Outbreak

A twin stick co op shooter

Game Design Doc Version 2.0

Author of Document: Daniel Perzan - Associate Producer, Designer

Team: James Justin -Technical Director Maureen Perzan - Project Lead, Programmer Jordan Barrett - Technical Lead, Programmer Jill Parr - Design Lead, Designer Jeff Rosenberg - Art Lead, Programmer Zach Snader - Audio Lead, UI Design Nick Ferri - Programmer, Audio Alex St. John - Programmer Jason Jorgenson - Programmer Rod Lekey - Programmer Cody Robinson - Programmer Dustin Rodda - Programmer Darryl Sterne - Programmer Finnen Cerises - Designer Jon Jansma - Designer Dan Rolling - Designer Eric Sponaugle - Designer Ken Welch - Designer Ben Harris - Modeler Scott Robbins - Modeler Fatima Mekkaoui - Texture Artist Bianca Gelli - Animator

Table of Contents

Table of Contents Design History Section I - Game Overview Game Concept Feature Set Genre Target Audience Visual Style Project Scope Section II - Gameplay and Mechanics Gameplay Controls Camera Movement Scoring Player Health Player Death Objectives Mechanics Power Ups (More To Be Determined) Guns Time-based Power Ups Wish List: for Negative Power Ups (TBD) Interacting in the Environment Ally AI Interacting in the Environment Main Menu Screen Options Screen Lobby Screen Level Selection Screen Heads Up Display Screen Game Options Saving Cheats and Easter Eggs (Wishlist) Section III - Story, Setting, and Character Story and Narrative Character Backstory Gloria Harris Miguel Torres Franklin Jones Mi Sun Park Cutscenes (TBD) Section IV - Levels and Scripted Events Suburban - J. Parr Park - J. Jansma Mall - D. Perzan

Subway - F. Cerises Downtown - D. Rolling Docks - E. Sponaugle Bridge - K. Welch Section V - Enemies Zombies Zombie Variants: Aliens Alien Variants: Section VI - Game Systems Ally AI Weapon Damage Character Options: Enemy Options: Spawning Capture Points Section VII - Management Milestone Deliverable Schedule Risk Analysis Team Section VIII - WISH LIST

Design History
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2/10/2013 - AP: The initial creation of this document. 2/11/2013 - AP: Worked further on the doc. 2/12/2013 - AP: Began to fill out character bios. 2/14/2013 - AP: Finished character bios. 2/21/2013 - Project Lead: Review and format. 2/22/2013 - Project Lead: Added Weapon information and Level specifics. 2/23/2013 - AP: Added clarification to control system, added items to wishlist, fleshed out alien and alien variants.

Section I - Game Overview

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Game Concept
GAM460 is a class that challenges students to complete a game in a single semester, with the added challenge of making a game for a client that wants to pursue an overplayed concept, such as a zombie outbreak or an alien invasion. Outbreak is a twin stick networked multiplayer shooter that supports up to four players built in Unity3D which showcases humans surviving through an alien invasion twenty years after a zombie outbreak. Players progress through levels with various set piece moments by capturing control points. Levels may be chosen but can only be revisited in the level select menu. If a level is revisited its reset.

Feature Set
Networked four player co op, unique zombie swarm behavior, power up system, celshaded visuals, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) controlled allies.

Genre
Cooperative Action/Twin Stick Shooter

Target Audience

Fans of pick up and play games would enjoy selecting a level for five to ten minutes of gameplay.

Visual Style
Cel-shaded

Project Scope
Number of locations:One primary location (city) broken out in different levels Number of levels: 5 to 7 Number of weapons: 5

Section II - Gameplay and Mechanics

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Gameplay
Players will have control of their avatars movement and the direction in which they are firing. There will be two variants of control, Windows based controllers and keyboard/mouse. The only button utilized in the Windows based controller is the reload button. When reloading, the player will not lose the ammunition (ammo) that is in the clip. The keyboard/mouse control will have this functionality but also a fire button (left mouse click) to account for the lack of joysticks. The fire button fires when held, the rate of whichever weapon the player has does not increase if the player rapidly hits the fire button.

