1. Brain​ ​Storms Design Document
Team Blue Mage is
Harley Falkoff
Devin King
James Slanina
Travis Thomas
Table of Contents
Overview
Setting
Player
Movement
Aiming and Shooting
Switching Skills
Lightning
Rain
Snow
Hazards
Bolt Gates
Lightning Rod
Metal Floor
Enemies
Clockwork Man
Scrap Man
Run and Gunner
Puzzle
Puzzle Cube (Single)
Puzzle Cube (Multi)
Pressure Plate
Vent (Wall)
HUD and Menu
Scope

2.
Overview
Brain Storms is a Puzzle game at its core but uses the typical mechanics of a Shooter similar to
Binding of Isaac. The player shoots different kinds of storms to different effects and no
interaction will be a simple one­and­done action. The player will use both enemies and the
environment to progress through puzzles of all different kinds.
Setting
A fantasy steampunk world where automatons are commonplace thanks to ingenious inventors.
But one evil patent officer had the bright idea to steal Benjamin Franklin’s patents to claim them
as his own and use Ben’s rebellion against the patent system as a cover. Now Ben’s
descendant revives his ancestor’s brain works as his hands to build him his final invention: a
storm shooting mechanical suit that he can control as a brain in a jar. Armed with the powers of
rain, lightning, and snow, Ben Franklin sets off to battle the patent officer’s autonomous armies
to take back the patents of his inventions.
Executive Summary
Goals and Objectives
The goals of our game is to be a unique puzzle experience among top­down shooters.
Interacting with the environment will be key to uncovering secret areas and advancing through
the game’s levels. Our development goals are focused on creating an entertaining variation of a
classic genre. By using the power of different storms, players will explore and combat their way
through 5 levels of increasing difficulty, until they complete them all. Within each level, the
player will face several rooms of puzzles, each room marking a checkpoint for the player so they
don’t have to worry about game­overs or lives. Players will lose health when hit by enemies and
dying will restart the room and all of its puzzles.
Moments of Gameplay
In a typical top­down shooter the player must focus on a constant barrage of enemy attacks and
take them all down with their arsenal of weaponry. In our game, players will be under fire from
enemies in different ways, just like other shooters. Some enemies might shoot at the player
while others act as suicide bombers. However, we will only have a small selection of enemies

3. and will focus on creating puzzles using the enemies and the environment. Players will be able
to use their 3 different storm abilities as their weapons. The storm weapons will also be used to
interact with environmental props such as lightning rods. Solving puzzles will directly contribute
to the player’s progression through the levels by unlocking doors and paths. Our levels will
include a minimum of 4 rooms in each before the player can proceed to the next level.
Genre Comparison
Most top­down shooter games are described simply; the player moves around to dodge and
shoot the enemies that appear. In our game, we are incorporating puzzles as a main focus in
addition to the typical shooter mechanics. The different storms the player can shoot will have
different properties that are key to solving environmental puzzles and proceeding through the
game. By adding puzzles in this way, it will create a gameplay style that keeps the focus on skill,
but adds a way to incorporate the logical thinking of our fantasy steampunk theme into the more
action oriented shooter genre.
Pitch to Product: Core Mechanic
In our game pitch we presented an example of how the snowstorm ability created a snow pile
that covers the impassible barbed wire fence. However, now the player can no longer shoot
through the barbed wire and must travel to the other side of it in order to interact with anything it
blocked. This is an example of how our core mechanics will incorporate the puzzle mechanic.
Additional puzzles could be created that will require multiple storms in order to solve, ramping
up the difficulty of the puzzles as the players advance through the game.
Troubled Development
None of Team Blue Mage has worked on a project of this scope so there is very little
doubt that there will be dropped content. Our initial plan was to bring puzzles to the Shmup
genre however we soon changed to a top­down shooter genre instead. Among the first features
to be dropped in the event of a rush on the programming end would be complex AI enemies.
This has come to fruition as we have dropped the idea of implementing bosses almost entirely.
Programming heavy features would have ended up taking time away from other portions of the
project that were key to keeping the game concept’s puzzle­filled vision both functioning
properly and fun to play.
Art features to drop would be art assets that are not integral to gameplay. This means
flashy particle effects and detailed landscape textures will likely be dropped in favor of enemy
animations, and puzzle hints such as arrows. Without these key art design features, our game

