Game Development - input please

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Sodan

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Heya smart people of mBB!

So, I'm doing this Game Design and Development Specialization course at Coursera.

In course 2 (Game Design) we learn about the "High Concept Game Design" document, which is somewhat analogous to the "Elevator Pitch" in entrepreneurship.

I would like you guys to give me some feedback on my Game Design Concept. I have already handed in my assignment, so don't worry, you won't be "doing the assignment for me" ;)

In the next few posts follows my High Concept Game Design Document.
 
Merrimath - Happy Honey

by Sodan

Target Audience/Gamer Type: Kindergarten and Primary School Kids, who want to learn mathematics skills in an enjoyable setting

Target Platforms: Android and iOS tablets

Genre: Serious Game (games for education and learning), 2D multiple-choice quiz-based platformer, 2D shooter and resource management, online

Number of Players: Single player, Single Teams (2~4 players - Co-op Mode), Multiple Teams (Co-op Competitive Mode)

Projected Release Date: December 2017

Concept Statement
Honey is used as an ingredient in many different kinds of items, e.g. food, medicine, skin care products, etc. Depending on the combination of flowers the nectar is gathered from, the honey may have different properties or flavours. So let's make a game in which the player is tasked to produce different kinds of honey, according to in-game recipes. The catch, however, is that the language of bees is... mathematics! To get the bees to produce the right kind of honey (according to a recipe), the player will have to "Speak Math" to the bees in order to direct them to the correct flower types.


Features
  • Answer multiple choice mathematics (school arithmetic) questions to produce different kinds of honey, e.g.
    "Eat Your Veggies" recipe: addition sums
    "Funky Fruits" recipe: multiplication sums
    "Nothing But Nuts" recipe: subtraction sums
    "Flower Power" recipe: division sums
    Note: questions are (randomly) regenerated each time the recipe is used.​
  • Cartoony non-serious look, creating an enjoyable experience for players who may not like mathematics/may find it difficult.
  • Littered with humour. e.g. a bee may be lazy/sleepy, and the player will have to poke the bee awake. Bee gets a fright, and displays this humourously.
  • Also sprinkled with references to pop-culture cartoon artefacts (sounds, speech, art, etc.), e.g. Teen Titans GO! and Finding Nemo.
  • Mathematics teaching system."Hints" are available which follow the same steps to the solution to a maths question as taught in the classroom. Hints are displayed one step at a time, essentially teaching the solution procedure to the player. This is the crux of the "teaching" aspect of the game.
  • Time pressure: e.g. Hospital (needing honey for medicinal purposes) places an order for 5 jars of "Eat Your Veggies" honey, and they need it in 15 minutes. The player must then fulfill the recipe (answer the addition questions) 5 times within the allotted time.
  • Enemies. Attacking insects (e.g. wasps) come to steal from the player's honey.
  • Combat system: player can shoot honey at wasps to entangle their wings, and stop them from stealing the honey. Different attackers have weaknesses to different kinds of honey. Attacking with honey depletes the player's honey store (less available to sell). This adds an engaging new 2D shooter dimension to the game.
  • Player progression:
    1. Progress acceleration. Faster progress for more skilled players: buyers collect their order as soon as it is ready, and may place new orders.
    2. Multiple hives. Player may gain additional queen bees (for multiple hives) by making honey from the Royal Jelly recipes. Bees require time to gather nectar; the more complex the recipe, the longer it takes. Having multiple hives then becomes advantageous.
    3. Unlocking recipes. Recipes are unlocked as the player progresses.
  • Many ways to vary the difficulty:
    1. Difficulty of, amount of and variability of mathematics questions per recipe,
    2. Time available to fulfill order,
    3. Enemy strength/speed/flying pattern,
    4. Royal Jelly recipes are especially challenging (and increase in difficulty proportional to the number of hives the player already has).
  • Auto-adjusting difficulty level (and Hints shown) based on player's performance in the mathematics quizzes
  • Player character outfits. Player may personalize player character with different outfits. "Cooler" outfits are unlocked the further the player progresses, which serves as further motivation to play and progress.
  • Credit system. Earn credits by selling honey. Use credits to purchase: honey recipes, hive homes (for multiple hives), player character outfits.
  • Simple controls. Click on/select correct answer for multiple choice questions; typical 2D space shooter for combat mode; simple 2D interfaces for: going to a recipe seller, purchasing a recipe, and selecting a hive in multiple hive scenarios, purchasing and selecting/wearing outfits.
    [*]Co-op Mode. Multiplayer mode in which players co-operatively have to fulfill difficult orders that they cannot possibly fulfill on their own.
  • Co-op Competitive Mode. Individuals on a team are co-operate with each other, but multiple teams play against each other. The winning team is the one that gains the most amount of credit in a limited amount of time, e.g. 20 minute "play-offs".



