The Athenaeum of Forsaken Memories

Design Document for:

A Replayable Tactical Zone for Multiplayer Combat

in a Fantasy-Themed Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game.

All work Copyright ©2010 by Rebecca Louise Sutcliffe

Written by Rebecca Louise Sutcliffe

Version # 1.00

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Overview

This dungeon is a zone for a fantasy Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, for a five-man party who are looking for a challenging end-game dungeon environment.

The aim of this design is to ensure that the party works as a team and pays attention to the tactics required to defeat the bosses.

Furthermore, some elements of the dungeon are changeable, meaning they will be different each time the player enters the dungeon.

High Concept

The Athenaeum of Forsaken Memories is a dungeon zone in a fantasy styled persistent world, in which players will work together with four other players to complete this challenging end-game test. Players can choose their character when they begin the game, choosing their race and class, and then customizing the aesthetics of their character.

The player is given information by the form of quests, and this fills in the spine narrative of the fact that the problems in the Empire between History and Technology are being caused by the secluded member of the protectors of History – Librarian General Erik. Being locked away in his manor for years on end with only books to keep him company has lead him to hate Technology, and seek its destruction. Using dark magic, he is controlling the leader of the order and his men, to destroy technology, killing any innocents in his path. The job of the player is to infiltrate the manor, and take down Erik, and any creatures he may have protecting him along the way. (See Narrative for Full Story.)

Dungeon Design Goals:

Dungeon Design Goal #1

This dungeon is created in order to increase the replay-ability of dungeons, or player party mechanics in general. The aim is to create a different player experience each time they enter the zone, encouraging players to return to the beginning of the player life-cycle. This is an aim which differs from most existing MMOs in the sense that the mechanic of randomized and replayable areas has been present in Dungeon Running games and traditional Role Playing Games, but has never been use to its full potential in Massively Multiplayer environments.

Dungeon Design Goal #2

Another design goal of this dungeon is to increase the integration of tactics and team co-operation in player party situations. If this is successful, the ultimate result will be that the dungeon will be much more interesting and challenging, especially for players who are already experienced in party combat, since it will differ from what is already in place. Although this system may make it a lot more challenging for the player to complete, this will allow for greater rewards for players who work together towards the ultimate goal.

Dungeon Design Goal #3

Furthermore, a third design goal of this dungeon is to incorporate elements of the spine narrative of the overall game world into the dungeon. Through mechanics such as quests and the dungeon environment, complex tropes will be inferred by the player, and therefore make the dungeon much more interesting. Furthermore, if these tropes effect the spine narrative – as mentioned earlier – it will give the player a real sense of being part of “the bigger machine” – and will encourage them to keep playing not just the dungeon again, but also the game in general.

Common Questions

What is this dungeon?

This dungeon is a zone in a bigger game world in which players can group together to take on challenges which would be otherwise impossible if they were alone. This dungeon will incorporate a variety of different zone styles and combat situations in order to create a more interesting player experience.

The overall genre of the game is a fantasy role-playing adventure game – with the player assuming the role of a character that they customize when it is created in order to take on a unique persona to set them apart from other players in the game.

Why create this dungeon?

Although there are already an exhaustive list of games in the Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Game genre, only a small fraction of all those developed actually continue to be successful. One of the main reasons for this is that often the social aspects of the game are limited to the fact that the players share the same game world and can communicate through a chat system. The aim of this dungeon is to encourage co-operation between players in dungeon situations and create a compelling narrative experience to in turn increase immersion and enthrallment in the game.

So, the reason for this dungeon’s creation is to encourage an increased level of player teamwork and support in order to complete challenges and quests which would otherwise be impossible to complete if they were alone.

Using research of current multiplayer online game dungeon design principles, this dungeon will be created in order to create a new kind of player experience – revolutionizing dungeon and narrative mechanics, especially at an end-game level.

So, to summarize, the aims of this Design are:

• Encourage teamwork between players.
• Create a compelling narrative experience.
• Increase Immersion in MMORPGs.
• Create combat encounters where tactics and communication are imperative.
• Develop new and interesting dungeon mechanics, or existing mechanics presented in a new and interesting way.

Where does the dungeon take place?

The dungeon will take place in a fantasy-themed game world, with tropes of concepts laid out in traditional gaming, but will approach a theme that players may be familiar with in a different way, in order to produce a balance between something that the player has knowledge of and something new and interesting.

The dungeon itself will take place in a large manor in the foothills of some mountains, in a secluded area which should only be reached by players who are being directed towards the place by the use of Quests or Achievements, or players who are exploring the game world. This helps it to feel more of an achievement for players who stumble across it – as though they are discovering vital points of the narrative for themselves.

The dungeon is comprised of various zones inside the manor, including a garden maze, a library and a wizard tower – all of which have a different composition in order to ensure a variety of combat styles and teamwork between players.

What do I control?

The player controls a character which they customize when they begin the game at level one. The level of customization is restricted to a selection of races and classes which are defined in the creation screen, which are based on traditional role playing game classes but altered for a massively multiplayer environment. The player then kills enemies and completes set challenges and quests to earn experience points as a form of character advancement to move closer to the end-game challenges.

The traditional role playing classes that the characters will conform to fall into three categories which represent the character’s role in the party, in order to increase that party mechanic and help the player feel as though they each have a role. These roles are:

• Offensive
• Defensive
• Support

This covers the main styles of gameplay, including a “tanking” role, a character who taunts the enemy to attack them and takes all the damage whilst the other damage dealing characters focus their attacks on the enemies. Support characters often take the role of healing damage that the other players in the party will take, or to use “buffs” to make them stronger.

