Sunrise and Sunset :
Myths and Legends :
42: The Blades of Power :
Myths and Legends :
Written by myself with concept by myself and Nick Miller.
Design Document For:
Myths and Legends
Once Upon a Time Great Men Filled This World…
Copyright © 2008
Written by: Trent Garner
Version 1.0
April, 10 2008
Table of Contents
Name of Game___________________________________________________________________ 1
Table of Contents_______________________________________________________________ 2
Game Overview__________________________________________________________________ 4
Philosophy_____________________________________________________________________ 4
Philosophical point #1____________________________________________________________ 4
Philosophical point #2____________________________________________________________ 4
Common Questions______________________________________________________________ 4
What is the game?_______________________________________________________________ 4
Why create this game?____________________________________________________________ 4
Where does the game take place?____________________________________________________ 4
What do I control?_______________________________________________________________ 4
How many characters do I control?___________________________________________________ 5
What is the main focus?___________________________________________________________ 5
What’s different?________________________________________________________________ 5
Feature Set_____________________________________________________________________ 6
General Features_______________________________________________________________ 6
Game play______________________________________________________________________ 6
The Game World_________________________________________________________________ 7
Overview_______________________________________________________________________ 7
Scope__________________________________________________________________________ 7
Population_____________________________________________________________________ 7
The Physical World_____________________________________________________________ 7
Overview______________________________________________________________________ 7
Key Locations__________________________________________________________________ 8
Travel________________________________________________________________________ 8
Scale_________________________________________________________________________ 8
Objects_______________________________________________________________________ 8
Day and Night__________________________________________________________________ 8
Camera________________________________________________________________________ 9
Overview______________________________________________________________________ 9
The World Layout______________________________________________________________ 10
Overview______________________________________________________________________ 10
Engrossed_____________________________________________________________________ 11
Game Characters_______________________________________________________________ 12
Overview______________________________________________________________________ 12
Creating a Character__________________________________________________________ 13
Enemies_______________________________________________________________________ 13
User Interface__________________________________________________________________ 14
Overview______________________________________________________________________ 14
Active Screen__________________________________________________________________ 14
Menu Screen___________________________________________________________________ 14
BATTLE SCREEN/MENU 14
Weapons_______________________________________________________________________ 15
Overview______________________________________________________________________ 15
Weapons Details #1_____________________________________________________________ 15
Weapons Details #2_____________________________________________________________ 15
Weapons Details #3_____________________________________________________________ 15
Single Player Game_____________________________________________________________ 17
Overview______________________________________________________________________ 17
Single Player Game Detail #1____________________________________________________ 17
Single Player Game Detail #2____________________________________________________ 17
Story_________________________________________________________________________ 17
Hours of Game-play_____________________________________________________________ 18
Victory Conditions_____________________________________________________________ 18
Game Overview:
Philosophy
Philosophy 1:
An action adventure game offering a variety of challenges, while still remaining light hearted enough to appeal to a large audience.
Philosophy 2:
A visually impressive romp through several imaginative realms leaving the player with a bright childlike disposition.
Common Questions
What is the Game?
Myths and Legends:
- A 3rd person action-adventure game.
- Fantasy/ action.
- A heavily stylized and colorful world.
The strongest way to artistically appeal to an audience is through images reminiscent of childhood. M&L is full of bright vivid imagery and whimsical landscapes heavily influenced by a childlike imagination. The visuals of the game alone will bring attention to it, the game play itself will only further its success.
M&L is set in a world struggling through a time equivalent to our 1300’s. The vast majority of the population are members of the peasantry, and technology has failed to balance out the introduction of several new war tactics. Casualties are high for every battle and most of the populace longs for the past, when there were soldier to rally behind.
You will primarily control the young boy, Caddick. You will lead him around his village trying to find ways to entertain him. He is rambunctious and stubborn, but like any child he can be kept in check with a good story.
Caddick has a very active imagination and the story he is listening to will become a scene to play within his mind.
Though Caddick is the protagonist of the game, you will also take control of three other characters. Each one will be controlled individually.
The Knight Cort is a powerful warrior and a fearsome figure to behold. He is the pinnacle of a power based character.
