Game Design: Lunaʼs Quest

This game design document was one that I made for a game I was creating. The ideas and characters for Luna’s Quest are based off of characters from my book, Wolves of Noble.

Story:

The wolves of Noble Forest lived a peaceful life for many years, tucked away in their safe valley.  Their pack consisted of eleven wolves in total, a rather large pack that kept threats to a minimum.  Their only constant danger consisted of the numerous grizzly bears that made their way into the territory.  Humans were a rarity, all up until that fateful day that the moose arrived.

Hunters tracking moose came into Noble Forest, stumbling upon the wolf pack’s lair in the process.  Chaos erupted.  The startled hunters fired their guns and the wolf family scattered, racing in all directions to escape the bullets and the smell of burnt metal.

Alpha female, Luna, returned to the scene of the incident a few hours later, only to find the two elder wolves, Lilian and Denali, had come back.  They reported that the hunters had gone and that, as far as they knew, none of the pack members had been hurt in the shooting.

Despite that, Luna was terrified.  It was the first time she ever found herself truly separated from her pup, Charisma, and her mate, Juno.  With her pack in danger of bears and possibly hunters, Luna knew she had to find them and bring them home herself.

So began Luna’s Quest.

Playable Character:

Alpha wolf Luna from the pack of Noble Forest: The player will enter the game as the leader and mother of the pack, Luna.  She is gentle and wise but has a confident and slightly intimidating disposition to weaker wolves.  Luna is recognizable by her silver and white markings and icy blue eyes.

Collectable Wolves:

The eight wolves that need to be found are:

• Charisma
• Fireball
• Rusty
• Juno
• Pepper
• Whiplash
• Chaos
• Sponge

Others:

Denali and Lillian are the two wolves already at the den at the beginning of the game.

Concept:

If possible to implement, the colors of the pack would look something like this:

Enemies:

Grizzly bears that patrol the world can kill the player with one hit.  They cannot be harmed and can only be avoided.  There are no hitpoints or character health on either Luna or the bears, as the bears themselves are killzones.

World:

This game takes place in current time in Noble Forest, a forest that is hidden within a valley.  It is filled with evergreens and pools of clear water.  There is no exact geographical location, but it looks very similar to the Cascade Mountains in Washington State.

Genre:

Platformer/Survival

Audience:

This game would be geared toward kids ages 7-10, particularly those who are familiar with the Wolves of Noble story.  It is meant to be simple and family friendly, but not overly bright and cartoonish.  It is more life-like and is intended to draw in those who want more a simulation game.

Gameplay:

In this game, the player will control their wolf, Luna, as she traverses the valley looking for the eight lost members of her pack.  While searching the caves, dense forest and gullies, the player must avoid the wandering bears.  The bears are fearless and aggressive and have no qualms about killing a wolf that gets too close.  The player will have to choose if they want to take their chances speeding past bears or exercise their patience and wait for the patrol to walk away. 

Once Luna has found one of her lost friends, they will stick with her and follow her around the map.  Once all of the eight wolves are collected, the player should return to the pack’s base to reunite the family and win the game.

Game Goals:

• Don’t Die

Players will also need to avoid the bears within the world.  The bears can kill with one hit and they themselves cannot be killed.  Ideally, progress would be saved and a player would restart where they left off.

• Find the Pack

The ultimate goal of the game is to find the eight wolves in the valley and get them all back to the wolf pack’s base.  To do this, the player will need to use their sense of direction and memorization to guide themselves through the land.  The map should be relatively linear and not gigantic to keep it reasonable and not a rage game. 

• Return Home

A player that has collected all eight wolves can return to the base to successfully complete the game.

Style:

Ideally it would stay in the art style of Wolves of Noble to make it compatible with the story.  However, it will be in a more realistic style, like Wolf Quest.

Atmosphere:

There is natural lighting, but it not overly bright and happy.  It should be slightly muted to reflect the cold and lonely feeling Luna is experiencing while searching these vast woods for her family

The stillness of the world should also cause the player to be slightly unsettled and make them more aware of their surroundings.  Players should be comfortable in their ability to escape enemies but never feel entirely safe.  Although they are playing as a predator, they need to feel like prey.

Speed:

The game is in real time and as a whole, should only take 15-30 minutes to complete, depending on how the player chooses to explore the world and escape grizzly bears.

Controls:

Players will use the arrow keys to move Luna (possible walk and run mechanic) and spacebar to jump.  To get the other wolves in the game to follow, the player simply has to get close to them and the AI will be triggered to follow the player.

To end the game, the player will enter the wolf pack’s den and the game will reset.

UI:

The UI only needs a counter for how many wolves the player has found.  Although the pack will stick with Luna, a counter will make it simpler for the player.

Levels:

Luna’s Quest would be one level with no multiplayer options.  It would be intended to go with a future Wolves of Noble story and be a simple way for children to see the characters come to life.

In the future, as the stories progress, the game could as well.  That or it could become make a more open world/multiplayer game, like Wolf Soul or Feral Heart with customization options and a more interactive world.

Overview:

The idea is to blend the survival aspect of Wolf Quest with the graphics of Wolf Soul and Feral Heart and add in the Wolves of Noble story.  While not an overly long game, it should serve its purpose as a way for kids to see characters come alive.