Controls
Windows based Controller: Left Thumbstick: Player movement Right Thumbstick: Fire in direction Left Bumper/trigger: Reload gun Keyboard/Mouse: WASD: Player movement Mouse Movement: Aim in direction Left mouse click: Press and hold to fire. R: Reload

Camera Movement
Angled overhead camera that tracks the player. The camera will compensate for a greater view of the terrain in the direction of the avatar movement. If there is an object in which the height would exceed the camera, the top of that object will be displayed in with a black top. If there are internal areas that are entered by the player, the top of that object will become opaque. The camera keeps the player in the center of the frame by default. If the player is moving and firing in the same direction the camera will pan towards that direction. This allows for the player, greater visibility in the direction they are heading. If the player is firing in one direction but moving in another, the camera keeps the player in the center of the frame.

Scoring
Players gain points by killing enemies and capturing control points. Points will be calculated based on who fired the killing blow on an enemy. If a player is responsible for dealing over 50 percent damage they will be rewarded half of the point value of that enemy. These added points act as a bonus, and are not removed from the player that killed the enemy. There is no bonus for killing enemies while standing on capture points. However a point value is awarded to everyone standing in the capture point when its taken. Zombies: 2 Special zombies: 6 Special zombies within a swarm: 12 Alien Warrior: 10 Alien Turret: 12 Alien Assault: 15 Capture Point: 50 Enemy Health: Zombie: 5 health Special Zombie: 10 health Alien Warrior: 15 health Alien Turret: 30 health Alien Assault: 20 health Enemy Damage:

There are currently two ways enemies can do damage to the player, melee attacks (zombies utilize) and projectile based attacks (that aliens utilize) . zombies (Includes specials): 5 Alien Warrior: 10 Alien Turret: 5 Alien Assault shotgun: 20 Alien Assault rifle: 10

Health
Players start each level with 100 health points.

Player Death
When a characters life drops to 0 they die. There is no way to revive during a match. However, all players will respawn at the start of a new level with 100 health.

Objectives
Players must capture control points in order to progress through the level. These points all behave similarly but may have slight differences in order to add variety to gameplay. Once the final point is captured, the player no longer controls the character and the level will conclude by loading the level selection screen.

Mechanics
The game is based around traditional twin stick shooter controls. With projectiles that the players fire comparable to the size to the smallest enemy unit. Projectiles must move slow enough that they are capable of being avoided. While enemies will not actively avoid shots, they will constantly be mobile. With these two factors in place, players will always have to concentrate and account for where their shots are landing. Enemies will not be capable of interrupting or canceling out of attacks when they are fired upon.

Power Ups (More To Be Determined)

Players can pick up power ups while playing through the game. Power ups are presented in two basic ways, gun power ups and instant power ups. When a player

walks over a gun power up they are automatically equipped with that gun. The player will have that gun equipped until they run out of ammo for it or walk over another gun power up (whichever happens first). If a player walks over a gun they already have equipped, they will gain the ammo that the gun originally spawns with.

Guns Semi auto pistol (Default gun, unlimited ammo, 16 bullets per clip before reload) Revolver (Finite ammo, instant kill with one shot, 6 shots before reload, total of 12 shots per pick up) Full auto rifle (Finite ammo, fires triple the rate of the default gun, 32 bullets per clip) Shotgun (Finite ammo, widespread shot, 8 shots before reload, total of 16 shots per pick up) Wish List for Guns: Alien Grenade Launcher (Finite ammo, fires grenade that leaves acid pool in a small diameter, 4 shots before reload) Rocket Launcher (Finite ammo, 2 shots before reload) Time-based Power Ups Chainsaw: Makes player character invincible from damage, instant kill capability Instant Use Power Ups Health: Heals player 50 health points Nuke: Kill all enemies in a set diameter

Wish List: for Negative Power Ups (TBD)

Interacting in the Environment

Players will automatically pick up power ups when they collide with them. Interactable objects in the game world will have an outline near them. This indicates where player should stand in order to activate it.

Ally AI Interacting in the Environment

AI allies can pick up power ups. But only if all player characters have weapons besides the default pistol. If that parameter is met, a 5 second counter will appear. Once the counter expires the AI will pick up the weapon. If the AI walks over the power up before the counter is complete, the power up will not be picked up.