Player Motivation

The player answers mathematics questions according to a recipe to get bees to make different types of honey. A recipe determines the kinds of mathematics questions being asked, as well as the type of honey being made, e.g. the "Eat Your Veggies" recipe will ask Addition Sums and produce Vegetable Honey (honey from the nectar of flowers of vegetable plants). The player will be approached by buyers (e.g. hospital, restaurant, etc) with orders for various kinds of honey, and the player will have a limited time in which to fill the order.
Periodically, the player defends the bee hive from enemies (e.g. wasps) that want to steal the player's honey.
The player will choose what kind of honey to shoot at the enemies to stop them (different enemies have weaknesses against different kinds of honey).
As the player progresses, more complex recipes are unlocked (and thus the player learns increasingly difficult mathematics skills).
The player also unlocks increasingly "cooler" player character outfits.
 
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Affects
  • sense of achievement - player improves on his/her school mathematics skill level
  • altruism/sense of helping others - animation shown of sick people getting better after player supplies honey to the hospital.
  • challenge/suspense - time pressure to fulfill honey orders
  • cooperation - in Co-op Mode
  • competition - in Co-op Competitive Mode



Competing Games/Apps
Kindergarten and Primary School Mathematics games/apps available on the smartphones' stores (Apple Store, Google Play Store).
ixl.com (not a game, but a strong world leader in school mathematics software)


Innovation/Creativity/Unique Selling Points
  • Learning is integrated into a greater game experience. Competing games/apps generally have a strong focus on the material to be learnt (e.g. ixl.com). However, in Merrimath - Happy Honey, the player is more focussed on fulfilling orders and hive expansion; answering the mathematics questions is merely a means to this end. Hence, this could be classified as Stealth Learning.
  • Furthermore, the learning is integrated into a Resource Management "main game" with occasional switches to a 2D shooter.
  • In-game training for the mathematics skills being taught - no prior learning is necessary.
  • Auto-adjusted difficulty settings according to the player's performance in the mathematics quizzes (difficulty may be increased or decreased - and rewards are adjusted proportionally)


Team Roles
  • Game Design: responsible to for game concept and design
  • Game Development: responsible for development of game
  • Graphics Artist & User Experience: responsible for creation of visual artifacts, and User Interface design
  • Audio Artist: responsible for all audio artifacts (sound effects, voice, music)
  • Quality Assurance: responsible for testing



Scope Management

Prototype - May 2016
  • Single Player Mode only
  • 2 recipes: Eat Your Veggies (addition) and Nothing But Nuts (subtraction)
  • 1 buyer: Hospital
  • 1 basic enemy (Wasp) and 1 "boss" enemy (Wasp Bully)
  • Placeholder graphics, animations & sfx
  • No music

Red Light - September 2016
  • Proper graphics, animation and sfx
  • Proper music



Orange Light - June 2017
  • +3 recipes: Funky Fruits (multiplication) and Flower Power (Division), Royal Jelly 1 (Sequence Forward and Sequence Back)
  • Multiple hives
  • +2 buyers: Restaurant, Cosmetics
  • +4 basic enemies, +1 boss enemy


Green Light - December 2017
  • Player Outfits
  • Multiplayer Co-op Mode
  • Multiplayer Co-op Competitive Mode
  • Leaderboards
 
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Hook factor score: 22/40 (see here)

