“Ponies with a Passion for SMASHIN’!”
All work Copyright ©2008 by Team Awesome
Written by: Becky Sutcliffe, Ozz Hart, Emma Haley, and David Symonds.
Version # 2.00
Design History
The history of this design is to follow the design brief provided, to produce a high concept for a completely original computer game, including a games design document, an introductory scene videomatic and a cut scene, with associated materials. The team is trying to create a completely original game, which will appeal to all ages around 10 – 25 years of age, and aims to bridge the gap between casual and hardcore gamers, although will technically be classed as a casual game.
Game Concept
Introduction
My Little PferdKampf is a 3rd Person single player action shooter parody game, based on the Half Life 2: Episode 1 Engine and includes combat on a series of different levels, designed to reflect typical childhood stories and has a unique environment within an exaggerated and stylised world – it will also aim to appeal to a large amount of people due to the fact that each of the worlds will be based on a different play style (as outlined by Richard Bartle). It will be a light hearted satirical game, based on the players’ assumptions about existing characters such as “My Little Pony” and existing games such as “Team Fortress 2” and will challenge these assumptions, whilst at the same time bridging the gap between hardcore and casual gamers, since it will have elements appealing to both groups, although will overall be a casual game.
Genre
My Little PferdKampf is designed in the Half Life 2: Episode 1 Engine and so will obviously be following some of the general conventions of typical first person shooter games, although it all incorporates other elements, such as action and the fact that it is 3rd person will make it more distinguishable from other games in it’s genre, since although this is usually an option in shooters, it is not usually the default setting.
Our game follows the conventions of first person shooter games since it is characterised by an avatar with its own weapons, and varying amounts of enemies, in this case being filled by Artificial Intelligent Non-Player Characters. It also includes Boss Fights, which is where the player is put up against a foe which is more difficult to beat than your average minion, and may require more skills and tactics than normal. The bosses in My Little Pferdkampf are four different pony characters which are based on the different play styles as mentioned before, and are based in their own worlds which must be overcome by using the playstyles which they are based on.
My Little PferdKampf is again distinguishable, however, by the fact that most First Person Shooters are recognisable by their gritty realism and graphic violence, whereas this game will be quite the opposite, using the cutesy elements of the game to create satirical humour.
FAQ
What is the game?
The game is a 3d, third person action adventure game, which involves the player in the role of a pony, the only one of the race to be immune to the toxic waste dumped by the Evil Bass Tards, whereas the other ponies become more competitive and violent. They are competing to become top pony by many different means – and the Top Pony of each area is represented by a boss fight which the player must overcome in order to reach the next area. The avatar’s aim is to beat each Top Pony in turn in order to reach the Evil Bass Tard’s Lair and face them in person (or pony!). It is single player, and is created in the Half Life 2: Episode 1 (Source) engine.
Why create this game?
The team is creating this game because shooter games have continued to be popular for a long time, but this one is a little different since it involves ponies! Also the different play style based combat is different to most shooters which have come out recently.
The team also aims to bridge the gap between casual and hardcore gamers, and as such the game will be appealing to both – although overall the game will be classed as “casual”.
Where does the game take place?
The game takes place in our world, but in a secluded area of countryside, with a river of course, for the Evil Bass Tards to dump their toxic waste into! It is based in our time too, but since it is such a secluded area, and such a controversial topic, it never gets out to the general public, leaving the ponies to run riot!
What do I control?
The player will control Butterscotch, a Cyber Pony, which is based on high armour but moderate damage, which obviously has its advantages and disadvantages.
Butterscotch is the only pony in the race to not become infected by the toxic waste dumped by the Evil Bass Tards in the pony’s water supply.
There is potential for having unlockable rewards, such as the Boss characters becoming playable once you reach a certain point in the game, for example.
What is the main focus?
The main aim of the game is for the player to use different combat and puzzle solving techniques in order to defeat the Top Ponies in each area, therefore clearing the way into the next area, with the overall aim being to reach the Evil Bass Tards’ Lair and defeat them for ruining their wonderful peaceful life!
What’s different?
The main difference with My Little Pferdkampf and the other games in the market right now is the fact that the character you control is not a human, it is a cutesy pony with a sinister twist!
Also, the main focus of many of said games is post apocalyptic environments with terrorists, which My Little Pferdkampf steers far away from.
Platform Specifications
This game will be playable on PC only, with possible future opportunities for porting to Xbox 360, in a similar fashion to Team Fortress 2. Since it is being created in the Half Life 2: Episode 1 engine, it will follow the system specification for this.
The system specifications are as follows:
“[Half Life 2] will require a DirectX 9 or better graphics card to take render the water effects, HDR lighting effects and other new graphics features.”
Minimum System Requirements for Half Life 2 (Orange Box)
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 1700 MHz
Display Card: DirectX 8 compatible graphics card
Memory: 512MB
Free Disk Space: 5GB
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista
Recommended System Requirements for Half Life 2 (Orange Box)
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 3000 MHz
Display Card: DirectX 9 compatible graphics card
Memory: 1024MB
Free Disk Space: 5GB
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista
Half Life 2: Orange Box Ideal System Requirements
For running the game smooth in 1280×1024 with High Quality graphics.
CPU: 3.4 GHz Processor
RAM: 1024 MB
Graphics Card: Radeon X800 or Geforce 6800
Windows 2000/XP/ME/98
Mouse
Keyboard
Internet Connection
CD or DVD ROM drive
Game Mechanics
Core Gameplay
Aims
There is one main avatar which is controlled by the player, the “Butterscotch” character. There is one main spawn point at the beginning of each map in an area, and the player must fight it out to survive to the end of that area. The aim of the pony is to use weapons provided, and different tactics and puzzle solving techniques to reach it to the end of the area, with the ultimate goal being to face the Evil Bass Tards themselves.
Objectives
To kill the enemies, the player must use the weapons provided and skills such as agility and fast reaction times in order to outwit the opponent, along with the health packs on each level to maintain life whilst the others are being killed.
Sub Objectives
Use W, A, S, and D to move the character, whilst using space to jump and the first and second mouse keys to fire primary and secondary weapons, and a close range melee attack to kill the enemy NPCs.
Rules
The player must use primary and secondary fires of Butterscotch’s weapon, and the close range melee attack in order to defeat enemies, and tactics and problem solving techniques in order to advance to the next area of the level. The player must use ammo and health packs in order to maintain a good level of both, which is required to beat the infected enemy ponies.
Avatar
“BUTTERSCOTCH” – Cyber Pony
High Concept
Butterscotch is the main characters within the game and has a passion for receiving pain and inflicting slow torturous pain upon others by use of a laser. Up close and personal; unfortunately Butterscotch can’t bite! His visor limits him from doing many mouth movements at all. He enjoys to head butt instead. Butterscotch has slightly more health than the other ponies, due to his armour protecting him a little from attacks (+25 more health) however, because the armour is a little heavy for his hooves, he runs 10% slower than the base movement speed (100%).
What is in a Name?
Butterscotch was chosen for this pony because of the satirical and contradicting theme throughout the game. It is a very cute name for a horse, and you would expect this horse to be very sweet also. However, even though this particular horse was very sweet before the intoxification – he changed immensely afterwards causing him to adore pain instead of pansies.