How many characters do I control?

The player controls only their avatar, and in certain cases any pets which that character class is able to summon.

What is the main focus?

The main focus of the game is for the player to reach the highest point of character advancement – in order to take on the biggest challenges in the game. The rewards from these challenges allow the player to equip the best gear in the game, and so come out on top in the competition between players, or become renowned in the game world compared to other players for having completed these challenges.

Although the main aim for the character will always remain the same, to reach the end-game content – the player will have smaller goals along the way as they advance. For example: to reach each milestone level as they advance or to complete a certain achievement. These smaller goals may also differ depending on the play style that the player prefers to play as. For example, using Bartle’s Player Types, an explorer may have a mini goal of exploring the game world – but whilst they explore they will reach far corners of the game world containing higher level challenges. Or, using another player type – a player who matches the “Killer” archetype may strive to reach the cap of character advancement in order to enjoy challenging battles with other players.

One unique characteristic of massively multiplayer online role playing games compared to single player games is that the narrative and content of the game never has a true end, as the nature of the genre is to be ever-changing and evolving.  This means that the main focus of the player character may change as patches or expansions are released – for example to become good enough to fight a certain end-game boss character or to increase their character advancement if the level cap is increased.

However, one thing is certain, the focus is always ultimately competitive – to become better than the other players in the game world – in whichever way is appropriate for the player type that the player fits.

What’s different?

The main things which make this game different from others in its genre are the aims for why it is being created. The design for this dungeon boasts an increased level of player teamwork and co-operation, a more immersive narrative experience and a great variety of encounter and combat styles to make the most interesting and immersive dungeon possible.

Gameplay Experience

Overview

This section includes the overall gameplay experience that this dungeon will present to the player, and contains sections including the feature set and elements of gameplay that are present.

Feature Set

Major Features

Random Generation

One major feature of the dungeon design is the fact that some of the instanced areas of the dungeon are randomized. This allows for a different experience each time the player enters the dungeon, and for a more interesting and immersive player experience overall. However, since this is a massively multiplayer environment, a level of balance must be maintained. Therefore only certain areas will be instanced, allowing for balanced Player vs. Player combat, and to allow varied zone styles as described below.

Furthermore, having only certain zones of the dungeon instanced and randomized will negate the problems that randomization usually brings to light – for example, it will still allow for control over the Directed Gameplay and experience that the player will have by having a constant similar level design layout – breaking the dungeon into zones rather than having one large expansive space, ensuring that the narrative flow is not interrupted and the encounters will be balanced in their difficulty and spacing.

For example:

The grounds of the manor will be broken into three zones, an entrance, a hedge maze with a “Secret Garden” and the stairway entrance to the manor. The entrance will consist of a preset level design, with roaming guards – one of which holds the key to the hedge maze. This is a public dungeon area, which is shared between all players who enter that zone in the game world. However, once a party member has the key to the hedge maze and enters, they are in an instanced version of the maze which contains only their party members. This zone is also randomized, to ensure that it is truly a “maze” – which the player must find their way out of in order to enter the manor. In a random place inside the maze is a secret garden, containing a rewarding boss encounter which the player may either stumble upon whilst exploring or seek out to gain the rewards. It is by using these techniques of randomized zones that the player will have a different experience each time, but the developer will still have influence over the experience and overall flow of the game level.

Varied Zone Styles

Another main feature of the dungeon design is that many styles of zone will be incorporated into the one environment. Basic overviews of the types of dungeon that exist in current dungeon designs are as follows:

• Shared
• Private
• Instanced
• Public
• Combination of the above

Combining a selection of these dungeon types makes for a more varied and interesting player experience – creating a more realistic and appealing dungeon at the same time.  Obviously all of these types have their advantages and disadvantages, but depending on the specific situation, any particular one may be more appropriate than another. The most commonly used dungeon type in current popular MMORPGs is the “Instanced Dungeon” although varying these can help to increase the social interaction in the dungeon – which in turn will escalate the level of player co-operation and immersion. Furthermore, using Shared or Public dungeons can result in drawing different player types to experiences that they wouldn’t normally try.

Using both Shared and Public zones, with instanced zones for more focused party combat will allow for large groups to form in free-roaming areas, but takes away the issue of griefing of other players for the main bosses of the dungeon. Furthermore, this arrangement of types results in an ideal end-game encounter, which is extensive and engaging.

The types of dungeon present in the environment will also affect the path which the player takes through the zone. The linearity of the zone, or rather how much freedom the player has can have a huge impact on the player experience. The aim of this dungeon is to create a balance between the restrictions of linear zones and the wealth of choice of sandbox zones which may lead to players having a different narrative experience than intended by the designers. By using both storytelling mechanics and an illusion of freewill, the player will feel as though each choice they make is their own, unaffected by game design and will create a more enjoyable experience overall.

Minor Features

Multifarious Narrative

Another important aspect in maintaining the high level of immersion and interest that a player should experience in a level is the narrative experience that presents itself. This can come across in forms such as quests, level design and geometry of a level, interaction with non-player characters and many more aspects.

The tropes that a player assumes in a level can make a huge difference to the experience – for example, comparing two very opposite sides of the spectrum:

A retro game from the 1970s had very little in terms of narrative content, producing mostly challenges in the form of puzzle games for the player to solve, becoming exponentially harder as the player progresses.

The level of immersion in these games is limited to the player acting out the role of a player completing challenges. The reason for this is to reach the top of the scoreboard and prove that they are the best.

