DevLog_00: Game Concept

1 year ago by Josh Daniels (@JoshDaniels0)

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Concept Statement

In Ampi The Antibiotic you play as Ampi; an antibiotic with a mission to journey through the body and rid your host of both good and bad bacteria alike by spewing your toxic insides on them, in a fast-paced platformer filled with puzzles and traps.

Genre or Category

Ampi the Antibiotic is a fast-paced action-adventure platformer designed to put the players thumbs and reaction time to the test. The game is classified as a platformer due to the focus on player control and jumping over obstacles. There are traps to dodge and enemies to avoid during Ampi’s traversal of the human body.

The game also falls into the action category as Ampi can be hurt by obstacles, falling, or bumping into bacteria. The player has the ability to fight back by spewing Ampi's insides onto enemies before they touch her. The adventure elements come as Ampi explores from the mouth, through to the throat and eventually the stomach, where this episode of the story will likely end.

Concept Creation Process & Influences

The idea for Ampi The Antibiotic comes from the desire to make a fun and fast paced game that could be a challenge to make. The aim is to have intuitive controls for movement and jumping, as well as snappy and reliable physics based movement. The plan for jumping is for each jump to always have a reliable maximum height, but also to be a lower height if the jump button is let go early. This mechanic was inspired by Super Mario World.

The game is also inspired by many other platformers, as well as the thankless work antibiotics have done over the last century. The gameplay and movement of the game will appear as a reductive version of the gameplay mechanics in games such as Rayman Legends, or the Donkey Kong series. Subtractive design techniques may be required to simplify the overall gameplay without sacrificing player enjoyment.

The theme of the game was only decided after the gameplay mechanics were chosen. A mock-up of a basic game with platforming mechanics was made in unity, using a 2D capsule shape as a temporary placeholder for a player. The capsule shape inspired the theme of playing as a capsule travelling through the body, fighting bacteria. The levels needed to be restricted in scope, so the inside of a human body was chosen to fit perfectly into this mould. Various parts of the gastro-intestinal tract have enough differences to be separate and distinct levels. The game required an obscure hook to separate it from other platformers, so it was decided that Ampi could split open in the middle and spew toxic antibiotic powder onto any bacteria. The twist being that both the good and bad bacteria must be killed in order to complete a level.

Early testing of game idea inspired the capsule based character

The theme and art design of the game is inspired by cartoony educational videos from the late 90s era. The bright colours of the game are to attract the eye and the large eyes of characters are there to bring personality to simple sprites, without requiring overly complicated and technical artwork.

The character design will be similar to that of Mr DNA in 1993’s Jurassic Park.

Audience and Competitive Analysis

The target audience for Ampi The Antibiotic is any person aged over 6. The bright colours and cute characters will hold the attention of children and adults alike. The platforming mechanics may be too technical for some younger children, but if the player can coordinate running, jumping, and spraying a toxic mist then they could play and enjoy the game. The game isn’t targeted towards the hardcore platformer crowd, but a more diverse crowd of varying ability. The game concept and themes are also designed so that they do not restrict the game by age or demographic.

The controls will include the use of keyboard, but using a controller will come recommended for the best platforming experience. This is to avoid alienating any audience group, especially the younger groups. With the limited number of inputs required to control Ampi, there is the possibility to further increase accessibility by allowing remapping of controls, however this may not be available at launch.

This genre of game includes many popular titles such as the Mario Series, Donkey Kong, Rayman, Super Meat Boy, Celeste, and many others. The category is hugely successful with a very large player base of all ages and demographics. There is great competition for this genre. Hundreds of platformers are released every year, and many of the all-time greatest games created are 2D platformers. Given that this is a small release on itch.io and limited scope of the game, it will not likely be fighting for bandwidth against the titans releasing this year such as Super Mario Bros Wonder, or Disney Illusion Island. The main competition would be the smaller indie platformers on itch.io or Steam. The defining feature of the game will be the theme of playing as an antibiotic capsule inside a body. This will be used as a method to differentiate the game from the plethora of other platformers on the market.

Background/Story

You play as Ampi, an antibiotic tasked with curing her host of any infection. Unfortunately, this means you will be required to wipe out all bacteria, good or bad. You goal is to complete this task within a generous time limit, and hopefully minimise harm to your host along the way.

Gameplay

The key gameplay element will involve the character controls. The game uses fast-paced platforming and the occasional split-second decision. You will be able to move, sprint, jump, and attack your way through the upper gastro-intestinal tract. You can use either a keyboard or a controller to control Ampi in her journey. There are traps that will cause instant death if you trigger them, so be careful about moving too carelessly.

The bacteria are your enemies; but they will not try to harm you. Bacteria have no interest in attacking a capsule. However, if you were to bump into one then you will become infected and die instantly. Timing your attacks will be key to dealing with these situations.

The game also contains moving platforms, requiring you to jump at just the right time to reach your goal, similar to those in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Some areas may also include the use of “buttons” so that you can influence your environment, to help you achieve your goal and complete each level. Be wary of the stomach acid.

Image from Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. This shows the type of platforming involved in the game. Image sourced from: https://www.rgj.com/story/life/2014/03/04/technobubble-donkey-kong-country-tropi...

Art Style

The art style of Ampi The Antibiotic will be hand-drawn art, possibly using water colours or muted colours. Level design will be based around the theme of inside the body, so the main colour is red/pink and other colours will have to be chosen around this.

Concept art of Ampi

An early sketch of the main character, Ampi. Particle effects will be used to show spewing toxic powder at enemies. Basic animation will be used for the legs and opening of the head, as well as blinking. Colours will likely be changed to decrease the saturation.

Concept Art of bacteria

A simple mock-up of potential types of bacteria to kill, as well as an experimental art style used to colour them. The colouring method may be used for other elements in the game after experimentation with the design.