hiro must decide whether to stand and fight or run for his life. 18

24. Team Profound Misunderstanding 60sec Gameplay • 0-10 sec • Following a brief scripted cutscene the player assumes control of Hiro, having just evaded his pursuers. The player follows a linear path which introduces basic platforming controls. • 11- 25 sec • Moving onto the next screen, a scripted event occurs, and control is taken away from the player. A Crocdillia on a higher elevation confidently patrols the upper platform. • The bird-like sound of a Strawk plays and a Strawk enemy appears on screen. An argument breaks out between the two and the Crocdillia runs away. Control returns to the player. • The player learns the ability to mimic the sound of a Strawk, and is shown a brief tutorial screen, detailing the E.R.I.X axis system. 23

25. Team Profound Misunderstanding 60sec Gameplay • 26- 30 sec • Next the player encounters the same Crocdillia, who is now impeding his path. The Crocdillia’s mood is now “worried” and the enemy nervously glances from side to side to convey this to the player. • Taking advantage of this, the player uses the DS stylus and presses the tip against the Crocdillia. Gameplay pauses and the E.R.I.X axis appears under the stylus’s point of contact. • 31- 35 sec • After selecting the “Mimic” menu branch, which expands into a new mini-axis, the player moves the stylus over the “Strawk” option and removes the stylus from the screen. • Hiro will now imitates a Strawk, placing the enemy Crocdillia into a “frightened state”, causing it to flee in response. The player is now able proceed to the next screen. 24

26. Team Profound Misunderstanding 60sec Gameplay • 36- 45 sec • Upon entering the next screen a huge door slams shut behind the player, preventing his retreat. A siren wails and the immediate area is illuminated by a reddish glow as the alarm sounds. • A muscular Crocdillis enemy enters the screen from the right hand side, noticing the player, he laughs and begins powering up his attack. A huge burst of steam is released from the enemy’s powered up arm as he charges toward the player. • The player runs toward this enemy, executing a roll just as the Crocdillis comes within range. • The enemy’s “clothesline” style attack misses and he continues to charge forward, knocking himself out on the door to the left of the screen. The player continues moving right, onto the next screen. 25

27. Team Profound Misunderstanding 60sec Gameplay • 46- 55 sec • A loud sound of clanging iron is played as enemies break down the door from the previous screen. • The player continues to run to the right, eventually he is forced to jump into the flowing stream of water. The player is quickly swept downstream by a forceful current. 56- 50 sec • The player is dumped unceremoniously in a run-down section of the slums, the gameplay “style” switches to hub exploration. • Many citizens bustle around him, and small popup boxes display conversation snippets as the player walks around. After a few seconds a scripted cut scene takes over and the player eludes his pursuers by slipping into the crowd. 26

28. Team Profound Misunderstanding Question time! 27