P4

1. Research
Josh Bailey

2. Existing Product
Restart
counter
Playable
Characters
(protagonists)
Stage timer
Collectables
Enemies
The image shows a level from a
side-scrolling shoot’em up game
and uses bright colouring to
distinguish different aspects of the
gameplay i.e. the good guys bullets
are blue and the bad guys’ are red.
As seen in the screenshot, the
characters that are playable all
have very different appearances
and power ups which easily
make them unique and offer a
range of gameplay choices.
Audiences who are interested
in action games as well as a fan
of classic platformers might be
intrigued by this game as it
shares quite a few similarities:
in the design (16-bit), the
controls, and the difficulty.

3. Existing Product
Character
Enemies
Obstacles
Collectables
Point counter
Coin counter
Pause button
The limited colour palette of this
game makes the style of it stand
unique from most modern games
and seem more old school.
The gameplay consists of swiping
in the way you want your
character to go all the while
timing it right so you don’t get hit
or stay in one place for too long.
With the 8-bit design it’s simple and
universal for anyone and everyone
of all ages, gender and race to play.
Some shapes used for the walls and
floor are significant and entwined
with name of the game ‘Tomb of the
Mask’ this gives the game an ancient
aesthetic and gives the glyphs
scattered around level meaning.

4. Existing Product
Character
(playable)
Collectables
Point counter
Character HUD
This games main mechanic,
thus selling point, is that you
change between different
animals depending on the
obstacle ahead or challenges
that require their power.
Unlike the other existing products I’ve
analysed, this game isn’t designed to
look pixelated. Instead this game went
for a more modern look and feel, with
properly designed foregrounds and
moving backgrounds.
The difficulty of this
game ranges thus
making it suitable for a
number of different
demographics and keeps
its audience open.

5. Research Analysis
What common features do the researched products
have?
• A similarity that all these existing products have is that they're not
in first nor third person. All are screenshots of a side-scrolling
games. Another similarity is that there is always some sort of
counter for points, meaning there should be rewards or ranks based
on how many you get.
What aspects of the research will you include
within your own work?
• For one thing I know that my finished product will be a side-
scroller, with a point and rank system and will have a number
of playable characters that the player can switch into.

6. Audience

7. Audience Profile
Category Demographic Content to appeal to this audience
Age Range
10yo+ • Have different difficulties.
• Levels easy enough for children but hard
enough of pros.
Gender
Any gender • Create characters of all gender and race to
reach out and not offend anyone.
Psychographic
Maybe players
with enough
experience with
other games
• It may take time for people to get used to
the controls if they have never played a
game like this. So I will make tutorial levels
for every time a new element is introduced.
Social Status
Any • Make the game free so no one will have to
buy to play.
• Make the game have in-app purchases .