Background
Butterscotch’s age is not known exactly, but it is around the age of six (in human years). That is 240 years old (in pony years). Butterscotch hails from the same world as the other main characters. The ponies lived together in harmony for many years as humble, naïve creatures until one day, creatures who thought they were far superior and saw the land of ponies as an opportunity to dispose of some extra waste that had accumulated at their nuclear plant. The waste was poured over the pony land and into their water stream. Butterscotch was drinking from the river with his children when neon green muck began to infest the waters, and he accidentally drank some. That day everything changed.
Butterscotch, underneath the armour, is a creamy coloured cute-looking pony with big brown eyes. Only a slight amount of his skin/fur shows through the armour, to show the tattoo on his rump. His hair is a dark brown/toffee colour to better represent his name. On top of his body, he wears thick silver armour that is rusted and scratched in parts to show the battering and weathering of battle. The armour has small engravings and spikes coming from it along the back and mane to show the true nature of this pony; pain. He was a protective, loving Father who enjoyed frolicking across the meadows with his children, and tasting the sweets in Dessert land. After the intoxication, all care and love disappeared and he turned into a dangerous, aggressive and vengeful creature that tends to express himself with laser-beams and meaningful gestures and rarely speaks.
Family and Friends
Butterscotch was once hailed as quite a powerful Father figure to his two beautiful Foals who he would take out for trips to Dessert Land over certain weekends and Bank holidays. He was also married to a pony named Coco and together they lived happily until Butterscotch’s entire family were killed due to the Evil Bass Tards. Butterscotch went mad, and decided to take out his revenge on anyone who opposed him and didn’t care how hurt he got physically because the emotional pain would always be much more.
Fears, Superstitions & Dislikes
Butterscotch believed in the idea there might be other life forms on the planet all the ponies live on whom they had never met before. The other ponies generally rejected his beliefs which got on his nerves. His beliefs were proven when the Evil Bass Tards came along. His greatest fear was losing his family.
Likes
Butterscotch loves candy, and enjoyed a trip out to Dessert Land every so often with his children. He still enjoys the sweet taste of candy on his tongue. Butterscotch also enjoyed watching the odd sci-fi now and again, dreaming of space.
Life Changing Experiences
Everything changed for Butterscotch once his family died after they were poisoned by the Evil Bass Tard’s toxins. He was sent mad and extremely vengeful.
Physical Movement
Butterscotch, despite being a pony, walks on his hind legs as it is the best. Walking like this gives him much more power to movement and combat. The laser attached to his side is set off by thought alone. Butterscotch also gives a powerful head butt if he is threatened up close, by rearing his neck back and forcing it forward very fast upon the victim.
Individual Movement
Because of the weight of his armour, Butterscotch is unable to move as quickly as he normally would, and so his movements may appear weighed down, slower and less agile than normal.
Bosses
“APPLEJACK” – Tribal Stealth Pony
Applejack is a proud, honourable pony, who sneaks up on his enemies, has mid range attacks with medium damage; including blow darts and poison arrows. He is very fast, which contrasts him with other classes which may be slow but with high damage.
Background
Applejack was just like all the other ponies before the Evil Bass Tards arrived, spending his days grazing in the paddocks, and preening his mane in the sunshine. He is a green and brown coloured pony, with bright eyes which sparkle with a hint of mischief.
Family and Friends
Applejack is a bit of a loner and a rogue, and tends to spend his time alone rather than as a group. His actions will usually benefit him, rather than the whole group, although this doesn’t mean he is selfish or doesn’t care about others. It is for this reason he enjoys sneaking around and being stealthy, using the element of surprise to gain the upper hand over his enemy.
Fears, Superstitions & Dislikes
Applejack is fearless – focusing on the main goal of becoming “Top Pony”, without any setbacks. He is, however, very superstitious, and has a deep interest in the occult and dark magic, along with more traditional, simplistic methods of combat such as poison arrows, using stealth to his advantage.
Likes
In his spare time, Applejack likes eating, sleeping, preening his mane and reading fantasy novels!
Life Changing Experiences
Being left alone since he was a foal makes Applejack somewhat antisocial, but gives him a unique outlook on life. Also, since the Evil Bass Tards dumped their toxic waste into their water supply, Applejack has been much more violent, merciless, and ruthless in his methods.
Physical Movements
Applejack walks on his hind legs for speed and stealth. He uses his mouth to shoot darts and arrows, grabbing them from holsters and ammo holders placed around his body, which has become much more muscular since he began fighting.
Individual Moves
Due to his fighting style, Applejack tends to have a slight swagger in his walk. He maintains this for stealth, which means he is slightly crouched, and although he is sneaking, he is still capable of being the fastest of the ponies.
“EMBER” – Fire Pony
Ember
Do not be fooled by her warm and friendly facade. Ember stole fire from the Gods, and has no plan to return it any time soon. With a fiery temper, and a burning passion to kill, maim and destroy all those who oppose her, Ember will stop at nothing to come out on top.
Name: Ember
Background: Ember was frolicking up near the Candy Mountains when the Evil Bass Tards dumped toxic waste all over Ponyland. With the landscape erupting and corrupting around her, Ember hid in one of the many caves available. However, it wasn’t long before the mutation of the land around her became too powerful, and she herself began to mutate to survive the intense heat of what was left of the Mountains. Claiming this as her new home, Ember will do anything to defend it from any intruders ; Critter or pony alike.
Ember is an orange pony, with fiery red hair. She is aggressive, loud, and uncaring about anyone except herself. She wears a yellow fireman’s helmet for protection, but mainly because she thinks it looks good.
Movement: Ember canters along happily, without a care in the world. When it comes time to deliver physical punishment, Ember will rear up and kick her opponents in the face. They probably deserve it.
Dialogue: Ember, like all the other ponies, speaks English. Her accent however, is French.
“MUFFIN” – Assault Pony
Muffin
Muffin could possibly be better described as a Big Blue Brick Wall. With a tendency to blow up anything that moves, or possibly gives him a strange look, Muffin is not to be messed with. He strives to be on top, and is not afraid to fight dirty.
Background: Muffin was enjoying the sunshine in the fields of Ponyland when the disaster struck. Surrounded by toxic waste, he tried to escape but was soon cornered, and mutated.
Waking up shortly after, he found himself feeling a new sense of power he had not before. He trained this, working every day to make himself stronger. However too much power soon caused Muffin to become irritable and he found himself fighting with other ponies. Now outcast, Muffin will defend his field to the death, and woe betides any who try to cross it.
Movement: Muffin will sprint everywhere. He is a pony with no time to lose, and as such will charge and bite anything that gets in his way.
Dialect: Muffin has a strong Irish accent. You might find him slurring his words after a few too many pony beers.
“LICKETY SPLIT” – Flying Pony
Lickety Split
Lickety Split is one of the pantheon of main characters in the pony world – and aims to protect his part of the world at any cost. He is completely and utterly insane, and loves causing pain and mayhem amongst his fellows. In combat, he prefers ranged weaponry, as getting into close combat would mean staying still – something which he is never inclined to do. This is not to say that he is above taking the fight to the enemy. His defining feature is a pair of wings, sprouting from his back. This gives a limited ability to fly or glide. As a result he can move very fast. When on the ground, however, he is quite slow, and has comparatively less health than the other ponies, meaning that the sky is the only place in which he is at home.
Lickety Split was chosen as this pony’s name in reference to his speed. Before the change, he was very fast on the ground, and after he took to the skies with more speed. It also represents the somewhat fleeting, eclectic nature of this pony; never staying still or obsessing over one thing for too long. As with the other ponies, its deceptively innocent nature is a core part of the game’s concept.