However, taking a more recent game as an example such as Oblivion – arguably containing Tolkein-esque amounts of lore and narrative, there is a much greater prospect for the player to become immersed in the game and feel like they are an integral part of that game world.

This is where the debate over Narratology vs. Ludology comes into play. This debate discusses which is the most important aspect of producing enjoyable gameplay, the narrative structure of the level, or the balance of gameplay mechanics. Moreover, whether it is the desire to complete the task for the sake of completing the task, or the desire to make moral choices for the player and “find out what happens next” that drives the player.

The term “Ludonarratology” describes a line in the sand which has been defined by Ludologists and Narratologists for a balance between these two ideals. Using a combination of these techniques, this dungeon will be one which makes use of intricate gameplay based on top of a strong narrative – allowing for a symbiotic relationship between the two to create the most immersive gameplay.

Complex Tactics

In order to fit the challenge of being an interesting and immersive dungeon, this design aims to create the potential for complex tactics which require the player’s full attention, and so will serve its purpose as an end-game dungeon. The player will need to work hard to earn the great rewards that come from this dungeon, and it will most likely be completed by those who are banded together in a clan or guild, or those who share a voice chat server for a new level of player communication.

One of the problems with current MMOs could be said to be that they are too easy. With character advancement rates increasing, and new ways to pay for equipment for your character, it could be argued that the sense of achievement from reaching maximum level in an MMO or obtaining a certain piece of gear is slowly but surely diminishing.

The aim of this dungeon is to provide the player with a challenge which can be recognized as a symbol of skill and determination amongst their peers in the game world, and providing rewards which are of a level which sets them apart from other players. This adds to meeting the basic dungeon design principle of recognizing experienced players and rewarding them for their efforts. Although it may seem as though this dungeon neglects new or less experienced players, it is meant as an end-game experience which every player can attempt once they have reached that level of character advancement.

Furthermore, it aims to shift the focus of the player from the quality of their equipment to how good their skills are. This means that a player with highest level equipment might not be able to complete the dungeon if they don’t know the tactics, and a player with lower level gear might be able to complete it if they work together with the rest of the players and have greater skills. In this sense it will also bring players closer together, since it gives every player of the appropriate level a chance at the dungeon, rather than just the best geared players – which would result in a select few players on each server doing the dungeon again and again, without allowing lower geared players a chance.

General Features

• Expansive Dungeon Space – Large, winding dungeon with varied environment styles.
• 3D Graphics  – This will help add to the realism of the game world, improving immersion.
• Big Bosses with Big Rewards! – To provide incentive to take on this challenge, the players will be given big rewards in the form of equipment and upgrades to their character that will be recognizable by other players.

Multiplayer Features

• It’s Party Time – The dungeon is designed for a five-man party, with opportunities for wider co-operation in non-instanced zones, and Player vs. Player combat.
• You’re Not Alone – Using chat channels in major cities and dungeon mechanics which will allow you to sign yourself up as available for the dungeon, it’s easier to find fellow players who want to party with you.
• There You Are! – Easy to find your friends in-game, using guild mechanics and in-game friends lists with multiple options.
• Player Communication – Using voice chat tools, players can communicate with each other on a new level, which is faster and easier than text – perfect for those high action intense battles that this dungeon provides.

Gameplay

• Dungeon Style – Using a combination of different dungeon styles, such as Instanced, Public and Shared, to provide a variety of experiences for the player in one session.  Furthermore, using these in relation to the level design will enable for correct balancing of the combat and player experience.
• Combat Styles – Incorporating different dungeon styles will allow for different styles of combat to take place inside the zone. For example, inside the dungeon itself whilst fighting bosses, a typical five-man party style will be used. However, outside the dungeon the players may have to work together with players from their faction to gain advantages over the opposite faction.
• Complex Tactics – By creating complex boss fights which bring in skill of the player as a positive factor, this design aims to create encounters which are both challenging and rewarding.
• Level Design – By creating interesting non-linear level design with random generation, players can have more control over the path they take through the level, and experience a more unique adventure each time they play.
• Narrative – By utilizing a more in-depth narrative for the dungeon, this design will create more immersive encounters for the player, as they experience firsthand the spine narrative of the game world.
• Encounters (Bosses & Mini Bosses) – By providing the player with a wide range of bosses to take on, a different combat can be used on each one, depending on the boss – furthermore the party can choose to fight as many or as few as they choose, meaning that the dungeon can either be taken one boss at a time or as an extensive challenge.
• Skills and Powers – Using a customizable class system, each player can create a character which feels unique to them and allows them to be valuable in different types of combat. This means that against some bosses certain players will be effective, whilst they might do less damage against others with different combat styles.
• Equipment and Gear – Because of the challenging nature of this dungeon, big rewards will be given in return for combat encounters that require skill. The rewards given from this dungeon will be of a certain art style which will set the players apart from the rest aesthetically and means that the rest of the game world can recognize their achievements. Furthermore, the quality of the gear will be directly correlated with the dedication needed to complete the dungeon – meaning that the players will not be put off from completing it because of the difficulty level.

The Game World

Overview

This section describes the look and feel within “The Athenaeum of Forsaken Memories”, as well as the general descriptions of each zone the player will travel through whilst completing the dungeon. Zone maps and detailed descriptions will also be included.

Game World Narrative

The Narrative in the World of “The Athenaeum of Forsaken Memories” is one of controversy and corruption. In a world where technology has just been born, the people are afraid that their history will be forgotten – and to prevent this happening have employed an order to protect history, and all books that contain it.

The leader of this Order was a peaceful man, working closely with the Emperor to ensure a happy relationship between Technology and Magic, but has since been locked away in his castle, sitting lifeless in his throne, allowing his men to run amok – destroying the machines and progress that the people have created in zombified rages.

After looking into more detail of the secret world of the Historical Order, one name keeps re-appearing – “Librarian General Erik”. Erik was always a violent traditionalist – speaking of anarchy against the state and the downfall of technology. Strange goings on have been noted around the base of his mountainside home, and the player is sent to check out what is going on with a group of missionaries who have been sent out to inspect but have not reported back home.

Once the player has completed quest chains to fill in the spine narrative, it becomes obvious that General Erik has finally taken steps to take down technology, beginning with channeling dark magic into the heads of both the leader of the Order and the men in his control to force them to do his bidding.

Once the player breaks into his manor, they must take down each of his created abominations by one, each time taking down a portion of the force-field which protects him as he channels into the head of the Leader.

Each abomination shows the true extent of Erik’s madness, murderous versions of characters he has seen in books that have become twisted in his head as his madness grows, with perhaps the most disturbing of these being his wife Melissa – now transformed into a half woman half spider killing machine by the corrupted magic the runs through the isolated library fortress.

The aim of the player is to destroy each of his abominations, and then take down Erik himself to restore order in the world, and reinstate the flourishing relationship between the infant technology and the ancient magic.

Engaging Fantasy World

The Athenaeum of Forsaken Memories is set in a Fantasy genre MMORPG persistent game world. In this sense the term Fantasy refers to character and world design which is based on traditional role playing games and literature, for example those featured in the work of Tolkien and Gary Gygax in Dungeons and Dragons. This includes inspirations featured in the level design and the creatures that feature in this world.  Furthermore, these inspirations will extend through visuals to music, atmosphere and items.

Technology and Magic

One thing that differs from the norm in the fantasy genre is that this game world features technology as a main spell mechanic. The game world is set at a time of industrial revolution, and so will feature connotations of technological experimentation, sometimes successful, sometimes not. However, history and magic still plays a big part in the running of the world, and to ensure that none of that is lost, a high-ranking order of Librarians have been appointed to treasure all the important books from the known world. There will be noticeable differences between the level design and aesthetics of certain zones in the world so that the player will be able to tell where the allegiances of the characters living in that zone lie. Much controversy surrounds this topic in the game world, as to whether technology or magic should be the way forward, with different factions in the game expressing their feelings either way.

The Physical World

Overview

This section describes the key zones of the dungeon of “The Athenaeum of Forsaken Memories”. The components here include a world map, how the player travels around the world, the scale of the world and any environment, atmosphere and weather effects.

The following describes the key components of the physical world.

Key Locations

• Entrance Gates & Manor Grounds
• Hedge Maze with Randomized Secret Garden
• The Grand Hallway
• The Banquet Hall
• The Apprentice’s Dormitory
• The Widow’s Tower
• The Study
• The Athenaeum

Travel

The player travels around the dungeon on foot, or with any special abilities that they have acquired through being a certain class – for example an agile class may be able to run faster, or shamanistic classes may be able to take on the form of an animal to travel faster. Furthermore, the outside zones of this dungeon allow players to travel on mounts such as horses – if they have one – which are acquired in a mount system separate from the dungeon.

Scale

The scale used in this dungeon will be relative to real world scale, allowing for the most realistic experience and the feeling as though the player is in a “real world”, thus adding to the immersion the player feels whilst in the dungeon. However, when approaching a boss fight the scale of certain elements of the level may be adjusted accordingly. For example, doorways may   be increased in size in order to give the illusion that the boss is over-shadowing the players and make them feel small and in awe of the creature. Furthermore, corridors and rooms may be altered slightly to change the player’s perception, such as corridors becoming narrower as the player travels through them, to give the illusion of danger and entrapment.

Objects

The objects found in the dungeon include props which are typical of the genre and the setting. For example, since it is set in a library, it will include props such as books, and studying implements such as quills and inks. Furthermore, it will include props which aid mechanics, such as chests for players to loot treasure from, and quest items. The placement of the props will be relative to their surroundings, for example, books will be found in the library, plants and foliage will be found in the gardens and chests will be found in places which are hard to reach so as to denote the fact that the owner of the dungeon did not mean for their whereabouts to be known.

Weather

The weather that is present in the dungeon reflects the placement of the dungeon. Since it is situated at the foot of mountains, the weather is quite still and peaceful, with some winds and cool air. This becomes more noticeable at higher points in the dungeon – for example signs of frost and high winds around the wizard tower.

Day and Night

The time that the game world follows is the server time, in order to be accurate with most player’s local times. Therefore, when it is night time in the real world, it will be night time in game. However, in order to create a feeling of unease around the dungeon, there will be an element of low light surrounding the area. This will help to make it feel ominous and make the player feel as though they are approaching an area of danger.

The World Layout

Overview

“The Athenaeum of Forsaken Memories” is the mountainside manor home of the Librarian General Erik – a high ranking member of the Librarian Order, driven mad by the years spent alone with books. Each of the Key Locations are outlined below. The level design is non-linear, but a general progression from the entrance to the final boss is needed. For each Location key encounters are outlined, and to add to these random enemy encounters will be found throughout the level.

Entrance Gates & Manor Grounds

The main aim of this location is to set a precedence for the rest of the dungeon. The player will approach the manor via a winding path which then reveals a large gateway which protects the library fortress. After the player approaches the manor, they will see a party of human soldiers fighting for the side of Technology. They have blown a hole in the side wall of the manor which allows the player to enter the fortress, but many men have been hurt in the process of fighting forward. It is from this encampment outside the walls that the player will get their quests, and pick up rewards.

Table 1: The Grounds Encounters

Encounter	Name	Description	Solution
1	The Final Push, Lads!	The player can speak to the Lieutenant at the encampment to earn provisions, hints and quests.	The player will be given quests to complete inside the dungeon, which will lead them inside and give them hints as to the aims of the dungeon.
2	Which Way Next	The player must navigate the rubble from the fallen wall to gain entrance to the fortress.	A linear path can be found amongst the rubble, which is relatively easy but denotes the dangers to come.
3	First Fight	The players will encounter their first enemy, in the form of enchanted plants and flowers – similar to poison ivy and Venus fly traps. They have a small agro range so that they don’t swarm the players as they prepare.	Using simple tactics of tanking, healing and burst damage the plants are easily defeated. The loot table for these enemies are mostly trash, consisting of items relevant to their placement in the dungeon.
4	Eat Me, Drink Me	Ahead of the players is a small door, about 6 inches high. When the player approaches it, it sings out a riddle for the player. “Why is a Raven Like a Writing Desk? To figure out this is anyone’s guess. You may not enter here, you’re much too tall…Speak with the lady till you’re ant-size small. Do not worry, it won’t be forever…Eat me, drink me, to suit your endeavor.”	The solution to this riddle is that the player must find the “Alice” character in the manor grounds. She can be found roaming, chasing a white bunny that is hopping around playfully. If the player speaks to her, she gives them a potion which makes them shrink, just small enough to enter the door. Once all party members have entered the door they can proceed to the instanced next zone.

Hedge Maze with Randomized Secret Garden

The aim of this location is to help create a unique experience each time the player enters. For this reason it will be randomized, using modular dungeon pieces which fit together in multiple ways. Somewhere hidden inside this maze is a secret garden, with a boss encounter inside. This zone is aimed to test the player before they enter the manor itself – with the level design posing more of a threat to the player than the enemies themselves. There are two aims in the Maze, to find the secret garden and kill the boss in side, and leave the maze via the right exit in order to get closer to the manor itself.

Table 2: Hedge Maze Encounters

Encounter	Name	Description	Solution
1	Find Your Feet	The player enters the maze and establishes the situation. They must navigate through the randomized encounter, which will be set when the first player enters the dungeon and remain set for the duration of the time they are in a party together.	The overall solution to this encounter is a trial and error system in order to find their destination.
2	They Can Walk?	The Player will encounter Nature Elementals in the form of Treants from traditional literature,  which are stronger and fight back harder than the vicious plants of outside. These will be roaming in random pathing throughout the zone.	To beat these creatures, the same basic tactics will be used as before but more concentration will be needed since they are much tougher.
3	They’re Alive!	Once the player finds the secret garden itself, they can enter and view the enemies waiting inside.  There are more roaming tree elementals to defeat before the players reach the boss.	Using the same tactics again, the players must clear a path to the boss and her minion.
4	Boss Encounter: Mistress Mary	Mistress Mary is an elemental mage character, with a summoned tree elemental by the name of “Willow”. Defeating her will drop lots of treasure to be shared out between the players.	Mistress Mary is the first boss encounter in the dungeon, and so will be quite easy to defeat. She has three phases: Basic Attack Phase where she uses magic spells and uses Willow as extra damage. Healing Phase where she attacks party members and is healed by Willow. Enrage Phase, where both Willow and Mistress Mary gain attack speed and damage.

The Grand Hallway

The Grand Hallway is again a structural and aesthetic choice to add atmosphere to the dungeon. Props will have certain properties in this area to create a certain feel about the dungeon. For example, paintings on the wall may move to denote a magical presence, and dark shadows are cast in nooks and crannies to create a feeling of unease. From this grand hall are many doors, each leading to a different part of the manor through corridors and rooms. There are eight doors leading off to different locations in the manor, and two of these are Key Locations containing boss encounters. Each time a new party enters an instanced version of the dungeon (via. The Maze entrance), the doors will be randomized to move these rooms to provide a new experience each time. Furthermore, some of the doors can only be reached by the use of high stairways and walkways, which move to again give the feeling of shifting and a magical presence. The two Key Locations that the Grand Hallway leads to are as follows:

·         The Banquet Hall – The Banquet Hall is a large room with a long regal dining table spanning the length of the hall. Inside the room is a boss encounter including four separate characters – Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Upon first glance the room is empty,  apart from the table which is laden with food, seemingly rotten from days of being left alone untouched. At the head of the table sits the Baby Bear, who is crying, and Goldilocks who is standing behind him. When players approach him, he cries louder until his crying summons the attention of his mother and father who then begin the combat sequence with the players.

Table 3: The Banquet Hall Encounters

Encounter	Name	Description	Solution
1	Investigate the Hall	The player enters the hall and a scene is set, including a crying baby bear and Goldilocks who is comforting the small bear.	In order to begin the combat sequence, the players move closer to the table. Baby Bear’s crying will become louder and louder as the party approaches him, and when they are within agro range this will summon Mother Bear and Father Bear, who run to the aid of their infant son.
2	Who Ate My Porridge?	The player begins combat with the bears and Goldilocks. All the bears have a different combat style and require different considerations to be defeated. Father Bear is a tank character, taking lots of damage and dealing out slow damage. Mother Bear is a Healer, and uses shields to protect her family. Baby Bear is a rogue, fast and high damage – dodging attacks. Goldilocks takes a back seat, although deals damage and debuffs by throwing hot or cold porridge over the players.	In order to defeat the group, the players must decide what is the best order in which to down the creatures. For example, some would argue it would be best to take down Mother Bear first since she can heal all the others and protect them from damage. To avoid the debuffs from Goldilocks’ porridge, the players can either work around it and heal through it, or other players in the party can run up to the table and grab to opposing porridge to release their companion. For example, Hot porridge will release frozen players, and cold porridge will negate the Damage over time that players get from hot porridge.
3	Back to the Hall	Once the players have defeated the bears and Goldie, they must return to the Grand Hall and find their way to the other Key Location – The Apprentice’s Dormitory.	Follow trial and error methods as before.