The Wizard Enock is a sly, cunning man capable of bringing a soldier face to face with his nightmares. He is the pinnacle of a magic based character.
The Thief Wynn is an agile and relentless swordsman. He is the pinnacle of speed based character.
Game: To interact with the world and generally to just enjoy the stories as young Caddick perceives them.
Story: Travel around listening to stories about legendary heroes. The tales you hear as a child have an influence on Caddick. The legends set up strong ideals of what Caddick will aspire to do with his future.
The rich vibrant art style of the storytelling sequences provides a strong contrast to the lush realism of Caddick’s everyday life.
The art style is different within each of the story realms. As you progress through M&L the hero whose tale you choose to learn about will begin to have an effect on the world around Caddick.
Caddick will begin to see the world as he imagined his idol must have seen it.
- Detailed world
- Exciting player involved battles
- Three richly developed art styles for each of the Legendary warriors
- Player controlled character statistics development
Gameplay
- Free roaming environment
- Quick and simple battle system
- Actions made in game influence Caddick’s development (aside from the stories he listens to)
- Special items to discover for devoting yourself to learning about a specific warrior
- The game world exist as a simulation of an early 14th century Europe, with no noticeable landmark.
- It is its own world, and influence from our own is only needed as a segway.
- The world will be bright and comforting in the beginning of the game, and as a result of the players choices it may change.
- Characters within the world are basically realistic, until such a time as Caddick begins to see things differently.
- Characters within the world will always be human; through Caddick’s eye they may only become slightly more exaggerated.
- Battles in M&L follow the laws of physics very loosely and at times defy it altogether. The battles are meant to be flashy and enjoyable, yet simple enough to not cause great frustration.
- Characters can perform attacks that could not realistically be done. Characters can also produce devastation on a scale that is quite exuberant.
- There are few permanent consequences for Caddick’s behavior around his village.
- Battles are the only actions that have “permanent” repercussions. And this is only in the sense that if you lose, you get a game over and must load up again.
Scope
The world will be cut into sections. You begin in Kingsfort, a small farming village. You can go anywhere within this village but you cannot leave until later. There is also Sol, capital of the Southern Empire, and Varna, capital of the Northern Kingdom.
Population
There are many NPCs within M&L, though only the storytellers are of any true importance to the flow of the game. There are enemies to be fought, but not many friends to be made.
A world isolated within itself, it is large in scope, but lacks any reason to really explore it. The land will be traversed when Caddick reaches a point in the game that he is ready to leave.
The following describes the key components of the physical world.
- Kingsfort- The small village that Caddick hails from.
- Sol- the Great Golden City, it is the capital of the Southern Empire and seat of the Emperor’s power.
- Varna- the Crystalline Palace, the colossal frozen fortress is the last standing stronghold of the North.
- Hermit’s hut- a shoddy run down house deep in the mountains outside of Kingsfort. The old man seems to know a great deal about the Northern Kingdom.
You cannot leave an area until you have reached the appropriate point in the game. At which point Caddick will move on to the next area.
You begin the game with nothing more than a stick, as a child Caddick has no real need for a weapon because he has never had to fight for his life. As time passes though, the war continues to draw ever closer to Kingsfort, and it won’t be long before Caddick will have to take up arms.
As you play through the stories of the warriors you will become used to wielding different weapons.
Cort uses hammers, axes, and spears.
Enock uses staves, scepters, and crossbows.
Wynn uses swords, knives, and flails.
Depending on which warrior Caddick takes after will affect what weapons he may use.
NPCs are out and about during the day, but retire once their story has been told. The game maintains daylight until a story has been told. As night rolls in Caddick has only two options: return home, or wander around the village a bit longer.
M&L has a simple follow camera for the most part with player controlled rotation if desired.
Game World Logic:
- Physics:
- The physics of the world are construed slightly.
- You can jump higher than you could in reality, run faster, never fatigue from fighting or running, never physically need sleep, or other such physical limitations.
- In battles factors such as gravity, physical exhaustion, and conservation of energy are reduced greatly from the real.
- Characters can continue fighting at a constant pace until they win or lose.
- Characters may exhibit exaggerated hang time after jumps, and some characters defy gravity altogether with combos or attacks that they maintain a constant height through no real explanation.