Lickety Split hails from the same world as the other ponies. He was an energetic character; living a nomadic existence as he sprinted from one place to the next. He held no close friends, and none regarded him with trust; not out of spite, but more that they knew that his interest and disposition could change in a second. A lover of games and play, he would constantly pit himself against other ponies in contests of varying types, such as eating or singing contests, but by far his favourite was the foot race, in which he was unbeaten.
When the Evil Bass Tards’ ship loomed upon the horizon, resplendent with lights and activity, Lickety Split was delighted to see a new thing in what had become a rather mundane world for him, and so he naturally went up greet this newcomer and try to best it at something. Unfortunately, curiosity was his undoing, and being under the ship as it dumped waste meant that he got a full on dose on the substance. To his surprise and glee, wings sprouted from his back, and he found himself able to take to the skies. Other effects of the sludge were thinner bones, necessitated by his ability to fly, and insanity. The waste, coupled with the world he knew tearing itself apart, pushed his already unstable personality over the edge. He gathered the biggest, shiniest weapons and went to challenge his fellows in a game of death.
Lickety Split is white in colour, with a yellow mane and eyes. He can always be seen laughing and shrieking in delight at the mayhem he causes. The sky is where he is king, and he loves swooping amongst the clouds and turning his friends into little more than gore and giblets. Attached to his sides, there are bombs, which he drops on his enemies from on high. He also has a high powered rifle; he loves the way in which it makes their heads go *pop*. Finally, if he needs to, he can deliver a powerful kick to his opponents, before leaping away to a more desirable position.
Lickety Split despises boredom. He must always be doing something, even if that something is finding something to do. He also hates those who refuse to play with him, as they are just no fun in his eyes. He has a great interest in anything that is new, but nothing that he has seen before. He loves to gloat over his enemies, even if all that he’s left talking to is a dismembered corpse. The constantly changing environment of the sky is suited to him, as it could never be the same twice.
Story – Enemies
The “Evil Bass Tards” are the characters in game who dumped the toxic waste into the Pony’s water supply.
The player will face these as part of the end game content, as well as the fact that they will feature alot in some of the level environments, and so the player will be very aware of their presence.
Inspirations for the “Evil Bass Tards”
They will be heavily inspired by “steam punk, and generic evil scientists such as those featured in existing games such as “Bioshock”.
“Steampunk takes its aesthetic cues from the Victorian era, but a Victorian setting alone is not enough to make any work part of the subgenre. Steampunk’s appropriation of the exuberant inventiveness of the Victorian era’s gentlemen amateur scientists is not just about the aesthetic – although that is plainly important. Good steampunk recasts technology using pneumatics, pistons and brass to make obvious that which is often hidden behind the slick designs of the twenty-first century.”
“Steampunk machines are real, breathing, coughing, struggling and rumbling parts of the world. They are not the airy intellectual fairies of algorithmic mathematics but the hulking manifestations of muscle and mind, the progeny of sweat, blood, tears and delusions. The technology of steampunk is natural; it moves, lives, ages and even dies.”
This will fit in with the general style of our game, since it follows the cartoony, exaggagerated style of the game, with inventive weapons and character styles so as to appeal to the target audience.
Actors
Avatar – The avatar is the character that the player is player at any given time, from the point of view of the player, the character that they are controlling. In this single player game, the player will be acting as the avatar “Butterscotch”, the cyber pony – who is fighting his way to the Evil Bass Tard’s lair!
Enemy Ponies – These are the characters represented by the AI in the particular area that the player is in at any one time. They are represented by a green and white infected pony with green and red stains on it, and milky white eyes which don’t blink to make them super freaky!
Boss Pony – There is one boss pony at the end of each world who is Top Pony of that world. The player must beat this pony in order to advance to the next world. In total there is 4 Top Ponies, and once all of these ponies have been beaten, the player can face the Evil Bass Tards themselves!
Critters
These are level specific characters, which are represented by critter models, such as squirrels and butterflies, which the player can eat to gain health. The player eats these characters by simply walking over them, although the ones which provide more health will obviously be harder to catch. The total health of an average player is 200 (this represents 100 health and 100 armor), and the speed of the critters is rated on a scale of 1 to 3.
| Critter | Level | Health Gained | Speed |
| Clockwork Chicken (Large/Red) | Toy Town | 100 | 3 |
| Bugs & Butterflies (Large/Red) | GunDrop Forest | 100 | 3 |
| Fairy Cakes (Large/Red) | Dessert Land | 100 | 3 |
| Cockroaches (Large/Red) | Nuclear Plant | 100 | 3 |
| Birds (Large/Red) | Reins From Above | 100 | 3 |
| Snakes (Large/Red) | FireFalls | 100 | 3 |
| Scorpions (Large/Red) | Boneyard | 100 | 3 |
| Penguins (Large/Red) | <Winter Land> | 100 | 3 |
| G.I. Squirrel (Large/Red) | <War Zone> | 100 | 3 |
| Bunny (Large/Red) | The Meadows | 100 | 3 |
| Clockwork Chicken (Medium/Green) | Toy Town | 50 | 2 |
| Bugs & Butterflies (Medium/Green) | GunDrop Forest | 50 | 2 |
| Fairy Cakes (Medium/Green) | Dessert Land | 50 | 2 |
| Cockroaches (Medium/Green) | Nuclear Plant | 50 | 2 |
| Birds (Medium/Green) | Reins From Above | 50 | 2 |
| Snakes (Medium/Green) | FireFalls | 50 | 2 |
| Scorpions (Medium/Green) | Boneyard | 50 | 2 |
| Penguins (Medium/Green) | <Winter Land> | 50 | 2 |
| G.I. Squirrel (Medium/Green) | <War Zone> | 50 | 2 |
| Bunny (Medium/Green) | The Meadows | 50 | 2 |
| Clockwork Chicken (Small/Blue) | Toy Town | 25 | 1 |
| Bugs & Butterflies (Small/Blue) | GunDrop Forest | 25 | 1 |
| Fairy Cakes (Small/Blue) | Dessert Land | 25 | 1 |
| Cockroaches (Small/Blue) | Nuclear Plant | 25 | 1 |
| Birds (Small/Blue) | Reins From Above | 25 | 1 |
| Snakes (Small/Blue) | FireFalls | 25 | 1 |
| Scorpions (Small/Blue) | Boneyard | 25 | 1 |
| Penguins (Small/Blue) | <Winter Land> | 25 | 1 |
| G.I. Squirrel (Small/Blue) | <War Zone> | 25 | 1 |
| Bunny (Small/Blue) | The Meadows | 25 | 1 |
Weapons – In My Little PferdKampf, there are no weapons around the level, since the player starts with their primary and secondary class weapons, and then gains ammo by picking up ammo packs which are randomly dotted in designated areas around each level. The player also has a melee attack which is represented by a head butt at close range.
| Pony | Primary | Secondary | Melee |
| PLAYER PONY – Butterscotch | Laser (DOT) | Laser Shot | Head Butt |
| BOSS PONY – Applejack | Poison Arrows | Blow Dart | Kick |
| BOSS PONY – Lickety Split | Sniper Rifle | Bomb Drop | Shove |
| BOSS PONY – Muffin | Shotgun | Grenade | Kick |
| BOSS PONY – Ember | Breathe Fire | Fire Balls | Bite |
Doors – The doors in My Little PferdKampf will not be in every level, since the main basis of the fighting will be done outdoors, but in the case that there is a door, they can be opened on touch, making it easier for the player to get through. For example, they may be opened by shooting at them with the weapon, or bashing into them with the avatar.
