Temporal Diffusion

game design documentv1.4

by Heather M Decker

Interactive Design/Media App | ITGM-705-OL

Savannah College of Art and Design

Professor David Edwin Meyers

August 23, 2010

Table of Contents

Design Statement—1

General Description—1

Audience and Context—1

Motivation—1

Genre—1

Story—1

Game Mechanics—1Overview

Current Screen Layout

Jilted Door

Levels—3Level 1

Audio Assets—3

Art Style—4Concept Art

Appendix—5In-Game Instructions

Design StatementMy external goal is to develop a gameplay mechanic that could possibly be applied to a

multi-player Facebook game at some point in the future. Time as a game mechanic within

the puzzle genre seems full of potential and is well complimented by the spirit and style of

steampunk.

General DescriptionThe object is to exit the area, and the player has three phases to work with: past, present

and future. Players are given time-warped pieces found in the room, which they can play

and use only in specifi c phases (indicated on the pieces.) For instance, the player is given a

door piece they can only play in the past and only interact with in the future.

Audience and ContextThe target audience is the casual puzzle game crowd, most notably fans of the steampunk

genre. The context it is to be played in is (currently) single-player computer gaming ses-

sions.

MotivationMy own particular motivation is to explore the game mechanic of time in a puzzle setting,

and also reaquaint myself with programming concepts. Externally, players should feel

compelled by the story elements and appealing style of the game, but also intrigued by the

prospect of solving puzzles based on the relationship between objects in the fi eld of three

phases of time.

GenrePuzzle/platformer

StoryYou are a brilliant female inventor preparing to launch your amazing new time machine to

save the world from a fatal mistake that caused the eruption of a worldwide confl ict.

However, something went terribly wrong with your maiden voyage. As the smoke clears,

you realize that you’re neither here nor there. In fact, you seem to have become lodged

somewhere in an off-branch of the time stream, with only the smallest components of your

time device in your possession. Using your limited time-altering functionality and what

time-warped items you can fi nd around you, escape this strange place!

Game MechanicsOverviewThe protagonist possesses a limited fl ux alternator which causes the area around her to be

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pushed into a one of three phases: past, present, or future. However, due to the accident,

the device has limited capacity, which she will only be able to rebuild over time. The quan-

tum energy meter indicates how many phase adjustments may be made in the current

level (bars.)

Any items picked up are stored in the inventory by default. Items may be played in the

level according to their specifi c rules. For instance, certain items may only be played in the

past and interacted with in the future, door knobs may only be played on door handles,

certain keys pair to certain types of locks, etc. Item requirements may be viewed at any

time by hovering the item.

Current Screen Layout

Item Descriptions

Jilted DoorA door that’s been warped by quantum distortion.

• Only playable in Past mode

• Only interactive in Future mode

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Levels

Level 1Layout: single room, single fl oor, no exits

Starting Mode: Present

Pick-ups: Jilted Door in Present

Solution: Pick up Jilted Door. Toggle to Past. Place Jilted Door. Toggle to Future. Use

Jilted Door.

Story Snippet:

A torn fragment of your notebook fl ickers unstably on the fl oor, a composition your don’t

remember ever writing, but that mysteriously details your current situation.

“The time machine isn’t here with me… where ever here is. From what my log readings

indicate, some type of interference caused the generator to sputter, which in turn scram-

bled the parameters I had entered. I’m stranded somewhere outside of reality and existing

time, but everything is still somehow connected. This looks like the federation’s library. I

was trying to get to the capital…”

Audio AssetsSound Effects• http://www.a1freesoundeffects.com/

• http://www.audiomicro.com

MusicVernian Process - “Dance of Pales”

http://www.vernianprocess.com/

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Art StyleConcept Art

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AppendixIn-Game Instructions