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Contents Page

Story 4

Research and Development 5

Camera 14

Dec 17

Enemies 29

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Octo Ink

2D Platformer

Target Audience: 12+

Expeceted Rating: 7+

This is Octo Ink, a new 2D Platformer for Wii U! This adventure will take the players

through an exciting world set against the back drop of a Chinese ceramic. It works

like a classic platformer but with a unique art style that bleeds into the game play

and takes full advantage of the Wii U’s control system.

Each level takes place on a Chinese ceramic vase, and tells the story of how Dec the

Octopus defeated the evil on each vase to reach his goal of saving the Red Panda

Dynasty, however it’s not going to be easy, the evil animal kingdom of china have

joined forces the greedy Jade family!

The game will test both the player’s skill and patience, whether are they using Dec

the octopus’s ink squirting abilities to hurtle their way through each level or stealthily

creeping past each enemy to achieve their goal.

Octo ink is easy to grasp and designed to be enjoyed by all ages, but that doesn’t

mean it’s a walk in the park, it will test both the players skill and patience.

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Story

The animal kingdom of China lived in peace for many years, Ruled over by the kind

and caring Red Panda family. The Red Panda Family were indeed rich with gold, but

they were fair and the Animal Kingdom was Prosperous of the Red Emperors Rule.

There was peace and tranquillity across China until the Evil Jade Family attacked! The

Jade family once ruled all of china and having been lying dormant for years, planning.

Now they have recruited members of the animal kingdom and have built an army to

over throw the Red Panda dynasty.

They have attacked the palace of the red panda dynasty and locked them away in

different corners of china.

It is up to Dec to save them.

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Look and Feel

Octo Ink is a game set in the backdrop of ancient China, but with a bit of a difference. The 2D visuals

show ancient Chinese architecture and Scenery, but they use the colours and painting techniques of

White and Blue Ceramics. I realise that this eventually might start to become repetitive on the

players eye over time, so I’m going to try and combat this by changing the area of each level

dramatically, so the player might be in a forest on the first level and then be in an ancient city the

next.

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Art Style

The main influence of the art style is something called a willow plate. A willow plate is a Chinese

ceramic plate that tells a story. Typically, as you can see above the art style typically consist a colour

palette of entirely white and blue. Through time more and more images and paintings have been

completely with slight variations on the art style.

If you look closely at some of the willow

plates, a lot of them are not actually

shaded in a traditional way.

Each detail on the willow plate has a

small pattern on it to give the effect of

depth within the plate. Using entirely the

same shade of blue

This looks good on the plate and I’m

trying to replicate it within Octo Ink but

with a difference so it works in a way to

help the player see key items, helping

overall with the game design.

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What the main problems about this art style in use in game is obviously the lack of colour and how

that can help player identify different, objects, enemies, different surfaces and even the main

character itself.

Here is the colour palette I will be using. The dark blue for the line colour and details, the shading

colour for the obvious.

The game above Marumasa, has a very Asian looks to it although it is filled with colour, if this game

where to use a similar limited colour palette like mine then it would look far too cluttered and it

would be hard to see where the main character is, he would get lost in the environment.

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Firstly, one of the ways I plan to help the player see the world better from a game design perspective

is to keep the about of objects in a level down to a minimal level where only important objects are

on screen.

I then plan to help the obstacles of the game and characters of stand out by, using a technique of

the willows plates, shading objects and making them denser so they are more apparent than their

environment like the willow plates to give the player more shading. But give the

The character will also be moving a lot which will help the player see them even more.

Target Audience Outline

I want to hit the target audience that Mario and all of the other famous platforms hit, where the age

range is low because there is no blood and gore and hardly any violence. But the game will have a

difficulty that will challenge an adult and be difficult for a child to master.

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Gameplay Influences of Octo Ink

Super Meat Boy The pace of the levels, how they work, difficulty of the game and most importantly the movement of

Meat Boy influenced Octo Ink. Meatboy can angle his jumps to reach almost anywhere on the map

and through the smallest of spaces. It is what makes the game so fun, getting your jumps inch

perfect so you don’t die, but also what makes its difficulty so frustrating at times.

Sonic What really influenced be about sonic is the use of it rings. They work in a way that drives the player

on through the levels and shows them the path that they are going to have to travel. Yet they also

work as a sort of health system in the game giving sonic his strength, but he will lose them if he is hit

by an enemy and loses his flow. It is something I have tried to develop in my games with the ink

pots, with them not only leading you through the level but helping you have the power to move with

your ink.

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Trials HD

The levels of trials happen in short bursts, what’s driving the player through the game is not a story

or path, it is the need for the player to complete the current level under the circumstances that has

been set. The circumstances are to complete it almost perfectly without error. It is something

incorporated into Octo Ink, but in this case checkpoints will be players goal and everything else in

between will have to be perfect.

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Cananbalt

I have hinted at this in some of my other influenced, but like a lot of running games for Smart

Phones I really like the feeling of constant movement and then the quick restart when the player

fails, gets them straight back into the game. The flow of the movement is and looking ahead to see

what obstacles you are going to have to evade is key.

The Legend of Zelda

The Wind Waker

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What I really like about this game is not just the Art Style, but how the art style influences other

aspects of the game. The Art resonates into the gameplay of the game, giving it this cartoony feel

that nothing is taken too seriously and with a bit of slap stick. I want Octo Ink to draw influence from

this in a way that the Far Eastern look of the game can be used to describe how the character sound

and move throughout the level.

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Camera The camera in the game on both the television screen and the Wii u is the same

when the player is platforming through a level.

The red Box in the television screen above represents the area Dec can move in

when the camera will be still, if the player moves Dec outside of the box or start to

approach the boarders of it then the camera will follow Dec around. The camera

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does not represent the only playable part of the level as with games like Mario, the

player can explore it. The red box will not be represented in game.

When the player is in a tricky spot and need to control Dec in very specific way the

player can zoom in on the action. This will make it easier for the player to use the

stylus, or their finger to control Dec and perform specific abilities in order to defeat

enemies and to platform through the game.

You cannot pan the camera without moving as it would give the player too much of a

gameplay advantage.

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Dec the Octopus The main character of game is Dec the Octopus, rookie guard and protector of the

Red Panda family. Dec is a speechless character, curious in his manner but at the

same time confident in his abilities.

Dec is an Octopus and possess the ability to squirt ink at his will in a variety of ways

that the player can use to progress through the game. The Ink abilities are used to

help Dec platform his way through the level and move but at the same time they can

be used against enemies in combat. As well as this the ink squirts are directly linked

to the Health system of the game.

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Basic Movement The Basic movement of the game is a lot slower than moving around using the ink,

however the important thing about it is that enemies will not be able to hear you

whilst you are awkwardly slithering across the ground. This is key to the stealth

mechanics of the game.

Basic Ink squirt Dec uses the ink to propel himself in any direction to reach greater heights, the

player presses the right trigger to do a basic ink squirt. So if Dec was on the ground

standing still and the player hit the right trigger then Dec would take off vertically

from the ground.

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Dec has 3 ink squirts at his disposal, and each time one is used it visually shown

depleting on his body. Like the ink is draining out of him one level at a time.

It is when the player introduces the analogue stick into the mix that the ink squirting

abilities come into their own. Just after the initial press of the trigger there will be a

moment where the player will be able to flick the analogue stick in a direction or in a

specific manoeuvre like a loop, to move dec in a specific way. The player will be able

to do this for each of the squirts giving Dec the ability to manoeuvre in very specific

ways. The player will be able to evacuate all of Dec’s ink at once by pressing the left

trigger, making it possible for a super jump or a really powerful attack. The player

activates this by pressing the left trigger.

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Tentacles When the player is trying to reach a ledge that is out of his reach and has no ink

squirts left at his disposal this is where the

tentacles main use comes into play.

The player will be able to latch onto a wall using

the suction cups on Dec’s tentacles for a specific

amount of time until his ink has recharged and

he is able to squirt again and ascend the

platform that he desires.

Dec will not be able to hang onto the side of

wall forever; he will eventually lose his grip and

begin to slide down slowly. So some surfaces

will be very easy to climb and others nearly

impossible.

How long Dec is able to hang on to a ledge

depends on the surface and material that he is

hanging onto.

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Ink Run on the Wii U Screen

The ink run will take place when the player tap Dec on screen and then drags his

finger across the Wii U screen, Dec will then enter a sort of sprint mode and will not

run out of ink, but his ink level will go down to a stage where he will be left very

vulnerable if the player runs into an enemy.