- Characters may be able to generate seemingly uniform attack strength despite their size compared to the size of the enemy.
- If a character has a bounce (knocks enemy into the air) attack and an enemy several times larger than them is not immune to a bounce, then that enemy will be knocked into the air with no noticeable extra effort.
- Logic:
- Caddick’s future is more or less defined by whose stories you wish to hear.
- Choosing to not specifically follow through with one warrior will result in Caddick becoming a balanced character with no particular strengths.
- Caddick is the focus of the story.
- It is all about the development of Caddick as he grows.
- You can become powerful, but never all powerful.
- Caddick can only become extremely proficient in one of the three fields (power, magic, speed.)
Difficulty Levels:
- The game has three separate difficulty levels.
- Child:
- Your attacks do 1.2 normal damage
- Enemies have 0.85 normal health
- Enemy attacks do 0.8 normal damage
- Warrior:
- All stats are 1.0 to normal
- Legend:
- Your attacks do 0.75 normal damage
- Enemies have 1.35 normal health
- Enemy attacks do 1.25 normal damage
Engrossed
M&L is almost entirely forgiving, and the game asks no more of you than to enjoy yourself.
Main Character Details:
- Name: Caddick
- Age: 11
- Sex: Male
- Personality: Rowdy, energetic, and a little belligerent
You control Caddick for the entirety of the game. He is an average lively young boy, he loves to play and fight imaginary battles. He also loves to hear stories of venerable warriors and their own battles, though of course his imagination sometimes colors the tales a bit differently.
Caddick will grow as the game proceeds. He begins as a child and throughout most of the time that he listens to the villagers’ stories he will remain as such. As the game reaches the end of the story telling segments he will have grown to the mid-teen years. As the game enters its final act, Caddick will have grown to adulthood.
Support Characters:
- Cort- A knight whom had long been in the service of the Southern King. Once his life had been destroyed by the Northern forces. He vowed revenge and began carving a path of retribution across the land. Through his immense size and strength he was able to strike fear into any that stood in his way. He was a man said to be equal to twenty soldiers.
- Enock- A wizard selected as the Arch-councilor of the Northern King. He fell into disgrace and was exiled for exploiting forbidden arts. Not a social person by nature he readily took to his isolation. He was accused of many foul deeds and has become something of a boogeyman to the children of today.
- Wynn-A young man hailing from a long line of pick-pockets, smugglers, and con artists. He held himself in very high regard and was said to never miss an opportunity. It is unknown how he acquired his remarkable skill with a blade as many details of his youth have been lost to time. However, his rise to fame is legendary among the masses.
- Micca- Caddick’s little sister and primary play mate. She looks up to Caddick and constantly wants to join in his adventures. Caddick doesn’t always appreciate her company, but she loves to hear about his wanderings.
M&L has a large variety of characters to interact with, though many of them will have very little to do with you until you know how to approach them.
After listening to the introduction of the legend of Cort, characters that may have ignored you before will decide to speak to you as you ramble on about being like Cort.
Caddick is the protagonist and thus the same character every time you play. This is not to say that he will play the same every time though.
Caddick will become heavily influenced by whichever hero he becomes enthralled with. If the player learns the entire tale of Wynn, they will become a speed based character and play very similarly to Wynn.
Within M&L man is his own worst enemy. There is always a chance that you will encounter something more fearsome than a human, but most monsters have long since left this world.
- Bully
- Thug
- Southern Deserters
- Northern Deserters
- Northern Cavalry
- Southern Infantry
- Bandits
- Assassins
- Northern Royal Guard
- Southern Elite Knights
- Northern Wizard
- Southern Swordsman
- Wyvern
- Ogre
M&L will have no active interface during gameplay. In the pause screen there will be a menu interface. In battles there will also be an interface.
Active Screen
During active gameplay there is no interface present.
Menu Screen
In the actual menu screen the player will find the necessary menus to view all of the details on Caddick.
- Status- basic information about character (stats, health, equipment, etc.)
- Legends- read up on all the stories you have heard thus far.
- Items- an item list.
- The Tale of Caddick- Take you to a sub-menu detailing Caddick’s successes.
