1. Proposal
1
Working Title: COMMUTER
What is it called? This can change if you think of something better later
Audience: As briefed to us at the start of the project, my audience is 16-19-year olds. My game
won’t particularly restrict younger audiences from playing, however there will be minor elements of
violence and gore within the gameplay, but no particularly gruesome deaths, likely just puffs of
smoke if an enemy is slain. This means that it’ll appeal to younger audiences as well as teenagers,
allowing for a more popular consensus overall from both parties. The simple concept I intend to
create for my product means it should appeal to gamers and non-gamers alike, as it doesn’t
require a huge amount of focus and dedication to be Intune with the goings on within. Finally, with
the huge popularity of games found on the mobile market along side this simple concept I have in
mind, I believe this game would be best suited for mobile users, especially seeing as I’ve marketed
it towards teenagers whom of which seem to have a dangerous addiction to their phones. This will
allow gamers and non-gamers alike to access the game anytime, anywhere during moments of
boredom or stress, as I doubt it will take the place of any massive open world adventure game one
has to play on a console.
Rationale: Seeing as I was present here the previous year on the Level 2 course, I was able to
acquire crucial skills towards the development of my Photoshop understanding and prowess, that’s
not to say I’m massively gifted using the software, but for something as menial as this I’m certain I
can use my skills to a successful effect. Furthermore, on said Level 2 course we did a topic almost
identical to this one involving advergames, which basically follows the same concept using
Photoshop to create and animate the video itself and by using Premiere to add sound effects and
music, meaning I and other Level 2 students are already adept to this particular task and
personally I don’t think I’ll find it massively burdensome. My advergame itself wasn’t massively
complex, it was for a racing game and it didn’t once trip me up at any hurdle, so therefore I don’t
count this task will do differently.
Project Concept: The concept for my product is a commuter (given the name) waiting for a bus,
who ends up being left entirely abandoned in the middle of nowhere and from there begins the
commuters adventure to reach home. The game will be viewed in a top down third person style,
giving players full view of the setting around them and the task will be to get the character home
safety through different stages of wilderness, whilst fending off enemies trying to harm you, like
animals and beasts, to passing nut jobs who’ve also found themselves completely lost in the same
surroundings as yourself. Along the way, the character may find items of use to support them in
the venture home, such as med kits to restore health and weapons which can be used against
enemies, which ware off over time.
The main product I have in mind to research for my own game is the original 8-bit ‘Legend of
Zelda’ which came out in 1986. It contains a multitude of features I’d like implemented into my
product, such as the expletory narrative and top down viewing angle, as well as the more widely
found health bars, of which can be found in a plethora of games old and new, just to clarify I’m not
solely taking all of my ideas from this one game.
Evaluation: I plan to evaluate my work by taking screen shots along the way of production, which
will allow me to visually critique my methods. I also plan on giving explanations to how and why
some elements didn’t work and what could be done differently if given a second attempt, which will
support me through to later projects when looking for an answer to my problems (if the problem at
hand is obviously animation related). On top of that, I will also look to receive feedback from
surrounding class mates and students alike, who can give me constructive feedback from an
external point of view, the answers will most likely vary from person to person, but I’ll be able to
crunch down on faulting aspects which may repeat through several different points of view.