Main Menu Screen (Image will be inserted here)

Options Screen
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Lobby Screen
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Level Selection Screen

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Heads Up Display Screen

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Game Options
The game will have a single player mode which will spawn three ally AI, or through multiplayer mode, which will spawn any ally AI needed to have a four player team. The player can choose the screen resolution, the master volume, and difficulty of Easy, Normal, or Hard. The player can also pause, however in multiplayer a vote can be cast to remove that player to be replaced with an ally AI. Difficulty The game will offer three difficulty modes; Easy, Normal and Hard. The only difference between the modes are the amount of health that the enemies have and the damage the players take. Difficulty is selected by the host of the game. Easy Mode: Doubles the damage that each player does. Halving the damage that they take from enemies. Halves the score points for each enemy/capture point. Normal Mode: Default mode, all stats that are written in the doc are based around it. Hard Mode: Halves the damage that each player does. Doubling the damage that players take. Doubles the score points for each enemy/capture point.

Saving

The game will save whenever the player completes a level. Once a player restarts the game they will be able to select a new level. Players will not be able to save the game during the level. Players can join any online match.

Cheats and Easter Eggs (Wishlist)

Section III - Story, Setting, and Character

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Story and Narrative

Humanity was infected by a zombie outbreak by an unseen alien force in current day. Half of humanity was instantly infected causing them to transform into zombies. The infection hit all parts of the world evenly, which resulted in humanitys infrastructure to collapse in under a month. Twenty years pass, marking the return of the aliens. Instead of remaining unseen, they land and begin procedures to mine the earth of all of its minerals. The player will not have this story revealed directly, as this would cause a narrative dump that will not appeal to the target audience. Instead the story will be portrayed through the games atmosphere and art direction. Due to the quick descent from society there isnt major signs of militaristic warfare throughout the levels. The damage done to the environment will be caused by overgrowth in vegetation from lack of upkeep, and remnants of small groups making their way through environmental obstacles.

Character Backstory
The group of characters met shortly after a fire burned away Gloria Harris farm. The fire ended up killing many survivors and attracted numerous zombies to swarm towards that area. The four meet while fighting a few swarms and decide to stick together. As they move away from the fires, they find a dead carrier pigeon. The bird had a report of an incoming alien army. The four decide they must fight the aliens head on.

Gloria Harris Sex: F Race: Caucasian Age: 65 Height: 56 Build: Average

 General Skills: Exceptional Cook Key Personal Events (Before the Collapse): A southern belle who spent her childhood competing in the beauty pageant circuit. She married young to an elderly dairy farmer. As her looks faded so did her husbands heart, leaving her to tend to the farm on her own. Key Personal Events (Post Collapse): Glorias farm was a safe haven for nearly a decade. However as the population grew, so did the inner turmoil and politics. Eventually she was voted out of power, and left sharing a barn with the livestock. The farm was eventually overrun by zombies, ending with the barn catching flame. Gloria still questions herself as to whether or not she caused the fire. Description: Still takes time to apply makeshift makeup. She doesnt slather it on though. She also takes time to tailor her clothes, leaving her the cleanest looking out of the four. Quirks: Cocky

Miguel Torres Sex: M Race: Mexican Age: 35 Height: 59 Build: Heavy-Set General Skills: Knowledge of Basic Mechanics Key Personal Events (Before the Collapse): As a young teen, Miguel was a day laborer who followed a traveling carnival. While he never made much money, most of his basic needs were filled. He fell in love with a young mechanic Jak and the two began an affair that would be illegal in most states. Key Personal Events (Post Collapse): Miguel and Jak joined a militaristic group right after the collapse, but it quickly became clear that the group was anti-gay, which caused them to go hid their relationship. It was rare that the two were able to be intimate with one another, so whenever the opportunity came, they took it. Their group eventually took up guarding a small farm. The two took advantage of this and often stole away in one of the barns. During one of these instances they knocked over a candle which caused the barn to burn to ash. When the group found the two, Miguel blamed Jak for the fire which led to Jaks execution. Description: Militaristic cloths (though not a uniform) that are tattered because of zombies attacks.