Actions
| Actor | Action | |||
| Applejack | Boss character, blow darts and poison arrows. (High damage, low health). | |||
| Lickety Split | Boss character, bomb drop and sniper rifle. (Medium damage, medium health). | |||
| Muffin | Boss Character, grenades and shotgun. (Medium damage, medium health). | |||
| Butterscotch | Player Character, eg laser. (Low damage, high health (armoured)). | |||
| Ember | Boss Character, Fire Balls and Breath of Fire. (Medium Damage, medium health.) | |||
| Poison Arrows | Damage (Applejack) | |||
| Blow Dart | Damage (Applejack) | |||
| Sniper Rifle | Damage (Lickety Split) | |||
| Bomb Drop | Damage (Lickety Split) | |||
| Shotgun | Damage (Muffin) | |||
| Grenade | Damage (Muffin) | |||
| Laser | Damage (Butterscotch) | |||
| Ammunition | Add ammo to the supplies of the player character. | |||
| Breath of Fire | Damage (Ember) | |||
| Fire Balls | Damage (Ember) | |||
| Doors | Opening to provide access to other areas of the level. | |||
| Clockwork Chicken (Large/Red) | Give Health Points | (100) | ||
| Bugs & Butterflies (Large/Red) | Give Health Points | (100) | ||
| Fairy Cakes (Large/Red) | Give Health Points | (100) | ||
| Cockroaches (Large/Red) | Give Health Points | (100) | ||
| Birds (Large/Red) | Give Health Points | (100) | ||
| Snakes (Large/Red) | Give Health Points | (100) | ||
| Scorpions (Large/Red) | Give Health Points | (100) | ||
| Penguins (Large/Red) | Give Health Points | (100) | ||
| G.I. Squirrel (Large/Red) | Give Health Points | (100) | ||
| Bunny (Large/Red) | Give Health Points | (100) | ||
| Clockwork Chicken (Medium/Green) | Give Health Points | (50) | ||
| Bugs & Butterflies (Medium/Green) | Give Health Points | (50) | ||
| Fairy Cakes (Medium/Green) | Give Health Points | (50) | ||
| Cockroaches (Medium/Green) | Give Health Points | (50) | ||
| Birds (Medium/Green) | Give Health Points | (50) | ||
| Snakes (Medium/Green) | Give Health Points | (50) | ||
| Scorpions (Medium/Green) | Give Health Points | (50) | ||
| Penguins (Medium/Green) | Give Health Points | (50) | ||
| G.I. Squirrel (Medium/Green) | Give Health Points | (50) | ||
| Bunny (Medium/Green) | Give Health Points | (50) | ||
| Clockwork Chicken (Small/Blue) | Give Health Points | (25) | ||
| Bugs & Butterflies (Small/Blue) | Give Health Points | (25) | ||
| Fairy Cakes (Small/Blue) | Give Health Points | (25) | ||
| Cockroaches (Small/Blue) | Give Health Points | (25) | ||
| Birds (Small/Blue) | Give Health Points | (25) | ||
| Snakes (Small/Blue) | Give Health Points | (25) | ||
| Scorpions (Small/Blue) | Give Health Points | (25) | ||
| Penguins (Small/Blue) | Give Health Points | (25) | ||
| G.I. Squirrel (Small/Blue) | Give Health Points | (25) | ||
| Bunny (Small/Blue) | Give Health Points | (25) | ||
Behaviours
The goal is for the player to kill the non player characters in the level, following the general rules of single player campaign modes of shooter games. In order to work towards this goal, the actors will follow a certain array of behaviours.
Player Characters – using weapons in order to deplete the Non Player Characters’ health and therefore kill them, gaining access to the boss character of that zone and so beating them in order to gain access to the next zone – with the final goal being to beat the Evil Bass Tards.
Weapons – Used by the player characters to deplete the health points of the non player characters on the level. Different bosses have different levels of damage taking, depending on the playing style of the class in question, i.e. high damage, low health, or low damage, high health.
Doors – Opening and closing doors to gain or deny access to different parts of the level, helping towards the goal by allowing players to certain areas, and therefore other certain actors in the level, for example critters.
Critters – Help towards completing the goal by giving health points to the player characters, depending on the size and type of the critter in question, which also differs depending on the level, since the critter model differs as such.
Ammo – Help towards completing the goal by giving the player character more ammo. These will spawn randomly around the level.
Progression
Game Flow
Example World – Fire Falls
The player enters the world at the bottom of a hill, behind a wall with an entrance to the volcano caves. Up the path it is possible to see enemy ponies roaming near the cave entrance. The player makes his way up the path, and passes through the gap in the wall and fights the infected ponies once they are in range to spot him.
Once the infected ponies are dead, the player can enter the cave entrance and a loading screen will appear to note entrance to the next area of the map.
Once the next area is loaded, the player can drop down into the winding caves down below, where more infected ponies are waiting. Down in the maze that is the caves, it is dark and the corridors are narrow, with many corners. The best thing for the player to do at this point is to try and get out of the caves as soon as possible so as not to agro more and more ponies, since they tend to come running and ambush the players around corners. The player can see around dark corners with the use of the flashlight.
Once the player has killed all the attacking ponies, they can find their way to the entrance to the next room, which is a open chasm, with bridges carved out of the rock itself going up and overhead. There are infected ponies all around the level and since the chasm is tall but narrow, the ponies will be able to shoot the player from many different levels, creating interesting combat.
Once the player has killed all the ponies on the level, he will be able to run across the rock bridges and go through the archway into the upper chasm. Once the player has entered the archway, the loading screen will appear, letting the player know that they are entering the next area in the world.
Once the loading screen fades, the player is in the boss area of the world, and to mark this there is lava pits around the edge and an arena style chasm opens out in front of the player.
Once the player has defeated the infected ponies around the edge of the map, the boss pony, “Ember” will be waiting at the top of the level on her podium. She has two minion infected ponies with her to make the combat even harder. The difference between her and the normal infected ponies is a different weapon and higher stats such as health and damage.
Once she has been beaten, you can get past her into an archway which is across a rock bridge.
The player walks through this archway and the loading screen appears to notify the player of loading into a new area.
This next area is an escape tunnel which is pouring with lava, with stepping stones along the way. Some of these stepping stones have infected ponies standing on them, ready to fire when alerted. The player must jump from stone to stone, and if they fall in the lava they will die.
Halfway down the tunnel the top of the tunnel breaks away and the player can see daylight for the first time since entering the caves. In front of the player is a trench with infected ponies on it, and when the player steps into the trench, many more infected ponies rappel in front of the player. Once these have been defeated the player can climb the ladder to the platform where they must wait for the toy train to arrive to escort them to Toy Town. Once they have jumped on the train, there are also infected ponies down the edges of the mountain, shooting at them until the player reaches the bottom of the mountain and loads the Toy Town level.
Moves
The moves which are available to the player are:
- Primary Fire
- Secondary Fire
- Melee Attack
- Move Forward
- Move Left
- Move Right
- Move Backwards
- Jump
The moves will be controlled in the following way:
| Move | Controlled By |
| Primary Fire | Left mouse button |
| Secondary Fire | Change to secondary weapon using “Q” on the keyboard, then use left mouse button to fire as normal. |
| Melee Attack | Right mouse button at close range. |
| Move Forward | “W” on the keyboard. |
| Move Left | “A” on the keyboard. |
| Move Right | “D” on the keyboard. |
| Move Backwards | “S” on the keyboard. |
| Jump | Space bar on the keyboard. |
| Hover | Pressing the space bar twice in quick succession on the keyboard. |
The moves will visually look slightly different to normal shooters, since it will be in third person perspective so the moves will actually be seen from this view rather than usually when the player simply sees the move from their own perspective.