[TABLE="WIDTH: 587"]
[TR]
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Score
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Item
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0
[/TD]
[TD]
Does the target audience already respect the developer of this
game?
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
1
[/TD]
[TD]
Does any aspect of this game design brings back fond memories
or nostalgia for the target audience?
[/TD]
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[TD]
0
[/TD]
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Are the graphics generally likely to be better than
rival/competitive products?
[/TD]
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0
[/TD]
[TD]
Are your artists going to be able to make this subject matter
look breathtaking?
[/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]
1
[/TD]
[TD]
Based on the story scenes, do you expect people to want to
watch every minute of the cinematics? (Get a point if there are no
cinematics in your game.)
[/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]
1
[/TD]
[TD]
Will the game feel new/original/fresh?
[/TD]
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0
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Will it be easier to play (easier to get into by design) than
competitive games?
[/TD]
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2
[/TD]
[TD]
Is the functionality/depth/range of features planned for the
game more impressive when compared to other games in the same
genre?
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1
[/TD]
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Do you think a player would be perceived as "cool"
by his friends if he introduced them to this game?
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Would most people (not just hardcore gamers) be able to play
your game and get into the most fun parts relatively quickly?
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Does the game have a cool-sounding, easy to remember/easy to
say/easy to spell name that suggests or reveals what the game is
about?
[/TD]
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[TD]
1
[/TD]
[TD]
Is there an exciting feature that can be saved for the Limited
Edition version?
[/TD]
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1
[/TD]
[TD]
Does the game potentially have any collectable value? (Is it
part of a series, for example?)
[/TD]
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1
[/TD]
[TD]
Can the owner play the game with his friends sitting on the
sofa next to him?
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Can the owner play the game with his friends through the
Internet?
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If playing through the Internet, can the player chat with his
friends easily while playing?
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Can the player share or trade his success (his spoils of war)
with his friends?
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1
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Can the game be customized or personalized?
[/TD]
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Is the game going to be presented by a respected game
designer/programmer or producer?
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Will the game star a really well-known celebrity character,
actor, or actress?
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Will the soundtrack be crafted by a very (globally) popular or
famous composer or band?
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Is the story written by a famous or respected writer?
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Is the focus on a subject matter that the target audience is
really excited about these days? (One that hasn't already
been done many times before?)
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Will people be amazed by the visual effects?
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Does the global gaming audience really love this game genre?
[/TD]
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Is there any controversy regarding this game that the target
audience will hear about?
[/TD]
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1
[/TD]
[TD]
Is there a way to make the price lower than that of your direct
competitors?
[/TD]
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[TD]
0
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Do you have any clever plans for marketing the game?
[/TD]
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1
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Will the game engine have a way to avoid long boring periods,
long load times, or other elements that try a gamer's
patience?
[/TD]
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[TD]
1
[/TD]
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Are you sure people won't think this game is weird or
strange?
[/TD]
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1
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Will gamers playing this game laugh out loud at any time while
playing?
[/TD]
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1
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Would it be possible to reveal the unique hook in this game in
a television commercial of 30 seconds?
[/TD]
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1
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Can you play this game without ever reading a manual (by
design)?
[/TD]
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Will you have movie-quality sound effects/ambiance/speech in
the game?
[/TD]
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1
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Will the game offer immediate replayability?
[/TD]
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If a player gets stuck, will the game detect this and help him
out of this problem?
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Will the game have interesting "very memorable moments"
(high points), as opposed to repetitive gameplay?
[/TD]
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[/TD]
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Will the story have an exciting start?
[/TD]
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[/TD]
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Will the story have a surprising ending that will compel people
to talk about it?
[/TD]
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1
[/TD]
[TD]
Will the game have a fun and interesting learn-as-you-play
in-game tutorial?
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
 
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I guess it's a terrible idea and you guys are just sparing my feelings by not commenting.

But to the drawing board for me, I suppose :(
 
Too much info there.

Kids dont like maths. Kids don't like healthy eating. You've combined the two.

Rather combine things like destroying things and eating unhealthy. Call your game Destroying Candy or Candy Crush.
 
Have you considered posting on *cringe* makegamessa.com? I'm sure you will get plenty of feedback there.
 
Dude.. when I make a game.. all I think is.. what can be fun.
The way you've broken this whole thing down just kind of killed any fun factor.
 
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