What a topic title! As you can tell, I'm a very long winded person. You can skip to the first dotted line if you'd just like to learn about the project. The next dotted line is the download directory. I posted a topic just last month asking for advice about my future in game development. I've read a lot more material on the topic, including a few awesome design books that really got my gears rolling. So a very smart coder friend of mine came to me, knowing my knack for details, and wanted to know if I'd write a design document for a game that he could develop on the 2D engine he's been working on. Awesome! I brainstorm for a day or so, and come up with an idea for a 2D sandbox racing game with the ability to design your own racing vehicle with different ways to assemble the bodies in order to gain maximum use of the different upgrades. I went to him with the idea only for him to help me realize something: We both really don't like racing games. Why would we develop a racing game if we don't even like racing games? So I went back to the drawing board, but didn't throw all of my ideas out of the window. I instead wanted to capture the cool upgradeability that I'd envisioned in the racing game. I worked on some ideas, and came up with "Sentinel." ------------------------------------------------------ Sentinel is, at its most superficial level: A 2D platformer, ala Sonic. Add in some exploration/upgrading, I'm thinking Metroid/Castlevania, and throw in a whole heaping load of Metal Gear military story. You've sort of got Sentinel. I've got an early design document that is taking shape (Version 1.0 is currently 14 pages long without a developed level or enemy section. Future versions, hopefully by version 2, I should have started a multiplayer game mode) and I'm looking for a handful of more experienced and industry savvy users to possibly give my design document a read through, and possibly offer some constructive criticism? If I could really find a few dedicated people, it'd be nice to have some good advice throughout the design process. ------------------------------------------------------ Note: These files are a Work in Progress. Certain sections haven't even been included yet, and existing sections are by no means completed. This isn't a disclaimer so that I can cry "I'm working on it" when I get criticism; it's a disclaimer so that you're not surprised if I don't take a suggestion because the design is going in a different direction. Sentinel Project Directory Criticism I'm looking for: The design document itself -Organization -Clarity The Design -Possible degenerate strategies -Useless or excessive features Suggested features Criticism I'm not looking for: The Storyline -It's being rewritten every 10 minutes, and likely wont be an evolving aspect of this design document. The current included story is for all intents and purposes: A perminent rough draft. The Genre -I can't do anything about it being 2D and a combat platformer Thanks in advance! [Edited by - BSG on December 20, 2006 5:31:41 PM]

If you'd like to e-mail me, that's fine too. I could really use some suggestions and opinions!

I'll throw in a puppy!? Seriously, I'd REALLY like some feedback, but I'm also a little hesitant to put my first design document online for anyone to take. Anyone?

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Actually, this game is already being developed. I was asked to do it, as I stated in the original post, by a friend who is trying to showcase his 2D engine's capabilities.

Anyway, thanks for your offer/advice! I'll be posting a link to the file in this thread, so stay tuned!

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Quote:Original post by Kada2k6
1. "Hard" difficulty will have a 10 minute respawn on the enemies, but "normal" has 3 minutes. Surely 3 minutes must make the game more difficult, as they'll be respawning almost three times as fast?

The longer time setting is due to the enemies following you. To avoid enemy buildup during the many backtracking missions, I went with a longer respawn time.

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2. One idea for the "time trial" mode could be to have the entire game unlocked already, so instead the challenge would be to blast your way through as quick as possible, without having to hunt for keys and items.

The way we're planning the level, that'd be as simple as going into the first building and jumping to the top. There aren't any keys or locked doors, but instead, the different abilities will give the player access to parts of the game they couldn't access before.

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3. I don't mean to put you off, but there are already three other games called "Sentinel". One by Atari from 1988 called "The Sentinel", one from 1990, "Sentinel", and a 2004 game called "Sentinel: Descendants in Time". Perhaps you should consider this! You could add a second word to the game title, like Sentinel X, Sentinel Action or something.

I should have mentioned: The game name is strictly a codename, as the developer wants to name it.

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4. What happens if you run into enemies that are immune to the currently equipped weapon? The player is only able to carry one weapon at a time. Will he be able to "jump over" the enemies and continue on, or must he run back and switch weapon everytime? I could see some potential frustration here, as a player.

Fantastic question. There will be NO immune enemies. All weapons will be able to damage all enemies. However, some weapons will be far more useful against certain types of enemies.

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5. The game is going to be just one level, but as a programmer I would recommend splitting it into several small levels. These small levels could then be connected to give the impression of a border-less game world. Not only will it be easier to program, but it'll also make the level designer's work a lot more easy. You would also be able to delete, expand or compress sections (levels) that needs changes with more ease.

That's something the developer has mentioned. We'll likely split up the different buildings, and the outdoor areas between them, and possibly some other specific places.

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6. The controls should be customizable.

Done and done. These controls are just default. I'll make a specific note of that before the controls section.

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Thanks a whole lot for your feedback! I'll post in this thread when I've made a large update to the document, and I'd really appreciate your input then, too.

I won't comment on the game design, but I do have a few things to point out in regards to the design document.

For a start, you need pretty pictures! Its always much easier to just look at a picture than to read through tons of text. They don't say "A picture says a thousand words" for no reason.

For example, even after skimming over the document 3 times, I was not able to establish whether the game was a side scroller or a top down game because i somehow managed to miss the "Genre" section all those times! A simple picture of a side scrolling game there would've put the image in my mind instantly.

Its not necessary to make the images yourself or for the images to be production quality. Just copy images from existing games or make very rough sketches over which you can put more detail in as the design progresses.

Secondly, the numbers are missing! There is nothing a coder (and manager!) likes more than good ol' equations and arithmetic.

For example, higher level things like gameplay in hours, development time expected, number of levels, bosses, enemy types, effects, etc. And also lower level things like, size of the sentinel in ratio/pixels, how much area of the level would be visible at one time, maximum health, damage calculations etc.

I am sure you are planning to put most of those in as you enhance the design, but I am pointing it out just to make sure.

Quote:Original post by Zymph
For a start, you need pretty pictures! Its always much easier to just look at a picture than to read through tons of text. They don't say "A picture says a thousand words" for no reason.

For example, even after skimming over the document 3 times, I was not able to establish whether the game was a side scroller or a top down game because i somehow managed to miss the "Genre" section all those times! A simple picture of a side scrolling game there would've put the image in my mind instantly.

Its not necessary to make the images yourself or for the images to be production quality. Just copy images from existing games or make very rough sketches over which you can put more detail in as the design progresses.

Good point. I and the developer are actually tossing around images as we speak. I've got a graphic design background, so it'll mostly be my own work.

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Secondly, the numbers are missing! There is nothing a coder (and manager!) likes more than good ol' equations and arithmetic.

For example, higher level things like gameplay in hours, development time expected, number of levels, bosses, enemy types, effects, etc. And also lower level things like, size of the sentinel in ratio/pixels, how much area of the level would be visible at one time, maximum health, damage calculations etc.

The developer expressly wanted control over numbers, but I will be including examples to give a general idea how the variables will line up and be used.

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Thanks for the awesome feedback!

i would like to view your document too , and i wonder if you can mail me zhuangzj@corp.netease.com , of course i ll feedback my suggestion .

and dont worry about the industrial secret , i am a mmorpg system designer of PR.China , and i ll keep your document secretly .

i ll feedback you as soon as possible .