Primary fire for bosses will differ depending on the class, as will the secondary fire.
- Poison Arrows – shown by the pony shooting a poison arrow from their mouth, a larger model than is realistic in order to make sure the player knows which ability is being used. A green gas cloud will surround the arrow to make it visible. When shooting, the pony will crouch slightly, to give the impression that it is aiming.
- Blow Darts – shown by the pony shooting a blow dart from its mouth, a different model from the arrow, and using a bamboo tube to shoot it, as seen in tribal culture. A red gas cloud will be around the dart, making it visible and also differentiating it from the poison arrow ability.
- Sniper Rifle – shown by the pony using a sniper rifle object – shooting a bullet from said object. The aiming will change for this object to a zoomed-in interface, switching to this from the “bomb drop” ability, which is shot from a normal perspective. The damage done by this weapon differs depending where in the body the player shoots the enemy, for example if they shoot the enemy in the head, it is likely to be fatal, whereas if they shoot them in the body it will cause less damage.
- Bomb Drop – shown by the pony dropping bombs from above whilst using their “hover” ability which allows them to basically float above the map for a short period of time. They can then drop these bombs onto the heads of unsuspecting victims below! The bombs will be displayed on the character model to suggest where they come from.
- Shotgun – shown similarly to the sniper rifle ability, with a shotgun like weapon, which shoots bullets, with a short range but high damage, similar to the way shotguns are represented in other shooter games.
- Grenade – Shown by the pony throwing the grenade into a given area, specified with the aiming function by the player, also displayed on the body for realism.
Player Character Moves
- Laser – Shown by the pony firing a laser from the mouth, bright red in colour so that it is highly visible since it is such a high damage attack. Long range, used with the normal aiming mode available to the player.
- Breath of Fire – shown by the pony opening their mouth, and emanating a cloud of fire which damages all the players in the vicinity. This will be bright and colourful; in order to make sure it is visible across the map.
- Fire Balls – shown by the pony shooting balls of fire from their mouth, also bright and colourful. Since this power requires no physical ammo, there is no need for display of weapons around the character model.
Schematic of Controls
Modes of Play
Basic ways to play
The main mode of play in My Little Pferdkampf is a single player campaign, in which the player takes on the role of the Cyber Pony “Butterscotch”.
Further game modes can also be implemented to enable multiplayer gameplay, based on general multiplayer games, with modes such as:
Capture the flag – Capturing a pony flag which states pony territory.
Deathmatch – The main game mode based on the story of the game, every pony for himself, fighting to be top pony.
Team Deathmatch – Similar to the main game mode, although the ponies fight in teams to gain the most kills.
King of the Hill – Similar to deathmatch, this requires players to fight to a certain area and keep hold of that area until the game end.
Control Points – Territorial based game mode based on the idea that the ponies are fighting for the most territory as per the game idea of ponies fighting to be top pony.
Scoring for multiplayer modes
Points
| Player | Killed By | Consequence |
| Player A | Player B | Player B gains +1 point
Player A neither gains or loses points. |
| Player B | Player A | Player A gains +1 point
Player B neither gains nor loses points. |
| Player A | Themselves | Player A loses -1 point |
Collectables
| Collectable | Effect |
| Clockwork Chicken (Large/Red) | Gives the player +100 health points. |
| Bugs & Butterflies (Large/Red) | Gives the player +100 health points. |
| Fairy Cakes (Large/Red) | Gives the player +100 health points. |
| Cockroaches (Large/Red) | Gives the player +100 health points. |
| Birds (Large/Red) | Gives the player +100 health points. |
| Snakes (Large/Red) | Gives the player +100 health points. |
| Scorpions (Large/Red) | Gives the player +100 health points. |
| Penguins (Large/Red) | Gives the player +100 health points. |
| G.I. Squirrel (Large/Red) | Gives the player +100 health points. |
| Bunny (Large/Red) | Gives the player +100 health points. |
| Clockwork Chicken (Medium/Green) | Gives the player +50 health points. |
| Bugs & Butterflies (Medium/Green) | Gives the player +50 health points. |
| Fairy Cakes (Medium/Green) | Gives the player +50 health points. |
| Cockroaches (Medium/Green) | Gives the player +50 health points. |
| Birds (Medium/Green) | Gives the player +50 health points. |
| Snakes (Medium/Green) | Gives the player +50 health points. |
| Scorpions (Medium/Green) | Gives the player +50 health points. |
| Penguins (Medium/Green) | Gives the player +50 health points. |
| G.I. Squirrel (Medium/Green) | Gives the player +50 health points. |
| Bunny (Medium/Green) | Gives the player +50 health points. |
| Clockwork Chicken (Small/Blue) | Gives the player +25 health points. |
| Bugs & Butterflies (Small/Blue) | Gives the player +25 health points. |
| Fairy Cakes (Small/Blue) | Gives the player +25 health points. |
| Cockroaches (Small/Blue) | Gives the player +25 health points. |
| Birds (Small/Blue) | Gives the player +25 health points. |
| Snakes (Small/Blue) | Gives the player +25 health points. |
| Scorpions (Small/Blue) | Gives the player +25 health points. |
| Penguins (Small/Blue) | Gives the player +25 health points. |
| G.I. Squirrel (Small/Blue) | Gives the player +25 health points. |
| Bunny (Small/Blue) | Gives the player +25 health points. |
| Large Ammo Pack | Gives the player a large amount of ammo, relative to the weapon they are wielding. |
| Medium Ammo Pack | Gives the player a medium amount of ammo, relative to the weapon they are wielding. |
| Small Ammo Pack | Gives the player a small amount of ammo, relative to the weapon they are wielding. |
Life Management
When a player enters an encounter with an enemy, they will be aware of taking any damage by a red glow around the edges of the screen, and a warning noise. Their life bar, which will be displayed at the bottom left hand side of the screen, will start to deplete, and there will be a message on the screen every time they lose health points.
The player can then try and avoid this damage, using a series of dodging moves and jumps, fight back, or run away. Should the player sustain more damage than the total he has, he will “die”.
When a player dies, he/she will have to restart from the beginning of the area that they are in.
Similarly to damage messages, if the player is getting low on health, they will see how much health they have gained from eating critters by an on screen message stating “+100HP”, or however much said critter is worth.
Navigation
Since this is a single player game, it is necessary to maintain the element of surprise, and so there will be no mini map for the player to follow, so that they can explore the level. However, in the style of Unreal Tournament, there will be a cinematic walkthrough of the level, so that the player will know the basic outline of the level, and have an idea where the secret areas are.
There will also be a basic video tutorial which will teach the player the controls and how to use them, but apart from that, most of the content will be kept from the player so that they can discover the map areas, and higher skilled moves and tactics for themselves, making the game more fun and spontaneous. These will be made so that the player can skip them if they choose to do so, meaning that they don’t have to watch it every time they play the level! This is also a useful way to provide the player with something interesting to do whilst the map is loading, again keeping the player in the action and preventing it from becoming boring.
The player can also find their way around the level by following the critters, which will follow a path around the level, and so if the player wants to find areas in the map which they might not have thought to go through, they can pay attention to critters, and then run over them to gain health back!
