K2 Design/Vision

Tiered Development

Version A: Core Gameplay

Simple Controls

Few Keys/Controls

Many uses

Straightforward Aim Gestures

Point At

Hover Aim Over

Encircle

shapes? Probably too complex

Slash

Analogue Speed

Mouse Wheel (Middle Mouse to Auto-Speed)

Left Trigger (LB to Auto Speed)

Movement

Drift with low friction when not thrusting

Thrust pulls toward current heading quickly

Arena Combat

Bad Guys Spawn in Waves

Bad Guys have combinations of your weapons

Each wave makes them more powerful

Weapon used to kill bad guys gives their re-incarnation that weapon

Play until overwhelmed

Combat

Gesture Based Attacks

Homing Missle Lockon

Missle Combo When You Kill Missle's Target

Missle Has No Target

Missle finds new targets

Missle splits its energy and goes after new targets

Missle Combo when you shoot your own missle (increases damage)

Shoot enemy missles to bounce them back

Missles bounce back faster

Slash

Slash Counter

Conventional Attacks

Carging Cannon

Rapid Fire

Finesse System

Shot Difficulty

Kill Combos

Record Stats

Focussed

Everything Sprouts off core combat.

Must be intrinsically enjoyable before making higher level gameplay

Gameplay Is 3D

I.e. Tie Fighter meets Tron

Arena layout is 2D

Helps navigation/sense of direction

Enemies spawn on 2D plane.

Noticeable "up/down" poles, and horizon line

Contours re-enforce "layered 2d" idea

Version B: Advanced Core Gameplay

Still Just "Arena Combat"

Upgrades

Start With Close To Nothing

Enemies Drop Upgrades

Movement

Offense

Defense

Version C: Simple Trading

Simple Resources

Just One Resource

Cargo Hold now "upgradable"

Simple Trade Out Posts

Buy

Shoot Gate Nodes to select amount to buy

Fly through gates to Buy

Hover Aim over Node for more info

Distance to Best Buyer

Distance to Closest Buyer

Sell

Shoot Gate Nodes to select inventory to sell

Hover Aim over Node for more info

Distance to Next Best Buyer

Distance to Next Closest Buyer

Fly Through to Sell

Simple Upgrade Parlours

Shoot nodes to Select Upgrades

Fly Through Gates to "spend" and upgrade

Hover Over to Preview Craft Changes

All Upgrades have minor drawbacks

Weaponry Takes up Cargo Capacity

Cargo Capacity Slows the Ship

Engines Reduce Shielding

Shielding Diverts Weapon Energy

Simple Enemy Spawning

Player Centric

More Resources = More Enemies

In a way, you choose your own difficulty

Possible to "Scare" enemies with a strong enough show of Finess/Raw Fire Power

Possible to "flee" with jump gates

Jump Gates

Like "Speed Boosts"

Combo-able

Maintain Momentum

Hard to combo longer strings

Not a locked "mode"

Quick "Careers"

Not a time sync to get to the top

Not enough depth to ask people to play forever

Exploration of upgrades is focus. Trading is just a way to frame missions

Version D: World Persistance

Generate As you explore

Based on player style?

Good traders find it easier to trade

Good pirates find it easier to pirate

Work AGAINST player style (force bipolar play style)

Harder for good traders to trade

Harder for pirates to pirate

Easier for traders to pirate

Easier for pirates to trade

More Complex Enemies/Ecology

Traders

Killed by pirates.

Pirates

Killed by Police

Police

Less traders = more police

Factories

Repopulate

Require Resources?

Alliances

Temporary Faction System

Police Are Friends of Traders and Police

Pirates are Enemies of Everyone

Heavily context based

Encircle a Neutral = Target for Trading

Encircle an enemy = Target for Missle Lock

Shoot neutral to turn into enemy

Cut Engines to "Surrender"

If you piss off an enemy enough, this may not work

Farming/Mining

Advanced Resources

Stolen/Illegal

Attract Police

Perishable

Lose value over time

Luxury

Attract Pirates

Sell cheap

Require time investment/minigame

Self Harmonizing Economy

Longer "Careers"

Since there's more to do

Space to explore

Still not TOO long. Day Per Career

Universe Map

Universe is FLAT DISC

Easier to navigate/represent

Zoom out rapidly, face "Universe down" for overview

Place Waypoints with gesture

Modal :(

Version E: Complex Social Interaction

Each ship is an Agent

Motivated by the biggest reward at the time

Trading

Piracy

Vigelanteism

Same range of expression as player

Could therefore eventually become MMO?