4. may prove more frustrating than entertaining, so our artist(s) will focus on them. This means
particle effects that are not necessary for indicating gameplay elements and appealing world
textures serve as much lower priority art assets that will need to be neglected in order to create
entertaining gameplay.
Player
Movement
Feature Description
The player moves their character​ ​using W to go Up, S to Down, A to go Left, and D to go Right
in perspective to the camera.
Aiming and Shooting
Feature Description
The player uses their mouse to direct the mouse pointer on screen which controls the direction
the player character is facing and aiming. To shoot, the player will press the Left Mouse Button
(LBM). Shooting is also referred to using a skill or ability.
Switching Skills
Feature Description
To switch skills the player will press and hold the Right Mouse Button (RBM). With RBM held a
wheel with three parts will appear around the position of the cursor on screen. To select a skill,
while holding RBM move the pointer towards the desired skill then release the RBM.
Lightning
Feature Description
Lightning is a player storm ability that instantly flashes across the level until it hits a wall. Even if
the player’s mouse is in an open space the lightning ability will continue in a line pattern until a
wall is struck.
May be carried with the assistance of the Rain ability passing through the electrified field of an
object.
Rain
Feature Description

5. Rain is a player storm ability that fires a rain cloud that travels to wherever the player mouse is
on screen. If the rain cloud collides with an object or the player presses LBM again, the rain
cloud explodes releasing rain droplets in all directions. When red enemies are hit with the rain
droplets a bubble forms around the enemy preventing them from shooting and moving.
Snow
Feature Description
Snow is a player storm ability that fires snowflakes in a 90 degree cone in front of the player.
While short range, the snow freezes blue and bubbled enemies.
Hazards
Hazards are defined in Brain Storms as objects that work on their own, can harm the player,
and can never be completely defeated.
Bolt Gates
An electrified gate that can prevent the player from advancing until a either the field is down or a
puzzle condition unlocks the gate itself. Not passable by the player when it’s a solid bolt gate
requiring a condition.
When a bolt gate is set to pulse it will do so at intervals. If the player hits during the
electrification period they will be harmed but can still pass through it.
Lighting Rod
Has two options;
­ Can either pulse on intervals for a specific distance spreading electricity.
­ When hit with lighting power it will also pulse at the players will.
Metal Floor
Harmless to the player in it’s base state, However when lightning is used over it or when
another effect causes lightning to occur on the floor (i.e. Lighting rod) it becomes electrified.
This is hazardous to the player as well as enemies.

6. Rolling Rock
Rolling rocks spawn at particular points and roll in one direction until they hit a wall or the player.
They hurt the player, destroy snowballs, and can not be destroyed by the player in any way.
Their intent is to create an obstacle that requires timing, and to make snowball positioning
require a bit more finesse.
Enemies
All enemies have a means of defeat which renders them unable to deal damage to the player
for an indefinite amount of time. Enemies respawn when the player dies or if they’re absolutely
necessary for a puzzle to be completed.
Clockwork Man
Stationary enemy that when player is in proximity, will home in on the player resulting in an
explosion. (i.e. Kamikaze)
Enemy is susceptible to Snow power which will freeze it into a ice block state. Once in Ice block
the player can then use their lightning ability to destroy the target.
Scrap Man
Stationary enemy that when the player is in proximity, will face the players direction and begin
firing at the player. Will adjust to the player's current direction to continue firing if the player’s
distance is applicable.
Enemy is susceptible to Rain power which will encompass them in a temporary bubble which
stops them from shooting. While in a bubble the enemy may now be turned into a snowball by
being hit with the snow power. The snowball can be moved around by the player and by the
players abilities. Bubbles can be popped with any form of electricity, returning the scrap man to
his normal capabilities. Snowballs despawn after 2 minutes and the scrap man only returns if
snowballs are needed for a particular puzzle.
Run and Gunner
Enemy paths quickly in a specific space, either on patrol or cyclically through checkpoints.
When the player is within proximity the enemy will fire at the player. The enemy moves quickly
to make it difficult to pin down and target.