Interface
Game Start-Up Design
Start-Up Flowchart /System Introduction
When the game is started up, a small number of videos are played. First of all is the company’s own logo, succeeded by the engine’s logo, just as proper credit is given (for legal reasons). As our game works on the Valve Source Engine, we will probably use the Valve clip played at the beginning of each of their games. Following these is the game’s introduction cutscene. This ‘sets the scene’ for the game and briefly explains the setting. It can be watched or skipped in order to reach the Main Menu faster. The final screen in this process is the Main Menu (explained below) which allows the player to access many options, and also play the game.
Start Game Interface
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This is an image of the Main Menu screen. It is based on the typical steam game menu, as seen in Half Life 2. This consists of a few lines of text; representing links to the other menus. When a link is clicked, it will open up a tabbed window that contains these menus. Images of these and their options are shown below.
Controller Configuration
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Whilst there are a number of set defaults for the controls that are in use from the game’s start up, some players may not be comfortable with this particular arrangement of controls, and therefore, they are given the option to change them via this menu.
The controller section is split into two tabs – keyboard and mouse. The key board tab allows players to edit the functions of certain keys to their liking, or restore default settings. The mouse tab allows players to edit mouse options such as sensitivity, inversion.
Music/Sound Configuration
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In this screen, the player has the option to adjust the sound settings of the game. This includes varying the volume of speech, sound effects, and in-game music. It is here that the player is also able to select which medium the sound is delivered through, dependant upon their hardware, and the software drivers and sound card that the game will use. Language can also be changed from this menu.
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Giving the player the ability to adjust the sound is useful since they may feel distracted by certain sounds, and therefore would seek to make the game’s soundscape as clutter free as possible.
Display Configuration
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This is the screen that allows player to adjust their screen’s settings. Properties like Gamma, Brightness, Contrast, and Resolution are altered here, as well as what hardware and software is in use.
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Certain players may want to alter these settings so that they get the best display for their particular monitor and video card combination. They may also prefer certain options such as a brighter screen or a smaller HUD.
Player Setup
This allows the player to control a small number of options about their load out in the game, such as default selected class. It also holds statistics about the player’s gaming habits.
Internet Options are controlled and accessed through Steam, a so are not covered here.
Style
Story Synopsis
The story follows a pony that has each been affected by an event that happened on their land in the recent past. The event that happened involved an evil, authoritarian corporation known as ‘Evil Bass Tards’ who decided the land where the ponies spent their days would be a perfect spot to dump some overflow of toxic waste they had created in their nuclear plants. The Evil Bass Tards in their ignorance poured the waste from their ship high in the sky into the ponies’ streams, meadows and forests. The ponies, in their naivety did not retaliate, nor did they have defences for their world and so the ponies were severely injured, killed or mutated. The story follows the one pony that was not affected by the toxins and wasn’t changed in creative and brutal ways, unlike the other ponies, who are now raged and violent creatures.
The story was created with morals in mind; it is not an obvious moral to learn but the idea that humanity can sometimes be ignorant to other species’ habitats and such when they feel the need for progression of their own race was placed in the game to make the player think about this in an almost comedic and blasé style.
As the game is singleplayer, the chance to progress the story through gameplay is available, and follow up short movies can be used as narrative devices. However, a spin-off multiplayer game could be established in order to provide a more light hearted, casual combat based game after the main game’s release.
The feel of the game
In order to push the idea of contrast and satire, we are creating a world which to the player appears naïve, childlike, bright and has a fun and uplifting effect on the player. The maps within the game will reflect this by using bright textures and cute, fun-looking meshes. The geography of the levels will also be studied to recreate this happy and calm feel using soft lighting, smooth surfaces and consistent style flow throughout. The gameplay itself however, tells a different story. The player plays fast placed games using brutal weapons to kill other ponies with, severely contrasting with the world and geography they’re using to their advantage. This creates a comedic yet chilling feeling on the player as the childlike innocence is stage to this kind of death and destruction.
Each of the ponies – player and four bosses – has been designed to work differently mechanically and to have different looks resembling their new personalities and attacks to have a sense of comedy and immersion. Five different voices will be used; one for each pony the player can play as. The voices need to differ strongly – harsh accents and voices reflecting each pony’s style of killing and ideas to make the player laugh. For example, Muffin will have a strong, bold, male Russian accent to contrast with the ponies look and name. Keeping with the idea of contrast of overall looks versus gameplay/persona’s will be very important here as the voices of the ponies will bring their (new) personalities to life and most importantly, make the player laugh. Critter voices will also be used, but these will be high pitched, cute, feminine sounds that the player will easily recognise and run toward if they require health.
The voice over for the initial introduction sequence, and various cut scenes will be a strong, relaxing, male voice similar to the voice of Steven Fry or Tom Baker. This is the kind of voice that is great for story telling and creating an almost patronising atmosphere. It is also a voice which many people can remember and has a soothing effect which goes well with our game world and again, contrasts with the overall gameplay.
The music also must reflect the world where it’s being played, with light and happy harmonies at the start of a death match game turning into more subtle drums, bass and horns toward the end of the game so the tension and anger is built up slowly in the player. Sound effects will include the voices of each of the ponies, critter noises, weapon sounds and depending on the map, environmental sounds such as trees swaying, birds singing, whirring of machines, different kinds of galloping hoof noises depending on the surface. All these effects will ensure the player feels immersed in the world therefore enhancing the childish and alive feel of the game.
Script Sample
Cut-Scene one – once a player has had 10 victories this is played to celebrate them
Critters (high-pitched, cutesy):
Hurray! Yippee! You did it! Yaay! Huzzah! Keep trotting!
Voice over:
Congratulations! You are currently the top player!
Introduction Scene
Voice over:
In a world.. far, far away.. a land of kind and loving ponies lived and worked together in harmony and peace. Nature and creatures of all shapes and sizes were their friends.
Music and Sound requirements
Background music:
Menu
Played in the background while the player is on the main menu.
This music is very soft, happy, almost nursery-rhyme-like. Instruments may include harps, light percussion (triangles, etc). A happy critter may occasionally be heard to exclaim “Yay!”.
Music will constantly loop.
Loading screen
When a player connects to a game, this will play whilst the game is loading.
The music will start off happy again, as above, however this suddenly fades into more aggressive, louder music with the same tune. This is to signify the ponies going into battle, and to set the mood for the coming gameplay.
The instruments would change from Harps, etc. into louder percussion (Drums, Symbols, etc) and from a harp to an electric guitar with distortion.
Introduction
Flute or similar wind instrument music. Bird song samples are played over it.
The music has an upbeat, calm feel about it. When the evil corporation appear however, the feeling of the music changes dramatically. Keyboards with deep synths may be used to signify that these men are evil. This music will continue while the ponies are mutating and the announcer tells the tale. As the screen fades to black, the music also fades, and the Menu music fades in.
End of round music
At the end of a round a short high pitched victory piece will play in order to signify that the player can advance to the next round!
Player Character Sounds
There are a number of commands that a player can use to make his character speak. This may be for different reasons, i.e. to call for help, and to issue or to acknowledge commands.
The player will be able to select these commands by pressing the appropriate button to bring up the menu.
Voice menu 1
Key: Z
- Help
- Thanks
- Charge
- Forward
- Flank Left
- Flank Right
- Yes
- No
Voice menu 2
Key: X
- Incoming
- Hidden Enemy
- Battlecry
- Thanks
- Taunt
- Nice Shot
- Good Job
In addition, the player’s character will make sounds that the player cannot control. This happens when the player achieves something, or completes an objective, for instance, dominates another player.