 Quirks: Obnoxious

Franklin Jones Sex: M Race: African American Age: 62 Height: 63 Build: Slender General Skills: Very articulate and multilingual (English, French) Key Personal Events (Before the Collapse): As a child Franklin was fat very fat. His weight led him to fall victim to Type II Diabetes. This was a great shame to his family, and often a point of ridicule towards young Franklin. This led him to spend most of his time studying the human body, and eventually led him to cure his Diabetes. He wrote a self-help book entitled Lose Yourself with Dr. Franklin. Key Personal Events (Post Collapse): Franklin was in the middle of a book tour when the outbreak hit. Luckily the mall he was in ended up being the perfect safe haven. Through the years many other survivors gained access to the mall, leading the mall to be overrun. Franklin eventually decided to leave, hoping to find a small group to stay with. Description: Wears a formal tie along with survivor gear. Quirks: Shy

Mi Sun Park Sex: F Race: Korean Age: 19 Height: 52 Build: Tiny General Skills: Most adept at using weapons, fantastic hunter Key Personal Events (Before the Collapse): Not valid Key Personal Events (Post Collapse): This is her world, she never knew another. Humanity was always broken, and anyone could be killed by one foolish mistake. She spent most of her childhood disguised as a young boy. Not remembering who gave her the advice, but knowing that they are probably dead. Description: Clothes are extremely bright, as most of her outfits are child sized.

 Quirks: Existential

Cutscenes (TBD)

Section IV - Levels and Scripted Events

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Suburban - J. Parr
Scripted Events: #1: Approaching the area of the second capture point, the players will enter the section of the map which is the construction site/ruins of an old apartment complex. When the players move closer to the site, a section and/or support wall of the complex will fall and crumble. (Camera shakes and vibrations for effect? If possible.) #2: When the players enter the area of the map with the old mansion and the 3rd capture point, the characters, in the seemingly very quiet and abandoned property, will be alerted by the mass moaning of the oncoming zombie swarm. This zombie swarm will erupt from the mansions doors and come after the players while they are attempting to secure the capture point. NOTE: Since the zombies come out of the mansion, this means the building will be blocked off for player entrance. #3: The players will witness their first signs of the Alien invasion. After securing the last capture point, and starting to make their way to the end of the level/transitioning point into the second level, either a small sight of an alien ship crash will be present, or the sight of an alien/aliens will provide more cause for the characters to want to advance into the next level. Level Path: The level path will go in a counter clockwise flow. Start: House in the end of a cul-de-sac Follow street through the neighborhood (Maybe a couple houses could be enterable if possible, some backyards could be as well. Pick ups or weapons could be hidden here, as well as scattered enemy encounters in this section). The streets will guide the players to the first capture point; in the wooded area. Capture point A

 Continue through the woods, to the other side, back onto the streets (Note: Section of street from beginning of dirt trail into the woods, to the police station will be blocked off from players, to guide them to Capture point A.) Streets will then lead to the police station. Powerups will be provided inside. If players continue to the school (this section is optional) there could be a possibility for a special weapon, power ups, or some melee weapons. Story elements will be provided here, mainly hints pointing towards the alien invasion. (Explanations of how the zombie outbreak virus started too?) The Road to capture point B is in sight. This is the apartment complex ruins are, as well as scripted event #2. Capture point B Players follow the south road, and encounter an impassable obstruction Branching off to the west will be a dirt path to the mansion/Capture point C Once enemy swarms are defeated, the ending of the level and transitioning to the next level will be in the SouthWest corner of the map Scripted Event #3

Park - J. Jansma
Scripted Events: #1:Capture Point Ferris Wheel will trigger an increased flow of aggressive zombies near the capture point portion of the level. Music will also trigger to denote an event. #2: Capture Point Spinning Tea Cup Ride will trigger an increased flow of aggressive zombies near the capture point portion of the level. #3: Capture Point Roller Coaster will trigger a significant amount of hovering aliens to spawn along the track. Level Path: The level path will X. Start: Scripted Event? Capture point A Scripted Event? Capture point B Scripted Event? Capture point C

Mall - D. Perzan
Scripted Events: #1: #2: #3: Level Path: The level path will X. Start: Scripted Event? Capture point A Scripted Event? Capture point B Scripted Event? Capture point C

Subway - F. Cerises
Scripted Events: #1: Horde of enemies that originate from the beginning of the level and swarm the
tunnel. #2: The player hears a train screech down the tracks behind a large pile of rubble. There is a crash and dust blasts out from the gaps. #3: While capturing the last point the players activate a forklift to remove an obstacle.

