Creative Brief

Original pitch presentation:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Dz9ZSbJs6gnPk4m8jAGS35W-8pEo9HU3n9MwFXdN...

Genre: A third-person, isometric PvP battler with shooter gameplay.

Number of players: 2

Game mechanics: 

1. Ricochet: A fundamental mechanic of the game where all of your rocket shots would ricochet off walls, this would be incentivized through two main factors: (i) Shots that do not ricochet will do significantly less damage, and (ii) the map would be designed in a way where direct shots are harder to execute.  The game would also have an indicator line showing the trajectory of the bullet for the first couple of bounces and not of any after. 
2. Splash Damage: All rocket shots will explode in an AoE, the damage would depend on how far the player is from the center of the AoE. This AoE mechanic aims to provide a safety net for players so that a good shot would still do some damage rather than none when missing slightly.  The AoE and damage numbers would be tested thoroughly before being implemented in their final form. 
3. Dash: A movement mechanic to help players dodge incoming attacks, would be a separate ability on a cooldown. The current vision is to have an aspect of skill to the ability, for example, the cooldown could be short enough for regular use but long enough that the player could be punished for a severe misuse of the ability. 
4. Health Points: The health system has two factors: Base HP and Shield Points. Your shield points are on top of your base HP and act as a buffer before your HP starts declining.  When your HP depletes to 0, the other player wins.

Overview/fun focus:

The fun will come from finding cool ricochets that trick and kill your opponent. Instead of simply shooting at the other person, as is traditional, Artemis Falling will encourage players to think outside the box and find interesting and rewarding connections between their bullets and the environment around them. The fun aspect is also tied to the overall feel of the game, meaning, how the game feels to play, how shooting feels, the player's movement, etc. 

Character: The player characters are based on the Japanese Kaijuu archetype, but would be more mech-like with asymmetrical designs so that the players can instantly tell which way the character is facing. Our main inspirations for our character design are: Armoured Core 5/6, Pacific Rim, and Gundam. 

Setting: The choice of our setting is a futuristic cityscape, where these giant mechs are fighting and would be using the skyscrapers and buildings around to ricochet their shots. One thing to keep in mind here is that the levels would be designed in a way where the building and various structures within the arena would feel organic. 

Art Style: Our main artistic inspirations are the cyberpunk dystopia of The Ascent and the clean visual style of Synthetik 2. The reason for this is to allow for as much clarity when viewing the game as possible. In PvP games, it is most important to be able to identify all the necessary information without any trouble. 

Inspirations:

Gameplay: Wii Tanks, Multiplayer FPS

Artistic Perspectives:

Ascent - Camera Perspective

Synthetik 2 - Shooting and general aesthetic goal

Battlefront - Audio design and sound effects

Additional artistic reference: