Plot and technology developments

A new year, a new project. Well, I'm going to renew it at least. Gamemaker 8 has come out! I have to try it out, and I think I want to start over the coding. After looking at some of Lars's coding for Little Monster, I want to do more things with scripts, to make it concise and reusable. So, for the conversion... let's hope they have more png support and transparency and coolness =)

But, first thing's first, the proposal. My goal is to finish that before school starts, which may be a great challenge, but I have a lot of free time at least. I have been reading a lot of books for the research. My favorites so far are Jesse Schell's The Art of Game Design, Philosophy Through Video Games by Cogburn and Silcox, and an oldie but a goodie, The Myth of the Learning Machine by John Heaford. There are a couple of others that have been marginally useful, but I won't mention them here.

Anyway, I've come to a few realizations about my game, working through some of the lenses in Schell's book. My game is really about the story of Salvation, from a Christian perspective. He would call this a "resonant theme", something that shakes you to the core if you get it right. I'm still trying to figure out how the themes of flying and exploring and papercraft fit into this, but I think it's an experiential theme that I have, based on my childhood interests and inventions. The creatures are important, but not the most important part of the theme. The important part of the theme is the feeling of flying, of exploring, the strange mix of freedom and fear when you plunge into a new world.

But, really, the thing that gets people inspired the most is the idea of a game that isn't about shooting everything in sight. And of course my Christian friends are inspired about the prospect of making a Christian-themed game, since there are so few out there and they make them so poorly, many times blindly copying other games without thinking of the implications of all aspects of the game design. If the faith itself is so inspiring and resonant, why can't the games about it be? I think they can be.

The most powerful thing about the game, I think, is the story, and I've been able to narrow that down finally. It goes like this:

The Story of the Game

A little girl wants to turn into a dragon to get revenge on her enemies, bullies at school. She makes paper dragons, imagining flying as one. One day, after she has been bullied and runs away, thinking of her revenge, a shadowy dragon appears to her and offers her the power to become a dragon. However, the enchantment will only last until sunset, and she must accomplish her aims before then. She accepts, and as she flies her paper dragon kite one more time, she is struck by lightning. Her soul takes control of the paper dragon and her previous body falls to the ground. She is whisked away by the winds, though, and can't take revenge on her enemies, the bullies. (Or, perhaps she just wanted to escape them, and flies away into this brave new world.)

The game begins at this point, a world full of strange creatures, clouds, and winds. Some creatures will attack and bully you, and you can either run away, endure, or find a powerup and seek revenge. However, if you pick up a powerup and become violent, it will be tougher, because more creatures will be hostile to you, and you will be weaker or slower. At some point in time, a white dove will appear to you and warn you of the tricks of the dragon - he intends to steal your soul! But there is one way to escape the enchantment: be virtuous, kind, and humble. Instead of just shooting at the creatures in the game, you can make friends, speak kindly to others, and defend the other creatures that are being picked on by bullies. The powerups that the dragon offers represent temptations, and using them to hurt others represents sin. There is also a way to repent in the game, by dropping your weapons. You can't speak kindly when you have a powerup. It's also harder to repent the more powerups you gain.

At nightfall, the dragon swoops in to snatch you up, saying "HAHA! Now you are mine!"
If you were virtuous, the dove will swoop in and intercept him, saying "Not so fast!"
He will answer "No! I clearly saw her take # powerups, hurt # creatures, and even kill # of them! Her soul is not worthy of salvation!"
"Foolish dragon, My power is mighty to save! At her very last, she repented concerning her evil deeds. I find her blameless." And the dragon is cast down, screaming in anger. The ending scene shows the girl waking up in a hospital, with her parents standing there, and the bullies have come to apologize since they didn't really want you to die.

If instead you were violent until the end, or lackadaisical, the dragon will snatch you up, and the dove will hover helplessly, saying "I cannot save you! If only you had repented." The screen fades to black as the dragon carries you downwards off screen, and the sound of an EEG flatlining is heard over the darkness, amidst some sound of medical panic, and lastly the sound of your mother crying. (so sad! I want to appeal to pathos here.)

THE END. Replay?
I think giving players the option to replay the game will allow them to discover for themselves what the effects of things are.