Isak berg Nordmark Jakob Have

Game Design Document

Introduction
Robot rescue is a platformer puzzle game, in which the player has to traverse a 2D level
alongside a group of larger mindless robots. The player avatar is a smaller, faster and smarter
robot, trying to rescue the others from an evil factory. The player can modify the robots and give
them abilities to help them reach the goal.
The game is viewed from the side as what has become known as 2,5D.
The playable part of the level is made up of cubes. These form the basis for the puzzles as some
of them can be destroyed and other cant.
Game goal
The player must take himself and a number of the robots from the starting point to the finish.
Failstates
The player succumbs to one of the hazards in the level. Hazards will be explained in the
Environment section.
The player is trapped and will be forced to restart the level.
The minimum requirement for how many robots to save is not met at the end of the level.
Player
Movement
The player controls an avatar that moves in a 2D plane. When
the player holds down a move key, the avatar accelerates before
max speed is reached. When the player releases the move key,
there is deceleration before the avatar stops.

The movement should be fluent and bare some resemblance to
the real world, with acceleration and a different feel between
being airborne and on the ground.
If the avatar hits an obstacle it will bounce off it, reversing its
direction and reducing the velocity.
Size
The avatar is smaller than the robots,
allowing it to enter corridors that are
only 1 cube high. This enables us to
make puzzles where the player has
to move ahead of the robots.
(e.g. to activate switches).
Camera
The camera follows the
players movement in a 2D
plane, but should have a
slight drag, to make it look
more fluent.
Jump
The jump key accelerates the player upwards, allow-
ing it to traverse 2 cubes vertically.
At full speed, the avatar can jump horizontally across
a 4 cubes wide pit.
While in the air, movement acceleration is decreased,
making it harder, but not impossible to change direc-
tions.
Robots
When a robots encounters a 2
cube or higher obstacle it turns
around and continues in the
opposite direction.
If the robot encounters a 1 cube high
obstacle, it will jump onto it.
Falling
If a robot falls more
than 9 squares it is
destroyed.
Collision
Robots do not collide with
each other or the player.
If the robots have been
clumped together, they
will spread apart when
there is room enough to do
so.
Movement
The robots will follow a fixed movement pattern, depending on what obstacles they encounter
in the world. When nothing is in front of the robot it moves forward at a fixed speed. This adds
stress and timing elements in the puzzles. (e.g. save the robots before they fall in a pit or activate
an ability at the right time)
Abilities
Modify
The player can rebuild the robots or refit them with equipment that allows them to break their
normal movement cycle. This part is essential to the puzzles and is what allows the player to
bring himself and the robots to the goal.
A key aspect is that abilities are limited, making it part of the puzzle to figure out what ability
to use at what point during the level.
It is important that the abilities are connected to the robot theme, to make the mechanics make
sense in the story.
Pickups
Some levels will have pickup points,where the player can find a supply of a
specific ability. This will allow for more control over the puzzles, by
limiting the options for the player when the level begins. It can also be
used to enhance the platformer element of the game.
(e.g. the player has to traverse do a series of rapid jumps to to pickup
a new ability and make his way back to the robots with it).
Build stairs
Lays out a cube in front of the robot, in jumps onto it
and lays out another. Rinse and repeat 5 times.
The Ability is disabled if the robot changes
directions. This is a way of traversing
gaps or getting out of pits.
Platform
Adds a platform on top of the robot, which a
robot can hit to break a fall or the player can
stand on.
This allows the player to reach beyond the
usual 2 cubes vertical limit with a normal
jump. And can be used to save a robot from a
fall without a lander.
Abilities
Dig forward
Removes cubes in front of the robot until there is none left to remove or it hits an indestructible.
The danger of using this can be digging outside the level or into a hazard.
Dig down
Removes cubes under the robot until there is
none left to remove or it hits an indestructible.
The danger of using this can be digging outside
the level or into a hazard.
Blockers
The robot stops and act as a wall, effectively stop-
ping other robots from continuing in that direction,
while the player can still continue past it.
The blocker is active for a fixed time. Each time
the player adds one it stacks (e.g. the player adds
blocker three times will consume three of the
ability and the robot blocks for three times as
long).
When the time has passed, the robot continues in
the direction it was headed when the blocker was
applied. This allows some form of control over the
robots while the player moves to a new position.
Lander
The robot fires a thruster before
hitting the ground, saving it from
dying from an otherwise lethal
fall.
This can be combined with
diggers or stairs layer to take the
robots to otherwise unreachable
places.
Environment
Lava
Instant death volumes placed in pits. This
adds gameplay to both platformer and
puzzle element, forcing the player to take
a specific route or get creative in trying to
traverse the danger.
Shockers
Will cause the robot to pause for a few
seconds before moving on. Alternative
variant of the shocker holds all robots
and lets them out at a fixed interval. The
player is not affected by these. This
enables more control over timing based
puzzles, resetting the space between the
robots. It can also add a danger element if
the shocker is placed beneath a crusher.
Crushers
Can be based on a timer or activated by
a trigger. If the player or a robot is hit by
one it will instantly die. This enables tim-
ing puzzles or trigger based puzzles (e.g.
the player has to run from switch to switch
to let the robots through).
Saws
Will instantly destroy player or robot on
touch. This hazard can add stressfactor
(e.g. the robots are walking towards it
and you need to save them) and give a
platforming element to make it harder to
move around the level.
Environment
Pit
Unescapable pits can also be considered a hazard and will force the
player to restart the level. The game encourages a trial and error method,
therefore it is important to keep the levels relatively short, as to not force
the player to go through 5-10 minutes of gameplay to get stuck on the
same problem again.
Triggers
Can be activated by the player. These can have
different effects, e.g. removing hazards, changing
cube types, opening doors or altering the level in
another way.
This can give a timing element and add to the
complexity of the puzzles.
Out of bounds
The player or a robot can fall
outside the level if a robot
digs through the outer wall
or the bottom of the level.
Falling below the level
destroys both robot
and player.