I want to design a game. This post is to help me gather thoughts in this complex process. I hope that writing about it will help me be more conscious with those decisions.

Designing a game from a game jam prototype

I want to create a bigger game of one of my game jam prototypes.

My expectations after finishing the game

  • to be proud of this game,
  • this game be so much fun that I would play it myself,
  • game to be a success, so that more people would enjoy it other than me.

Chosen prototype

The chosen prototype is: Viago The Vampire. This is a prototype I created on Nordic Game Jam 2016. This game didn’t win any awards, but I feel warmth and potential hiding in the prototype. This document will help me figure out which way to go in the design process. Also, a friend of mine, Lukasz Biel told me that of all my prototypes, he likes this one most.

Here’s a gif of how it works right now:

Your task is to find clues (this is an abstract thing, you don’t even know what a clue would be). But on the other hand you have to pay your rent every 7 days and refill your blood reserves when blood will run dry. You can be robbed during hunt and you are finding coins.

As you can see the game is mostly clicking on menus.

What I like most in this prototype

  • the Sunless Sea / Fallen london games feel,
  • mobile platform, portrait aspect ratio feels natural here,
  • this strange world of this vampire where he could be robbed during a hunt.

Game direction:

I want:

  • to maintain this original atmospheric feel
  • mobile platform
  • play time at least 2+ hours with some replayability, but not be a time sink
  • story driven

Best gaming experiences on Android to draw inspiration from

  • Hearthstone (played more than 20h on mobile and still playing)

    feels like a proper big pc game, but can be fairly easily played on a mobile

  • Polytopia (played more than 60h, would still play but it feels like bottomless pit, I wasn’t making enough progress to keep playing this game over and over again)

    a proper 4X game built for mobile, one of a kind, precursor in 4X on mobile

  • Archero (played ir more than 40h, gameplay started to get boring)

    seamless controls, randomization, getting more skilled

  • Out There (played it around 10h, was too difficult and too linear, too random)

    excellent feel of being alone in cosmos, nice gathering elements and managing those in the ship

  • Coding planets, Coding planets 2 (played maybe 10h in total, finished both games)

    good mental excercise

  • Time of Exploration (played 2h)

    great incremental and simple games

  • Reigns (played 4h)

    great system of modular plot elements

Out of all those games above I think Out There is the one I can borrow.

  • The inventory management system of supplies and technologies,
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  • Unique elements fdsafa

  • Many technologies,
    Crafting new things using elements and knowledge of technlogies,
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  • The movement between sectors,
    Information about the cost of and action before you decide on it,
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  • Many encounters,
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  • Planet view,
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  • Solar systemv view,
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  • What I don’t like
    • Too random
    • Encounters are too passive
    • Ship cargo is claustrophobicaly small