No. Focus on social mechanics as part of game, rather than as a social layer

Social Network

Relationships Between All Agents

Positive Interactions Build Trust

Mission Giving

Mission Recieving

Mission Completion

Trust Results In Ambient Help

Friends Group

Friends Attack Attackers

Attacking Decreases Trust

Can cut engines to "surrender" If this was a mistake

Low Trust = Attack on Sight

Attacking Cannot Lower Trust Further

Fleeing increases trust (so you can win back enemies to be friends)

Greed can overcome trust

The resource-rich are more likely to be attacked

King Pins may be ousted by their friends

King Pin A order mission against King Pin B - hires friend of Kingpin A to do it

Can get close without being attacked

Conflicting agendas between high-powered friends

Ability to create missions for others

Similar in-world radial menu to Trading outposts

Trading

Specific Goods

Specific Outposts

Piracy

Desire specific goods

Vigelanteism

Globally untrusted agents are likely targets

Desire Specific Targets to be assassinated

Cost of mission depends on

Supplicant's Trust of Target

Supplicant's Trust of You

Your Standing with others in general

KingPins find orders cheaper because people want to impress all his friends

Escort

Keep target alive until reaching destination

Forever/until dismissed (waged bodyguard)

NOT possible to tell what missions agents are on (so assassination missions are hidden), unless you set them

Factions form emergently

No faction designations

You only need to know Friend from Foe from Neutral

Relationships "bleed"

Friends of friends trust you a bit more when you improve standing with friends

Friends of enemies dislike you a bit more if you hurt their friends, or help their enemies

Positive/Negative Effect decreases over social dissonance

The stronger the ties between friends, the stronger the bleed-down effect

Thus, help someone, and you improve your standing with their friends.

Pleasing people with the most, best relationships improves your standing with the most people at once

People with this kind of power can therefore afford to reward you with less money for missions

Widespread improved social ties is your payment

Start with Small Social network

Start as a "Founding Father"

5 Other "Founders"

Visit factories to create "new agents" - children

New Agents are automatically friends

Everyone is recorded as persistant

Start a new game, and you'll be one of the children

As population becomes bigger, resources become split more and more.

Increasingly hard to create more children without killing others

Population takes care of itself

Balance for manageable numbers so that player isn't overwhelmed

Luckily, player sees generations form, so we can slowly improve who is known

Even if one faction "takes over", there will still be power struggles within the ranks

Endless, self-feeding drama, built off inate greed for power

Version F - Z: Iterative Improvements of All Layers

Each Element is improved

Planet Gameplay (not just space trading stations)

Presentation Parse

Graphics

Sound

Code Robustness

General Gameplay Debugging/Tweaking

World/Theme

Far flung future

Technology closer to magic

Abstract, information-laden representation of real world - universe seen through an AR filter

Space Travel not only possible, but intrinsic to hyper evolved human beings

Transport

Virtually unrecognizable future - no "space ferrarris"

Think Space Bubbles from "The Fountain", rather than Star Wars

Perfect union of form and function

Intent driven design

Telepathic, speed of thought controls

Humans

Immortal

Not Invincible

Drama occuring in social network will eventually make any human living long enough a target

Skill determines length of life

Hive mind augmented

Connected to machines, and other minds, but still have comparmentalized individuality

Still need to search for answers - don't simply "know" everything

Knowledge at the speed of google

Basically, big excuse to say "all the information you need is readily available to you"

Still room for exploration at the edges of uncharted space

Abstract/Expressionist

Flat Shading

Detail Lines (LODed)

Minimalistic

Utalitarian/Functional Visual/Audio description

Little Text: Explain things through behaviour/exposition, not through glyphs, or wrote explanations.

Feel

Organic

One Control System

No modal things - trading screen etc.

All expression comes off core controls

Example: flight paths can be signals to AI - Gestures.

Aggression/Friendliness depends on how you "physically" treat people

Arcade

Immediate

Deep

Core Combat Must be interesting BEFORE making higher level mechanics

Replay-centric

Persistant World

Social Networks maintained between plays

Sharing

Your world is your own

Universe Map

Social Node Graph

Friends

Enemies

Groupings

Strong trust between agents pulls them closer

Low trust keeps agents distant

Use physics strings, where trust is spring strength to organically create groupings?

Undiscovered

Tutorials

Basic at first

Prompts

Video Tuts Online?

Exploratory later on

Learn from example

Learn through trial and error

Connected to chat room? Ask other players?

Online Wiki - Knowledge Base

Don't bother with in-game wiki. What's the point in inventing your own internet?

Immersion? Fuck off.

Progression

Start

Miner

Honest day's work for an honest day's pay

Pirate

You've nothing but a laser Blaster to earn your keep

Trader

Turn rags into riches

Manager

Start to have power and influence

Use this to order people around cheaply

Make friends.

Start paying for missions on your behalf

Kingpin

Manager vs. Manager

Manipulate social structure for domination

Death

Reincarnation

Start over, this time as a newbie within the social structure you've previously buit up