- Battle- Battle statistics highlighting combo count, enemies defeated, and other such details.
- Goal- Displays which King you are serving and who your hero is (of the three. Will be blank if Caddick is a balanced character.)
- A New Legend- Scores for challenges and special events that the player has participated in.
- Save/Load- enters save and load options.
- Main Menu- Returns you to title screen.
Battle Screen/Menu
In battle your health bar will be displayed along the top of the screen beside a portrait of the character.
To use items you need to open the pause menu. While the menu is open the battle is paused. Once you have made your selection or just exited the menu normal game speed resumes.
In M&L you begin being unable to wield weapons, and only have any interaction with them through the use of the other three characters. As the game progresses Caddick will begin training himself in the use of various weapons. By the midpoint of the game Caddick will be restricted to the use of weapons used by his hero.
If Caddick does not have specified hero, he will use Axes, Scepters, and Flails.
If the player follows the tales of Cort, Caddick will be able to use Hammers, Axes, and Spears. These are power weapons and grant medium range and high damage. The downside is that they are slow.
- Hammers: Hammers have the highest attack of weapons in the game, but also the second slowest. They have decent range and cover a medium area with each swing.
- Axes: Axes have decent attack area and decent damage. They are medium class weapons as they have good pluses and no severe cons.
- Spears: Spears are quick and have the second highest range in the game. They have the lowest attack of any of Cort’s weapons, but balance this with good area coverage.
If the player follows the tales of Enock, Caddick will be able to use staves, scepters, and crossbows. These are magic weapons and grant high attack area and high range. The drawback is that they have low damage.
- Staves: Staves boast the largest attack areas in the game as well as the third highest speed. They have the lowest damage and the weapon range is low.
- Scepters: Scepters have the second largest attack area, but are average in everything else.
- Crossbows: Crossbows have the longest range in the game, but are also the slowest. They have a small attack area, but high damage.
Weapons Details #3
If the player follows the tales of Wynn, Caddick will be able to use swords, daggers, and flails. These are speed weapons and grant high attack speed and damage, though they have low area coverage.
- Swords: Swords have the second highest attack speed and good damage. They have an average attack area and range.
- Daggers: Daggers have the highest attack speed in the game and decent area coverage. They have the shortest range and low attack.
- Flails: Flails have the highest damage of Wynn’s weapons, but are also the slowest. They have decent range and attack area.
For the concept and style of M&L it would be unnecessary to incorporate a multiplayer function.
You play as a young boy named Caddick, shortly after the games introduction you will hear the first part of the legend of Cort the Knight. Soon after you will automatically be introduced to the other two ‘Heroes’ from that point forward it will be the player’s decision as to which hero you will hear more about.
The point of the game is to choose a hero to follow in the image of and set out into the world to make name for yourself. As you reach milestones within the game you are given certain choices (i.e. which king you will serve.)
Here is a breakdown of the key components of the single player game.
As Caddick becomes more acquainted with a certain hero, the imagery he perceived during there stories will begin to filter into the ‘real’ world.
Ex. Caddick imagines Enock’s tales as very dark and somber with a kind of cel shaded look to the characters and world, and the NPCs appear basically as charactures.
There will be different endings depending on which hero Caddick idolizes and which king he serves.
The Continent of the Sun and Moon has long been ruled by two kings; the King of the South and the King of the North.
The King of the South is a fiery, hot tempered man that has taken up the torch, so to speak, with the continual war against the north.
The northern King was once a cold and fearless man but he has become frail and paranoid in his old age. While this may prolong the life of the northern King, it has put the northern realm at a great disadvantage in the war.
The Southern Army is slowly gaining more and more of the Northern land and troops become increasingly disheartened at the state of their leader.
The War has destroyed many towns and family on both sides of the continent. Forests are leveled for lumber, rivers are diverted and mines are stripped bare. There is one place though that seems unravaged by the endless war. On the most western edge of the continent, almost on the boarder of the north and south realms, lies a small mountain range. On the other side of that mountain range, only accessible by foot trail is Caddick’s self-sustained village.
I want the game to be enthralling without being long winded. So as to maximize these ideals it should take no longer than 15-25 hours to complete.