·         The Apprentice’s Dormitory

One of the doors leading from the Grand Hall contains a hallway with a staircase up to a dormitory area. The dormitory contains bedroom areas which contain the next boss encounter. The bedroom is largely empty, save for a four poster bed with a sleeping woman laid in bed. She is talking in her sleep, which gets louder as the players get closer to her. Among incomprehensible murmurs, she can be heard chanting “What big teeth you have…”

As the player approaches the bed, a closet door on the opposite side of the room opens and a woman, heavily cloaked in a red robe and a mechanical wolf enter into combat with the player party.

Table 4: Dormitory Encounter Table

Encounter	Name	Description	Solution
1	Sleeping Beauty	As the player enters the room they can see a sleeping elderly woman in the bed. As they approach her, a cloaked woman and a mechanical wolf, styled in the image of Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, enter into the combat.	In order to defeat this combat situation, the players must carefully consider the abilities of the enemies. “Red” the cloaked woman, is an illusion master with mind control and fear abilities. This means that at various points throughout the fight, she will cast random abilities on players including causing them to run in terror and turning players against their team mates. The main ability that players must watch out for is her “Siren’s Song” ability, which causes the player to fall asleep, and raises their soul as a living bomb which causes damage to all other team mates. The players must destroy this soul before it explodes and causes huge amounts of damage to the party.
2	Seeking the Tower	Behind the combat sequence is a small doorway, covered mostly by cobwebs. The door is somewhat hidden, but as the player approaches a treasure chest against the wall in the dormitory, the spiral staircase is revealed and the party can advance to the next key location.

The Widow’s Tower –

The Widow’s Tower is a tower which has an entrance situated at the back of the dormitory in the shape of a cobweb covered door, which leads to a spiral staircase up to the tower.

Inside the Tower is another boss encounter, in the shape of the Librarian’s corrupted wife – now going by the name of “Little Miss Muffet”  – a half woman, half spider corrupted by the Librarian’s magic.

On the way up to the tower the party will encounter many spider enemies and get snared in cobwebs that the other players will have to attack to release the trapped party member.

Table 5: Widow’s Tower Encounters

Encounter	Name	Description	Solution
1	Spiral Staircase	Following the pathway up to the tower, the player will encounter spider enemies and become snared in webs. The spiders are small and weaker than the boss herself, but still require party mechanics to beat.	To release an ensnared party member from a web, the other party members must attack the web and defeat it.
2	Spider Minions	Before the player reaches the boss herself, there will be more, stronger minions to beat. One ability that they have is to leech the life of players by spinning webs around them.	The players need to be aware of this life stealing power, and watch the health of other party members to ensure none die. The aim would be to take these down as fast as possible to minimize the party damage.
3	Little Miss Muffet	Little Miss Muffet has three phases, similar to earlier bosses. Phase One is a basic combat phase where she will attack with posion damage, which deals over time. Phase Two is an important phase which requires player attention and begins when Miss Muffet reaches 25% health.  Miss Muffet will summon swarms of spiders, which will carry the player away and deal a lot of damage. Phase Three is a phase where being fast or ranged comes into play. When she reaches 10% health, Miss Muffet will begin walking around the room, spinning a web. If the players do not kill her before she finishes channeling, the web will close in and all party members will die.	To get through Phase One the player must focus their damage on the boss. Also the player with the healing role must focus their healing and/or any curing spells they have on players with poison on them to prevent them from dying. In phase two the players must stay off the floor by climbing onto mushrooms which are growing from the walls. If a player is caught by the swarms he will be dragged to the top of the tower, taking large amounts of damage until the ranged damage dealers can attack the web and free him. If they do not free him he will take damage until he is dead. In order to bring Miss Muffet down to 10% the ranged players must attack her, or run to the mushroom that she is standing on to attack her up close, without getting dragged up by the swarms. In phase three the players must use all of their high damage moves to kill Miss Muffet within one minute. Using snaring or interrupting moves have a small chance of working, but will not prevent the spell, only make Miss Muffet begin her web again, resetting the clock to one minute.
4	Don’t Look Down	By climbing up the cobwebs once Miss Muffet is dead, the player can reach a ruined doorway which leads to an open air walkway.	The player uses this walkway to gain access to the next key location, The Study.

The Study –

The study is a large room in the manor which is accessed via the top walkways of the dungeon. The room is covered in books and writing materials. Sleeping inside the depths of the study is a large ethereal dragon called “Puff”. His main powers are related to his elusiveness, using smoke and distraction techniques to upset the party mechanic and cause players to lose focus.