Level Path: The level path will X. Start: Scripted Event? Capture point A Scripted Event? Capture point B Scripted Event? Capture point C

Downtown - D. Rolling

Scripted Events: #1: #2: #3: Level Path: The level path will X. Start: Scripted Event? Capture point A Scripted Event? Capture point B Scripted Event? Capture point C

Docks - E. Sponaugle
Scripted Events: #1: While all players/main characters are standing on the indicated platform--a
makeshift raft--the rope tying it to the nearby fixed platform can be cut. This causes the platform to move, drifting along a fixed path (indicated on my map) until it reaches the paths end. As they drift along, the players will have to defend themselves against the nearby turret, then from an ambush by three Alien Warriors. #2: When a player crosses the indicated line, an alarm sounds. The three nearby disabled Aliens are enabled, and so attack the players. They may be the vanguard of a larger enemy wave. #3: Within the indicated region, the water level oscillates between a fixed low point and high point. At its highest point, it will only reach a PCs waist. High water levels wont directly affect the players, they simply obscure any submersible platforms in the area, making navigation more difficult.

Level Path: The level path will X. Start: Scripted Event? Capture point A Scripted Event? Capture point B Scripted Event? Capture point C

Bridge - K. Welch
Scripted Events: #1: #2: #3: Level Path: The level path will X. Start: Scripted Event? Capture point A Scripted Event? Capture point B Scripted Event? Capture point C

Section V - Enemies
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Zombies
One zombie is not dangerous. Its slow, dumb, and easily dispatched. The danger in zombies is found in their massive numbers. When a zombie notices a player it becomes activated. Once activated it will walk straight towards the player. If an object gets between the zombie and the player, the zombie will path around it when possible. If an activated zombie walks by a nonactivated zombie, that zombie will become activated as well. Groups of these type of zombies are called Swarms. There will be a maximum of ten zombies per swarm. Swarms may merge with one another, but the number of zombies per swarm may never exceed ten. There are different zombie types found within the game. Once again, these individual zombies are not a danger on their own. They become dangerous once they join a swarm. When a special zombie joins a swarm, that swarm picks up the latent attributes of that special zombie type. If a special zombie is killed within a swarm, the swarm loses that ability. Special zombie types can be readily identified by a special colored texture that matches the color of the ring at that zombies feet, and because they are visually larger than the typical zombie. Zombies in a swarm will inherit the color of the ring of the special zombie. If the swarm has multiple power-ups of special zombies, there will be a designated ring color for the multiple effects. Instead of overlaying multiple rings, any zombie with two or more effects will use this special multiple effects ring. Zombies do not target aliens, but if an alien gets in the way of a zombie attack it will take damage.

Zombie Variants:
Base Zombie (all Zombies before joining a swarm) Zombies with Increased ability to Damage Frenzied Zombies with faster movement (controlled through a public variable) Zombies with Increased Health

Note: Zombie power ups stack on top of one another, however redundancy in these power ups will be ignored, not multiplied on top of one another.

Aliens
Aliens are projectile enemies that do not follow the swarming behavior. Aliens target players, though their shots can damage zombies. The weapons aliens wield share the same stats as the weapons that players can wield. Alien weapons will have different models and weapon trail effects. Aliens will attempt to keep their distance from players while staying close enough to have their shots land. Alien Variants: Alien Warrior: Basic unit. Lower Health, projectile-based attack, equivalent to human pistol. Alien Turrets- destructible - fires assault rounds, is stationary. Alien Assault-Heavily armored aliens with shotgun or assault rifle (infinite bullets). Wishlist: Commander Aliens, high health, equiped with alien launcher Wishlist: Flying Saucer Enemies that fly low enough to shoot? Possibly scripted. Simple movement such as patrolling. Height can be scripted.*