Ink minor Movements and tapping for a quick pause

Before the player is entering an area with a difficult bit of plat forming the can pause

the game mid flow by tapping on Dec once to get there bearing. Once they have

done this a time will start for 5 seconds before the game is resumed. This is ideal for

difficult areas of the game where a lot of quick ink squirts are necessary.

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Ink Squirts in combat Because Dec cannot take a lot of damages in general it is normally best for him to

avoid combat and use his stealth abilities to take down an enemy, however in the

event were the player has to approach a enemy in combat, the player will be able to

take them down if they are clever about it.

The ink squirts in combat work in a close quarter’s combat way, with the player using

the ink squirts to dodge enemy attacks and then counter them in an unguarded area.

So for example if the player is approached by a giant panda, he would dodge the first

swipe of the panda by squirting upwards into the sky, and then squirting back down

behind the panda which will leave the panda with a look of confusion upon its face,

then Dec will be able to charge into his back killing the panda.

When the player has sneaked up one of its enemies from behind it is a good idea to

use the opportunity to perform the ink evacuate manoeuvre this avoids the fuss of

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having to engage the enemy in combat, however make sure that there are not many

enemies about because Dec will have no ink less and thus be vulnerable to attack.

They also will be used as his main form of attack, which I will go into later in the

document.

Stealth abilities

One of the main ways the player will have to approach situations where there are a

lot of enemies are around will be to approach stealthily, if he does the player will be

killed within a short amount of time. So, the player will have to look at the

environment and surrounding around dec and use them to sneak past enemies and

then even take them down using it.

When Dec is in this stealth mode, the enemies will not notice him and will simply

walk right past him, it is then a good idea for the player to attack the enemy from

behind, picking the right moment so he doesn’t alert any of the other enemies.

In an example of it here, Dec contorts his body to blend in with his surroundings, this

time in the shape of a pile of rocks.

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In the example above Dec, uses his tentacles to blend in the grass around him

Ink Drop While Dec is hanging over and enemy, he will have the option of squirting ink on

them from above. This will blind the enemy for a period of time, making it easier for

the player to sneak past them or for example, activate a switch very quickly and then

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get back into hiding. It also good for distracting one enemy as you take down another

This will alert then enemy after you have used it and they will become extra aware

and come looking for you.

Enemy Takeover The enemy takeover will be used when

the player requires the special abilities

of an enemy in a certain situation.

The way it works is, Dec will have to

sneak up on an enemy or the enemy

will have to be a dazed state, he will

then latch onto the enemy attaching

his tentacles to each of his limbs

gaining some of the abilities of that

specific enemy. He will be able to

traverse the level, until a point when

they become useless and the player

will have to revert back to Dec’s

normal way of getting things done. Or

after more than 20 seconds the

enemies will struggle free and throw

dec to the ground

Panda Takeover – When the player

takes over the panda its main use,

other than defeating enemies is to

knock down barricades.

Stalk Takeover- When the player takes over his stalk it is in levels with large open

spaces, where the player can use the stalk to help them glide over large chasms.

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Health System

The health system work a lot like the way

the rings work in sonic, in that the Ink is his

health. The more the Player uses Dec’s ink

abilities and the lower in level that he has

the more vulnerable he becomes to attack.

With each time Dec is hit by enemy it will

lower his ink level. So in a way it acts as a

shield as well as his weapon.

Dec will be able to take 1 hits once his Ink is

fully depleted, if he does. He will die and the player will have to the last checkpoint.

Above is example of Dec using the ink and it depleting with each use of an Ink Squirt

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Balance and Pacing Octo Ink is a very fast, difficult game, it will see the player dieing a lot during the

course of the campaign. Like other games such as Sonic and Super Meat Boy their

won’t be a lot of time for the player to slow down and take a look at their

surroundings and environment because they will be constantly moving.

Because of the high intensity of the levels, I would suggest that the player play the

game in short bursts, because it is likely that they will become frustration.

Each of the Vases; which are environments of the game will contain 5 levels; the first

two levels of that game will normally be teaching the players new skills, using the

basic manoeuvres. As the player progresses in to the latter levels on the vase they

will have to use their new abilities mixed in with some of the obstacles they came up

against in previous environments, constantly introducing the player to new

challenges to keep them entertained. It is my way of keeping the player entertained

without a grate use of balancing.

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Ollie the Red Panda Ollie the Red Panda, also escaped the attack and is one of the Royal family’s most loyal savants, so

he is allied with Dec. He is off doing around the realm gathering armies to fight against the evil Jade

Family, though he will pop by sometimes to guide Dec on his quest, giving him a rundown of what

the current situation is and narrative as to what he is doing in the particular level.