7. The enemy functions the same as the Scrap man with power weaknesses and firing capabilities.
May also be used as a snowball in order to complete puzzles, as a barrier, etc.
Puzzle Elements
Puzzle Cube (Single)
A cube that will have a single power use highlighted by a glyph on each side of the cube. When
the correct power is used it will flash green and blackout. If the incorrect power is used it will
flash red.
The cube is used to unlock doors, both for new rooms or sub­rooms.
Puzzle Cube (Multi)
A cube that utilizes multiple powers to be completed. These must be done in the correct order
and function identically to the single cube but with combinations of required storms. Use of the
wrong storm reverts the cube to the beginning of its sequence. The cube is used to unlock
doors, both for new rooms or sub­rooms. They serve the purpose of encouraging players to
defeat all the nearby enemies before trying to solve the room’s puzzles since the player is likely
to shoot it with incorrect storms in the heat of combat.
Pressure Plate
A bowl shaped plate on the floor that can be either stepped on by the player to unlock or in
other instances requires the use of the snowball in order to stay pressed in order to fulfill it’s
function.
Vent (Wall)
A clear wall that the player can not pass through. Everything else can pass through the vent.
This includes enemies, powers, snowballs, projectiles, etc.

8. HUD and Menu
Main Menu
Shows the title and has buttons for the following:
● Start Game
○ Opens the game with the tutorial level.
● Stage Select
○ Allows the player to choose any level.
● Credits
○ Immediately plays the credits sequence.
● Exit Game
○ Confirms if the player wants to exit and disables all other buttons until a selection
is made. Yes quits the game, no re­enables all the buttons and makes the exit
confirmation disappear.
Pause Menu
Both Escape and P will allow the player to pause the game and open the pause menu. This lets
the player return to the game or return to the main menu. Unpausing the game can be done in
three ways: pressing Escape, pressing P, or clicking the return to game button. Selecting the
main menu option will bring up a confirmation menu just like the exit game one on the main
menu, and will disable both of the other buttons. This also prevents keyboard shortcuts for
un­pausing so the interface is the only means of input. Selecting yes returns to the main menu
immediately, and selecting no removes the confirmation prompt and allows the player to return
to the game through normal means or click the main menu button again.
User Interface
The player needs to keep track of 2 things about their statistics: health and selected skill.
However there are more aspects to the user interface than this. The player also needs to aim,
so the player will have a direction indicator and a cursor. The player will always turn towards the
cursor, no matter where it is on screen. The cursor will change to reflect the selected skill and
the HUD will display the selected skill as well. The health of the player is both a number and
color­coded to indicate the severity of their current health. The skill and health display should
match the mechanical aesthetic of the game.
Additional dialogs can be displayed based on the context of the player in the game world. These
are known as Text Boxes and are indicated by a comic style speech bubble with an ellipsis in it.
When the player steps on or near one, it will display text on screen based on what they need to

9. know at that particular moment. They can have multiple lines of dialog and will show how many
lines they have in each message. Pressing E (alternatively left click) will advance the dialog by 1
message and pressing Q (alternatively right click) will go back to the previous message. This
loops in both directions.
Scope
Brain Storms will have a tutorial, and 4 other levels. This is both to keep the game within a
reasonable scale for our team size and to keep the production time short so it may be
completed within only a few months for educational purposes. The majority of our game’s
intrigue is from level design so we are using that to adjust scope more than other aspects such
as coding or art. We are limiting our enemy options to three particular base enemies and any
additional enemies will be variations of those three to keep the mechanics familiar to the player.