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Tagged

Figure 1: Rough mock-up

Concept Document
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Summary
Tagged is a simple side scrolling, platformer where the plays as a female graffiti artist in a rundown
futuristic city. She used her acrobatic skills in order to beautify the city.

Platform: iPhone/iPad
Genre: platforming
Audience: Casual

Main character and abilities

Move to the right: VPad right
Move to the left.: VPad left
Jump (Jump height = twice the character sprite height): B button
Crouch: VPad down

Overview
The player’s job is to use her agility to reach High Visibility points on the map and “tag” them with
pieces of graffiti. She must also use her nimbleness to avoid enemies.

Description
The player is a medium height female with a hooded sweatshirt on. Her clothes are loose fitting for
mobility as she is very agile. The hood is pulled up so her face cannot be seen. She is wearing plain
white shoes so that the movements of her feet read clearly to the player. She is also wearing a
backpack that holds stencils and spray paint cans. Is has some loose straps and strings that flow in
the wind as she moves in order to exaggerate her movements, making them easy to read. The front
strap has reflective material on it so the player can see her in the dark.

Setting and world

Blade Runner meets Mirror’s Edge

The game world consists of run down futuristic cities. Each level takes place in a different city. The
backgrounds are evocative of Victor Hugo’s drawings, dark and drab, so the player’s art stands out on
the dark, muddy walls.

The player’s job in the world is to beautify the cities when passes through with her art, helping lift the
citizen’s spirits. Unfortunately thugs are running lose in the streets who want to people to stay
demoralized so they paint over any art that they see painted by the player.

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Character special abilities

1. Tag: the player sprays paint onto a surface with a stencil. She may do this while falling, jumping, ect
as well as stationary.

2. Sprint: By holding the VPad right then tapping and holding (or the opposite for sprinting left), the
player can sprint for a short duration. This helps her make long jumps and accumulate momentum
which can be combined with Wet Surfaces to move at great speeds.

3. Gravity Boots (unlocked in the second level): the player picks up the Gravity Boots upgrade which
allows her to stick to Gravity Surfaces as if she is walking on the ground. These are activated by
pressing and holding the B button when near a Gravity Surface.

Key references

Figure 2: Characterization

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Figure 3: Environment

Figure 4: Lighting and Style

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Figure 5: Art Style

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Controls

iPhone/iPad

Virtual pad and two buttons ( A and B)

Move to the right: VPad Right

Move to the left: VPad Left
Jump: B button
Crouch: VPad Down
Special 1: Tag – A button
Special 2: Sprint – VPad, tap a direction then hold in that direction
Special 3: Gravity Boots – B button - hold

Notes:

1. No action occurs under virtual controls (ie. No enemies appear under the player’s thumb)
2. Detection of “press and hold” should be forgiving as the player can’t feel button presses

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Gameplay elements
Surfaces (Ex: solid ground that the player collides with)

Special Surface Types

.
Surface #1: Grippy 
Properties: The Grippy surface allows the player easy hand holds so that she sticks to it like a spider
whether it be on the wall or ceiling.

Surface #2: Wet

Properties: The Wet surface is very slippery. It adds to the player’s momentum in any direction that
she touches it by 2x. This makes for great speed bosts but is difficult for precision jumping and
maneuvering.

Surface #3: Gravity Surface

Properties: This surface emits a form of artificial gravity than can only be utilized whenthe player gets
the Gravity Boots.

Interactive elements
Interactive element #1: High Viz
Gameplay: Properties: High Viz areas are spots that are highlighted on walls that yeild the best skill
point bonuses when tagged.

Interactive element #2: Bounce Pad

Gameplay: This object behaves like a trampoline but it magnifies the player’s momentum by 2x when
launching from it.

Enemies
Define 2 enemies and describe their behaviour.
Enemy #1: Scrawlers
Behaviour: Scrawlers paint crude letters and ugly lines on walls. If they see the player tag a wall they
will paint over it as quickly as possible, causing the player to lose their skill point bonus. The player
may paint over it again at the expense of their time bonus. They aren’t very bright so if they don’t see
the action they won’t know it happened.
Enemy #2: Brawlers
Behaviour: Brawlers will swing fists wildly at the player and knocking her back.

When paired with Scrawlers, they can be extremely troublesome.

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Reward system
In level
The player receives points for tagging High Viz regions. These rewards are shown on screen as
numbers popping up over her tagged surfaces with all of the energy and sparkle of Peggle. Extra point
are given for stylish maneuvers (e.g. Quick Tagging a High Viz area while falling through the air or
sliding by at high speed). Additional bonuses are given for speed.

Between levels
Between levels a scoreboard is shown with the player’s stats. Things like number of High Viz areas
tagged, overall time, and number of acrobatic manoeuvres preformed are tracked.

The player also has access to a customization screen here where she may change clothes and
costumes as well as different accessories that become unlocked as the game progresses. Some such
accessories are more stencils that give more points or new spray can caps that shoot faster.

Player behaviour
This encourages the player to stylishly tag High Viz areas as fast as possible. It also creates situations
where the player must make choices whether to do the stylish combo or the quick one depending on
her situation. Replay is encouraged by this system; keeping player’s playing the game.

Game audience
Features for a broader audience
Lack of violence. This can make the game appropriate for younger audiences and audiences not
interested in
competitive win/lose scenarios.

Simple, strong silhouetted art style. This makes the visuals more readable for inexperienced players.

A decided lack of a “losing”’ state. The player can’t fail in a binary sense.
The player may perform well and gain extra rewards but never “lose” the game.

Constant rewards that pop up on screen and sparkle in a graffiti lettering style ala Peggle, similar to
the level
up sequences in Torchlight.

A story progression that involves conflict between friends and heroism.

The main character is already female and her outfits can be accessorized via upgrades earned by
doing well in game. Since the game is not based on shooting and killing but on creating art, it may
already have a strong link to a female audience. This is expressed in a larger way by the player
improving the city by creating beautiful murals.

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The first level

Visual references

Figure 6: Level Style

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Figure 7: Pre-beautified Wall

Figure 8: Level Feel and Setting

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Figure 9: City Style

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Level design

The Gravity Boots are obtained when the player falls down into a pit with a Bounce Pad at the bottom.
A prompt comes up on the screen informing the player to press and hold the B button to gravitate to a
Gravity Surface. In this case there is one above the player that is only reachable when momentum
from the Bounce Pad as been built up.

The player must use the Gravity Boots to stick to the Gravity Surface at the top of the map in order to
progress.

Figure 10: Level

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