Section VI - Game Systems

Ally AI
See Alien note. How much damage does the AI do? damage How much damage does it take?1/4 damaged compared to player characters How does it walk around the environment? Follows player thats closes Can it aggro zombies? Yes Can Friendly AI die? Yes, stays consistant with new rules. Can players take over AI after a player dies? No Can AI pick up power ups? Make it clear how if they actively go after the power ups or not. When a power up appears on screen, a counter will instantiate. When the counter ticks down to 0, the AI will grab the power up. If the player doesnt have any weapon besides their default, the ai wont pick up the weapon. Can you order allies to do anything (Follow other player, defend area, etc) no

Friendly ai ignores capture points.

Weapon Damage
Reference Weapons and Power-Ups stat sheet

Spawning
Spawn points will be placed throughout each level. Spawners should keep track of the number of zombies that are currently active, and never exceed set limit. Variable 1 When player enters maximum range the spawners activate. Variable 2 When player enters the minimum range they stop spawning. Whether or not it permanently spawns Variable 3 Special zombie spawn rate percentages. Variable 4: ato agro Variable 5: How many zombies spawn per second. Variable 6: How often does a special zombie spawn

Capture Points
Wont be capturable when zombies are in it. The higher number of players/ai characters in a capture point, the faster the point is captured.

Section VII - Management

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Milestone Deliverable Schedule

Prototype: 02/05/13 First Playable: 02/28/13 Alpha: 03/28/13 Beta: 04/18/13 Final: 05/02/13

Risk Analysis
To prevent failure to complete project objectives, the scope is limited and accounts for all members hours required for a 3 credit course.

Team

Technical Director: James Justin Associate Producer: Daniel Perzan Project Lead: Maureen Perzan Programming: Jordan Barrett* - Technical Lead, Ally AI, & Capture Points Nick Ferri - Base AI & Waypoint Objects Rodrick Lekey - HUD, GUI, Menus, & FSM Support Maureen Perzan* - Project Lead & Networking Cody Robinson - Zombie AI Alex St. John - FSM Jason Jorgenson - Custom Scripts Jeff Rosenberg - Player Character & Controls Darryl Sterne Jr.- Alien AI & Score System Dustin Rodda - Powerups, Spawning, & Weapons Design: Jillian Parr* - Design Lead & Suburban Level Finnen Cerises - Subway Level Daniel Perzan - Associate Producer & Mall Level Daniel Rolling - Downtown Level Zachary Snader - UI Design Eric Sponaugle - Flooded Docks Level Kenneth Welch - Bridge Level Jonathan Jasma - Amusement Park Level Art: Jeff Rosenberg* - Modeling, Rigging, Texturing Scott Robbins - Modeling Benjamin Harris - Modeling Fatima Mekkaoui - Texturing Bianca Gelli - Animating Audio: Zachary Snader* - Primary Audio Nick Ferri - Unity Implementation

Section VIII - WISH LIST

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Guns: Alien Grenade Launcher (Finite ammo, fires grenade that leaves acid pool in a small diameter, 4 shots before reload) Rocket Launcher (Finite ammo, 2 shots before reload) Power Ups: Negative Power Ups Cheats and Easter Eggs: TBD. Alien Variant: Flying Saucer Enemies that fly low enough to shoot? Possibly scripted. Simple movement such as patrolling. Height can be scripted.
Friendly AI: Different aggression levels depending on the character.

Saving: Unlockable levels. Players can join any online match, regardless if the they have reached that level on their own. Player Health: Players can pick up "Health Pack" power ups in levels, which act as Lives. Players start the game with one health pack. If players die fully within a level, they restart the level with one health pack. If a player dies fully while they have at least one health pack, a health pack is consumed to instantly revive the player without restarting the level or reverting to a checkpoint. Player death--Judged through play testing-When a character dies, they go into a downed state. While downed their health is set to a fixed amount. If the player loses all health from enemy attacks, the character dies fully and then spawns again in the next level. Downed characters can slowly heal through tapping a button which will reinstate a certain amount per button tap.. Once their health is full, they revive. Ally AI simulate this by steadily healing by a fixed amount.