Table 6: The Study Encounters

Encounter	Name	Description	Solution
1	Enter the Dragon	The player enters the room to see a sleeping dragon in the middle of a large study. The dragon is protected by a force-field, which is de-activated by a series of buttons on the floor.	To deactivate the force-field and access the other side of the study, the players must stand on the 5 correct buttons out of 10, In order to figure the solution out (which is different each time) the players must again a trial and error system.
2	Puff?	Once the force-field is down, the players may face Puff himself. Puff is protecting the key to the library vault where the Librarian is channeling hiding out. Following the trend, Puff has three phases. Phase One includes basic combat, where Puff deals melee damage, and uses smoke bombs to disorient the player. Phase Two begins when Puff is at 50% health, when he splits into 4 smaller dragon whelpings to cause less damage but to more players. Phase Three begins when Puff is at 10% health. Puff uses a blink teleport ability to jump from player to player, dealing area of effect damage to all players nearby.	The key factor to beat this encounter is to remain focused, no matter how much Puff will try to disorientate the player. In order to avoid the smoke bombs the player must keep moving and make sure their combat target is locked on the dragon himself. When the four separate whelps are summoned, the players should stick together and try to adopt a classic party mechanic of tank, healer and damage dealers to take down each whelp one by one. This should continue into the final phase, where all players should stay together to avoid Puff being able to teleport too far. Furthermore, the healers need to focus to heal out of the area damage that he deals.
3	The Key	Once the players have defeated Puff, one of the players can pick up a key from the box behind him. This will allow them to open the large locked door protecting General Erik himself.	In order to avoid confusion, the players should appoint a group leader, who will be in charge of picking up keys and directing players in high pressure situations.

The Athenaeum –

The Athenaeum is the final room in the expansive mansion. It is an immensely high circular room filled with books as high as the eye can see. In the center of the room is Erik himself, looking over the glowing orb which allowed him to channel into the head of the Order.

If the player has not defeated all of the bosses and approaches Erik, he is protected by a force-field, and calls his abominations to attack the players.

This is a complex battle, and once this combat sequence is over, the dungeon has been completed.

Table 7: Athenaeum Encounters

Encounter	Name	Description	Solution
1	Gen. Erik	General Erik is the final boss of this dungeon, and so will provide a huge challenge. He has 5 Phases, which will each challenge the player and require full attention. Phase One is a general attack phase, where General Erik will use magic attacks to attack the player who attracts the most agro. Phase Two is a Special Ability phase, where Erik will throw books at random party members. This will disorientate them so they can’t attack. Phase Three is a phase where Erik gains power, rising up piles of books around him to gain power. Phase Four is a special ability phase where Erik uses books to jump around the room. He will summon a book in the place where he wants to teleport to, and then channel himself through that book. Phase Five is the Final Stage, where players must grab a book from a designated shelf. This will be a shield book, used to defend themselves against massive AoE attacks. Erik will use a book to open a portal on the floor, and create a pathway spiraling up the tower away from the players. Players must follow him, using their books as shields to avoid the AoE, which will knock them off the platform and cause them to fall into the portal (instant death.).	Phase 1: Basic party tactics should be used, although with extra care since he hits for large amounts of damage. Phase 2: Basic tactics should continue to be used, but paying extra attention and care to players who are disorientated. Healers must be on the ball, and the party must be ready to deal with agro management if the tank gets disorientated. In phase three the players should use torches which can be picked up from around the room to burn the piles of books forming around him as a power up. If the books are not burned, his buffs stack up and he becomes impossible, and kills all party members. In Phase Four, normal party tactics should be used again. However, if the players attack the target book before he teleports through it, his spell will fail. In Phase Five players must follow General Erik up the pathway that he creates. If they lag behind, the platforms will begin to disappear. Every so often when he does his AoE the player will see him channeling and can “use” their book at this time to shield themselves. Following Erik in this way and using general party attacks against him will kill him.
2	The Wizard is Dead	Once Erik is dead, loot and treasure should be distributed amongst the players and players can use the portal behind Erik’s corpse to transport themselves back to the “Grand Hall” zone of the dungeon. From there they can spilt in which way they choose and disband the party if they so wish.

Game Characters

Overview

The player begins the game by creating a character using a combination of the given classes and races, and changes the aesthetic appearance of the character using the customization tools provided.

As the character advances through the game, they customize their character further, with the use of specialization trees, which can change the feel and style of their character.

When the player reaches the maximum level of character advancement, the way to assess how good a character is, is down to the gear and equipment that they have.

Since this dungeon is one which will take place when the player has reached maximum character advancement level, the players will have a character by this time which is very customized and personal to them.

Furthermore, the player will meet many NPCs, either helpful or opposing throughout the dungeon.

Creating a Character

When the player creates their character at the beginning of their journey, there are many things that they can customize, including:

• Race
• Class
• Gender
• Hair
• Skin Color
• Facial Features

Furthermore, as the player advances through the game, there are more customization options:

• Skill Specialization
• Gear and Equipment

Enemies and Monsters

Librarian General Erik

Librarian Erik is a member of the Order of Librarians, wise old scholars who have been appointed to protect the history of the world in which the game is set.

The debate between which is more important – technology and magic – is a controversial subject in the game world, and much work has been done by the emperor and his men to keep the situation neutralized.

General Erik is one of the Order who holds very controversial views on the debate. In his opinion, the advance of technology is destroying the history of the world, and in order to destroy it, he is channeling into the head of the order and controlling the head’s men – ordering them to destroy any machinery or anyone who stands in their way.

The player must go to the castle and defeat each of his abominations (listed below) in order to take out his shields and stop him in his tracks.

Puff

Puff is an ethereal dragon made of smoke and shadows, which is sleeping in the study as a protector of the key to the Athenaeum itself.

Puff is an interesting twist on a traditional concept – since this game features themes which are present in traditional role playing games and other MMOs of this genre – the feature of Dragons.

However, usually Dragons are represented in the sense of fire-breathing, scaled monsters, and in this case Puff is very different. Furthermore, the fact that he is made of smoke and is somewhat ethereal and ghost-like means that he can disappear and move quickly between the shadows, and split himself into multiple smaller versions of himself.