- Player is heavily wounded
- Player dies
- Player captures an objective
- Player wins the round
- Player uses more than half ammo in 1 go (laughs manically)
These are all the different types of sounds that the player’s character will be able to make, however, some of these will have more than one sound file associated to them. This is to prevent repetition and to add variety into the game, i.e. When Butterscotch is dominating, He may either say “That REALLY gets my pony off!” or “Eat dirt!”.
Interface Sounds
The only interface sound that may be heard is when the player mouses over a menu title that he can click. This will be either a small beep or a click sound.
Levels (Outline)
The Paddocks
This mortar ridden battlefield is where Muffin has taken up residence. Fighting to defend it, she has met few ponies worthy of allegiance. Once a field where the ponies would prance and spend their days, this wasteland holds hideouts, trenches and plenty of carnage.
The level consists of 2 different style areas. On one side, there are multiple trenches to hide in, accompanied by small hills. On the other side, there are several hideouts and vantage points to attack the enemy from. Both sides will have equal amounts of hiding places, to ensure balance.
The level will be scattered with various decoration, to add to the atmosphere and style of the level. Various pony helmets and bones will be seen, along with mortar shells and weapons.
There will be different critters to help the player refill ammo and health. Squirrels of various sizes and colours will be scattered around the battlefield, and eating these will replenish the player.
GunDrop Forest
This level is based on the connotations the player will have on a “gumdrop forest” from childhood stories, but with a sinister twist!
This will be a confusing, maze like level, reflecting the style of “Applejack”, the voodoo stealth pony, and will have many places to hide, providing a fast paced map with areas for surprise confrontations.
The critters in this level that the pony will use for health packs will be small sneaky creatures such as bugs and snakes. The critters will be running around the level randomly, so the pc will be able to obtain health at random intervals during the game play.
There will, in theory, be no long pauses in action since this is such a close range map with many corners for encounters, meaning that the player is less likely to quit. Also, the provision of health packs means the player is less likely to die, meaning they are again more likely to continue playing.
Although the level will be maze like, it will generally be centralised around the Gundrop Tree, which is the largest point of the map and so a focal point. Therefore the level will have a radial organisation, with the important spaces and collision areas around this central point.
Since the level will be organised in this way, this will prevent the collision point to simply be in-between two spawn points, meaning the level will be more unpredictable and thrilling. Because there will be a lot of cover in the level and places to hide, it will provide more interesting collision points with ways in and out.
The goal of the level is to eliminate the “Top Pony” AppleJack at the end of the level and so advance to the next area.
The level will be interesting to look at too, since it will use a variety of colours as shown in the reference pictures, but against a dark background, maintaining the sinister and satirical feel of the level, and the game overall.
Toy Town
This level is based on images of vintage toys and robots, with cogs, and a brightly coloured environment with exaggerated themes and architecture. This will not be reflecting the style of any pony in particular, although somewhat represents the feel of “My Little Pony”, our main influence, although it is once again presented in a satirical way.
The critters/health packs in this level will be clockwork animals, for example tiny robots or clockwork chickens. Again they will be running around the map randomly, providing hp at random intervals throughout the match.
Again this level is based on a radial level design, since there is a large cog sculpture in the centre, surrounded by a steam train track, and the buildings in the level are arranged around the outside of the level, with doors and corridors linking them together.
The goal of this level is to eliminate all the ponies on the level, without killing yourself, and therefore make your way to the “Top Pony” boss – Applejack. Once he is defeated the player can advance to the next level.
Similar to the GunDrop Forest level, there should be no long pauses in action in this level, since it is based on winding corridors and small corners around the outside of the level, and a wide open space in the centre, which also caters for different playing styles, hence making the game more appealing to a wider audience.
This level will also be aesthetically appealing, since it will feature classic images from vintage toys, but with a scary twist, for example the idea of toy robots malfunctioning and coming to get you! Furthermore the train in the centre of the map will be travelling along the rails for the duration of the level, providing another point of interest in the level.
Fire Falls
Fire falls is Ember’s playground. She thrives in this hot environment, forged from the inside of a volcano.
The volcano is a very open space, allowing the player to control their pony into almost every corner of it, however, some parts, such as the lava will damage the pony, meaning that they cannot stay there for too long.
The level is comprised of a main central platform, which lies on the floor of the volcano surrounded by lava. There are then a number of other platforms around the central platform, albeit these are higher up. This continues in a fashion whereby there are 3 tiers, all connected by platforms. Around the central platform there will be stepping stones for the ponies to step on, meaning that if they fall into the lava they have somewhere to get to quickly.
Where some platforms are not connected, the pony will be able to cross these by jumping, however lava fountains occasionally rise from the lava, meaning that the player can be injured if they jump at the wrong time.
The players will also be able to fall off the platforms, but the tiers will be arranged so that this does not mean instant death. If a player falls off tier 3, they will land on tier 1, with approximately half their life remaining. This offers an incentive to stay on the platforms.
Various ammo and health pickups will be placed around the level on key platforms. These come in the form of different coloured and sized snakes. The bigger the snake, the more health or ammo it replenishes.
The Nuclear Plant
This level will have a dark, metallic, futuristic style applied to it. The level itself will have a total of three elevations, giving plenty of room for different kinds of combat situations. On the very top level in a hidden location is a switch which will actually incinerate the bottom two levels killing everyone on it, meaning players will have a reason to ‘fight’ to the top (this switch will have a timer on it, so not to make it so overpowered). To make sure the bottom two levels aren’t unused for combat other various triggers are placed around there including trap door style triggers set at various places over hot bubbling green waste, so that your enemies can fall to their deaths when the correct button is pushed. This level is going to be a fairly animated level, with bridges you can activate to drop down for you to get across to the other side of a river of waste, dynamic lights and elevators.
Narrow walkways, ramps, many corners and a mixture of close-medium combat will also be key in this level.
Options
The options in My Little Pferdkampf will be similar to those of other source games, such as Team Fortress 2, or Half Life 2, since it is based in the same engine and so will have the same potential and limitations of these games.
As far as Keyboard and Key Binding options are concerned, the options are as follows (from Team Fortress 2):
Movement |
Key/Button |
| Move Forward | w |
| Move Back | s |
| Move Left | a |
| Move Right | d |
| Jump | space |
| Duck | Ctrl |
| Swim Up | ‘ |
| Swim Down | / |
Communication |
Key/Button |
| Use Voice Communication | v |
| Chat message | y |
| Team message | U |
| Voice menu 1 | z |
| Voice menu 2 | x |
| Voice menu 3 | c |
| Low on health alert (call for medic in TF2) | e |
Other |
Key/Button |
| Change Class | , |
| Change Team | . |
| Drop the flag (CTF Matches) | l |
| Taunt | g |
| Class: Primary Attack | Mouse 1 |
| Class: Secondary Attack | Mouse 2 |
| Class Specific Special Move | b |
Combat |
Key/Button |
| Primary Weapon | Mouse 1 |
| Reload Weapon | r |
| Previous Weapon | Mouse Wheel Up |
| Next Weapon | Mouse Wheel Down |
| Last Weapon used | q |
Miscellaneous |
Key/Button |
| Spray Logo Tag | T |
| Display Multiplayer Scores | TAB |
| Take Screen Shot | F5 |
| Quit Game | Menu |
| Toggle Developer Console | ` |
These options can then be changed to fit the player’s personal preference by clicking where it says “key button”. All key bindings are editable.
Mouse Options
- Reverse Mouse – Reverses the mouse’s up and down axis.