He balances on his tail while giving you the information you need in an almost arrogant fashion, he

will then quickly disappear behind a rock and will be gone as quickly as he came in.

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Enemies of Octo Ink Fitting with Chinese theme and general tone and world of the game, the enemies of

Octo Ink are based off some of the wildlife found in China, however with a

difference. They won’t just be wild animals, they will be much more human in the

way that they act and speak. If they attack and miss you, they will get frustrated,

they will talk to their comrades and talk to themselves if they are on their own.

Each enemy has a basic appearance, however as you progress through the game

enemies the player will start seeing enemies that are wearing various parts of armor

over a particular parts of their body, meaning that various weak spots of their armor

will have to be targeted in order for them to be defeated.

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Panda Pandas are the most common enemy in the game; they normally patrol in groups of

2 or 3. They move slowly and attack slowly making them very easy to counter when

they attack.

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Panda combat abilities

Claw attack - A basic claw attack where the panda will try to attack Dec with his claws

Ram attack – The panda charges at Dec like a bull, if Dec dodges the panda it is

possible that the panda will carry on charging and fall off a cliff or charge into an

obstacle like a rock, hitting his head and becoming confused.

Body Slam – The Panda will jump above Dec and attempt to use his full body weight

to hurt him, if Dec dodges the attack the panda’s full body will be open to attack

from above.

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Tiger Tigers are probably the most difficult of

all the enemies, they are fast and strong

and are very, very difficult to attack

directly. It is strongly recommended that

the player will have to use their stealth

abilities to defeat the tiger, or just avoid

it all together.

Claw attack – like the panda, the tiger

also possesses a basic claw swipe.

Sleeping Tiger

A lot of the time the tiger will be found sleeping.

The sleeping tiger will likely be in a confined

space to make it easier for it to attack dec, he

will remain asleep unless he is disturbed.

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The tiger will normally be in a chasm like this, and Dec will be fine as long as he

manoeuvre across the cams and does not get too close the tiger or touch the

floor.

If the player lands on the floor and disturbs the tiger then the tiger will pounce

and will likely kill him instantly unless he has full shield.

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Stalk Stalks are normally placed in more open spaces of a level, due to them being

allowed space to fly around in. They will pray on Dec from above with large

swooping attack. They are easy enough to handle by themselves but are

devastating when they are in a group of 4, 5 or 6.

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Swoop attack – The stalk swoops down from a height which is dodged easily enough,

but when they are in a group and there are a number of stalks swooping in

succession then it can become a bit of a problem.

Rock drop – The stalk drops a large rock from above, it only has one chance at this

before it has to revert back to its swoop attack.

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Group gust attack – the group gust attack happens when there is a large group of

stalks together at once, they will all flap their wings together to create a small gust or

tornado to attack Dec with. This is very difficult to dodge. The trick is to try and knock

the stalks off balance so they are not able to complete their gust attack in time.

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The Jade Family The Jade family have overthrown the great Red Panda Empire; each of them has a difference

appearance and leads a different band on animal mercenaries in their area. You will not fight the

jade family directly, they will appear at the end of each map after you have completed with a

monologue before they disappear back into the wilderness.

Ram Ram is a very proud member of the Jade Family, living in the great china canyons.

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Monkey Monkey is energetic, frantic and unpredictable. He moves around with pace looking like a crazed

lunatic. He attacks in bursts with attack of great speed however he must rest after it they are so

exhausting.

His main method of attack is his knuckles dusters and his thick tale which he used like a club to

pound his enemies.

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Rabbit The rabbit is the smallest member of the Jade Family, but also the wittiest. The rabbit has a smug

attitude and moves around the level with a certain swagger. He will taunt the player when he gets

the better of them and will get embarrassed when he himself is out done.

The rabbit has one blind eye and one deaf ear on the opposite side of his face making him an

interesting opponent to fight.

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Pig The pig carries a meat cleaver as his weapon and is butcher like in appearance. He is angry in nature

and his frustration with absolutely everything is reflected in the way he moves around the terrain.

He grunts wheezes and snorts with every move he makes, his staggers give a great impression of his

weight and if attacks don’t go his way he will enter a frenzy of frustration.

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Dragon Dragon is the most fearsome of the Jade Family and will appear in the latter parts of the game

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.