Little Miss Muffet

Little Miss Muffet is perhaps the most tragic and disturbing of all of Erik’s abominations.

An image of his former life, Miss Muffet is a half woman, half spider atrocity, Erik’s once beautiful wife corrupted by his reckless use of dark magic.

Miss Muffet lies in wait in the “Widow’s Tower” – the use of the word Widow references the fact that she has lost her husband to the use of magic, and to the resemblance she now bears to the fearsome “Black Widow” spider.

The wrath of Miss Muffet is strong and not to be taken lightly. If she manages to spin her web around the party, the web will close in, trapping all players inside until they breathe their last breath.

Red & The Wolf

Red and The Wolf are another example of creatures created by characters Erik has seen in story books and fairy tales. Loosely styled on the story of Little Red Riding Hood, the player will face a heavily cloaked woman and her pet, a mechanical wolf – both of which are fast and rogue like. When they enter the room, they will see an elderly woman in bed who – among incomprehensible murmurs – can be heard whimpering “My…what…big teeth…you have…”

This woman, taking on the role of the Grandma from the original story, is trapped in her hellish slumber, and bears warning to players of what could happen to them if they are not careful.

Goldilocks & The Three Bears

Goldilocks and the Three Bears are a part of a combat encounter that the player becomes involved in when they enter the Banquet Hall.

Sitting at the head of the table is a crying Baby Bear, but his tears are simply a ruse to lure the players closer. Behind him stands Goldilocks, a young blonde woman who is trying to calm the Baby, but to no avail.

As players move closer to the Baby Bear, he cries louder and louder – until players enter agro range, at which point the combat encounter begins, by Baby Bear’s cries summoning the Mother and Father Bear.

Wng together the players must be careful with party mechanics to defeat them. In one phase of the fight, Goldilocks will use the environment to debuff the player. Using all the porridge that she hasn’t eaten, she will freeze the player with cold porridge, and deal damage over time using the fiery hot porridge. The other players can help their team-mates by grabbing the opposite porridge and throwing it over them! For example, throwing a hot porridge will free a frozen player, and throwing a cold porridge will heal their burns.

Mistress Mary & Willow

Mistress Mary and her elemental companion Willow are the first boss characters that the player will meet on their journey through the dungeon. Mistress Mary is based on the character Mary from the Children’s Classic book “The Secret Garden” – and created by Erik as one of the key abominations to protect part of his shield, has been hidden in the secret garden, whose whereabouts often change and shift around, making her one of the most difficult to find in the dungeon. Killing her is not necessary to take down Erik, but as with all the other bosses, killing them gives the player a very large advantage over Erik. Without killing any bosses, Erik is impossible to beat.

This also adds an extra challenge to the dungeon, encouraging the player to run through again, since once they have completed it they can attempt it whilst his shields are remaining, choosing to kill anywhere between one or all of the bosses.

Camera

Overview

The following section will describe how the camera will work.

Camera Detail #1

The camera will be strictly third person, but will move into first person when a player zooms all the way in, or becomes backed against a wall. This is to ensure that the player has the maximum view at all times.

Multiplayer Game

Max Players

Outside of this dungeon, players can group together in groups of up to 50 players to work together on certain challenges. However, this specific dungeon is aimed at five person parties, and so players can use “Friend Lists” or guild mechanics to help them find players. This five man aim is the maximum number of players than can be together once they have entered the instanced zone.

Servers

This game will be based on a Client – Server structure similar to most modern MMOs. Therefore the player will download a game client, and access the Server, where all information concerning the game world and their character is saved.

Customization

The players can customize their character at the beginning of the game by choosing their race and class, and changing aesthetics as mentioned before. Furthermore, they will have a unique name and can specialize into their class as they level, choosing specific talents and skills in a tree system which results in them being a master of a certain play style. Sometimes a class will have the option of more than one class role in a dungeon – for example a paladin would be able to be a tank, a healer, or just a damage dealer.

Furthermore, the players can create their own guilds, where they can invite their friends and set up ranking systems to manage themselves.

Internet

This game will require an internet connection to work, since the players will be required to connect to the server via the internet to access the game world and their character.

Persistence

Similar to most modern MMOGs, this game will have a persistent world which remains to exist even if there are no players online. This is suitable for a game of this type, which aims to create immersion – and a world that grows and changes without player interaction is the most realistic experience for a player. Furthermore, the feeling of being part of a living, breathing world adds to player experience and helps them to feel as though they are “part of a bigger machine”.

Saving and Loading

Saving and Loading will not be required in an MMOG of this type, since using a Client – Server structure enables all data to be saved to the server in real time.

This again adds to the player experience and immersion, since it is a much more realistic experience and creates the feeling that there are consequences to player’s actions.

Future Amendments

More Dungeon Types – The dungeon could be amended to add more dungeon types into the zone – for example, a Player versus Player event to gain access to the dungeon, or certain areas which will allow players to group in parties bigger than the current maximum of five.

Role Playing Integration – In order to expand on this feeling of player interaction with the game world and an emergent narrative, role playing events could be added where the players have to interact with non-player characters and each other on a much deeper level.

More Quests – In order to give the player more reason to be there, and a better way of portraying complex narrative, quests could be expanded on to be an integral part of the dungeon.

Easter Eggs – In future, the adding of more Easter eggs and secret items could help to create a more fun experience for the player.

Atmosphere – More work could be considered into the effects of atmosphere and environment effects in dungeons to make use of tools such as weather and sound.