- Mouse Filter – Smoothes out mouse movement.
- Mouse Sensitivity – Alters how sensitive to movement the mouse in, from a scale of “low” to “high”.
- Enable gamepad – Enables the player to use a gamepad instead of the usual mouse and keyboard combination, and also enables them to alter the options for said gamepad.
- Reverse Gamepad up/down axis – Similar to “Reverse Mouse”, this option does exactly what it says.
- Swap sticks on dual stick controllers – Swaps the key bindings for the sticks on gamepads if there are two – useful for left handed players who might have it easier to have primary functions on the other side of the gamepad.
- Horizontal Sensitivity – Alters how sensitive the gamepad sticks are to horizontal movement, from a scale of “low” to “high”.
- Vertical Sensitivity – Alters how sensitive the gamepad sticks are to vertical movement, from a scale of “low” to “high”.
Multiplayer Options
- Spray paint Image
- Drop dpwn menu to choose an image – choose a spray image from preloaded images, or ones which the player has used before.
- Import Spray – Import an image to use as a spray. This will open a dialog box allowing the player to browse to the destination of their chosen spray.
- Disable sprays – Disable the use of sprays and the display of other player’s sprays.
- Enable Minimal HUD – Minimises the elements displayed on the Heads Up Display.
- Drop down menu to choose what happens when a game sever tries to download custom content to the player’s computer – displays options as to what should happen – i.e. allow all custom files from the server, or deny all custom files if the player doesn’t want to download custom content.
- Easy
- Normal
- Hard
- THAT REALLY GETS MY PONY OFF! (EXTREME MODE!)
Difficulty Level Options
Graphics and Sound Options
Audio Options
- Game Volume – how loud or soft the game volume is – including sound effects and character noises. Judged on a scale of “low” to “high”.
- Music Volume – how loud or soft the music volume is – including in-game music and ambience. Judged on a scale of “low” to “high”.
- Audio/Spoken /language – Changes the language that the characters speak when using voice emotes etc. This option, when changed, requires the client to be restarted.
- Captioning – Changes whether there are subtitles on the game for voices, and what language they are written in.
Video Options
- Resolution – Changes the resolution the game is displayed at. The options available differ depending on the specification of the computer the player is using.
- Display Mode – changes whether the game is displayed at full screen, or in a window.
- Aspect Ratio – Changes the aspect ratio that the screen is displayed at, again differing depending on the player’s system.
- Adjust Brightness Levels
- Advanced
Voice Options
- Enable Voice in this game
- Voice Transmit Volume – Edits the volume that the player’s voice transmits to the other players in the game, on a scale from “low” to “high”.
- Voice Receive Volume – Edits the volume that the other players in the game voices transmit to the player, on a scale from “low” to “high”.
- Test Microphone – A procedure to test whether the player’s microphone is fully working, and if not, what the problem is.
- Boost Microphone Gain
Support
Pitch Material
Technical Analysis
- Skeletal animation
- The characters in the game world need a complex and realistic bone system set up for them so that the player gets a sense of emersion. The ponies (main characters within the game) are quadrupedal and so a series of inverse and forward kinematics are required to make them move with better flow and realism. This can also be useful for other objects within the game world that might be animated, such as plants and critters.
- Level editor
- In order to create the detailed levels we have outlined for the game, a quick and easy solution to do this would to obtain an easy to use level editor where a mixture of brushes, geometry, materials, terrain and imported meshes can be built up to create a level. The ability for the designer to ‘see’ what they’re doing – a similar set up to a 3d program where you have four different viewports, each looking from different perspectives of the level the designer is creating. To be specific, use of primitive shapes and objects should be able to be selected and then placed into the world and edited how the designer wishes. From the level editor, meshes should be able to be selected and placed where required. We require for skyboxes to be built into the level from here also.
- Scripting language
- Certain elements of the game that we need might not be in the engine, or exactly as we want them. The ability to script and change certain elements of the engine for our usage is required to make the programmer’s jobs easier and so that even level designers can add elements to the engine when they need it. Scripting languages are often a lot easier to use than normal code (generally based on C or C++) and can affect in-game physics and environments as we need them. This also allows us to set up triggers in-game for sound and gameplay.
- Importing Objects
- In order to create a vast and exciting game world, we need to be able to import models from 3ds Max and Maya and set up collisions, animations and physics for those models if required.
- Sound Engine
- For fuller game emersion, sound and music is required that can play during menu screens and in-game. Occlusion/distance/obstruction of sound is also required if a pony is stood behind a wall or in a separate room or far away from certain action.
- Physics Engine
- In order for gameplay to appear real and for proper collisions to occur with in-game models and geometry, a physics engine is needed. There are also items within the game world which may have a certain ‘weight’ applied to them, or certain constraints where a physics engine would also be required.
- Lighting and Special Effects
- In order for the art to flow correctly, lighting and shadows will be needed along with rendering of more advanced shaders and materials to achieve the cartoon style look we desire. In order to have effects of explosions and weapon effects such as laser beams
- Optimisation
- To create large maps in our game a lot of geometry, physics and meshes will be needed. However on many people’s computers (mainly our target market – casual gamers) the ability to render large worlds all at once will be near impossible. The engine will need some kind of system within the editor to optimise the world so that only certain elements are rendered at any time.
The Source Engine
The Source Engine has all the mechanics that are required for us to build our game, along with a large developer community for help and support throughout creation. One of the most important elements of the Source Engine is the ability and support to easily create a mod – which is what our game will be. A simple modification of the engine using scripts, mesh import and character import.
Appendix 1:
Scripts
Introduction Script
The scene fades in to a wide shot of a large meadow, blue skies, flowers, birds and ponies all relaxing and eating grass. The camera pans down ever so slightly.
Voice over (male, strong, slow):
In a world.. far, far away.. a land of kind and loving ponies lived and worked together in harmony and peace. Nature and creatures of all shapes and sizes were their friends.
(11 seconds)
The scene cuts to a mid-shot of some ponies sitting and laughing together next to a stream.
Voice over:
The ponies never expected the fate that was to fall upon them.
(4 seconds)
Cut to: lalanalbalblabal
Voice over:
The corporation who name themselves ‘The Evil Bass Tards’ decided the [pony land] was an appropriate and disposable area to dump their toxic waste that they had created in their nuclear plants and warehouses. And so, the waste fell into streams, forests, meadows, stables.. all over the pony land. The ponies got infected..
(18 seconds)
Cut to shot of ponies with obvious infection and mutation and close ups of their raging faces.
Various pony voices make various grumbling sounds, in pain and shock. Screams can be heard by female ponies and children.
(3 seconds (this can still be heard throughout the next line of script))
Voice over:
The land was left to rot. And in time, the ponies changed. They were ridden with revenge and anger, and knew no better than to take it out on each other. And so the battle of the ponies began..
(10 seconds)
End with ‘My Little PferdKampf’ title screen.
Cut Scene One Script
A brief explanation of this cut scene is that it is played once a particular player has won so many victories in a row, this cut scene will be played for them to show everyone who’s playing on the server who’s currently the top player. The top player’s name will appear in the cut scene.
Critters (high-pitched, cutesy):
Hurray! Yippee! You did it! Yaay! Huzzah! Keep trotting!
Voice over:
Congratulations! You are currently the top player!
Team Details
Becky Sutcliffe – Producer (Inc. Documentation) and Texturer.
Emma Haley – Modeller and Animator.
Ozz Hart – Level Designer and Programmer.
David Symonds – Concept Artist, Secondary Level Designer
