Game Design Document

Intro

You are a Golemist and you want to be the best there ever was. So, grab some Golems, raise them big and strong, and do battle with other Golemists in a tactical combat system.

This game is inspired by:

  • Final Fantasy Tactics (combat, stats, jobs)

  • Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced (different job trees for different races)

  • Monster Rancher (monster raising sim)

Gameplay Description

Jobs

This game utilizes a “job system.” Each golem has access to a set of jobs and has a currently active job. Different jobs can provide different stat boosts and access to certain abilities. Jobs can also have requirements that must be met before they can be used (e.g., a certain number of levels in another job).

A golem gains “experience” in a job via “Job Points” (or JP). After acquiring enough JP, a golem will obtain a new level in the current job. This is no limit to the number of levels that can be acquired for a job. However, job levels have no benefits themselves (e.g., stat gains). Instead, job levels can used to unlock new classes, and the JP earned can be spent on purchasing new Abilities. Jobs can also have a number of stat boosts available for purchase with JP.

Details on all available jobs can be found here.

Tags

Various requirements in the game are determined by “tags.” Some examples of requirements include:

  • what jobs a golem has access to

  • what forms a Golemist has access to

Golems and Golemists each have a pool of tags. To determine eligibility the item being checked for (e.g., a job) is compared to the appropriate tag pool. If all tags on the item are present in the tag pool, the requirements are met. In other words, the required tags are an “all of” relationship.

A Golemist’s tag pool contains:

  • Any “personal tags” acquired

A golem’s tag pool contains:

  • The Golemist’s tags

  • The form’s tags

  • A tag for each item in a Cartesian product of available jobs and their levels. For example, a golem with three levels in job-brawler and two levels in job-ruinsmith will have the following tags:

    • job_brawler_1

    • job_brawler_2

    • job_brawler_3

    • job_ruinsmith_1

    • job_ruinsmith_2

Golem Stats

The golem stats are:

Hit Points

The amount of damage a golem can take before going down

Magic Points

A resource for using abilities

Physical Attack

Multiplier for damage on physical abilities

Magical Attack

Multiplier for damage on magical abilities

Movement

The number of tiles the golem can move in a single turn

Abilities

Golems have access to a set of abilities. By default, all golems have a “Basic Attack” as determined by their active job. In addition to this “Basic Attack,” golems have purchased abilities. Abilities can be purchased for the active job with JP earned while that job has been active. Different jobs have access to different abilities.

Once an ability has been purchased, the golem will continue to have access to it even when changing jobs. This can lead to some fun and interesting golem builds.

Abilities have the following stats:

EP Cost

How much EP is required to use this ability (can be zero)

JP Cost

How much JP is required to purchase this ability (For calculation see formula)

Type

The damage type (either physical or magical, but not both)

Range (min and max)

The number of tiles away the ability target can be from the ability user

Power

This ability power (AP) determines how strong ability effects (e.g., damage) are

Hit Chance:

How likely the ability is to succeed (100% is common)

In addition to stats, abilities have a list of “effects” such as:

  • Doing damage (or healing with negative damage)

  • Moving the ability user

  • Moving the ability target

  • Displaying visual effects

  • Playing a sound effect

Some effects (e.g., damage) make use of a derived “strength” stat. This is the ability power (AP) multiplied by one of physical attack (PA) or magical attack (MA) depending on the ability type. For example the damage of a magical attack would be AP * MA.

Job Point (JP) formula

Value: That base value of that power’s attribute.

  • Power - Absolute(Value) x10 (targets attribute x2)

  • (1 - EP Cost) * 10 - Value

  • Range - ((Max Value - 1) x2 - Min Value - 1) x5

  • Hit Chance - 100 - Value

  • Movement - 10 per square of movement x2 if usable on others

Power - (EP Cost) + Range - (Hit Chance) + Movement = Final Cost

Example * Gust ** Power 1 = 10 ** EP Cost 1 = 0 ** Range 1-1 = 0 ** Hit Chance 100 = 0 ** Movement 2 = 40

10 - 0 + 10 - 0 + 40 = 50 JP

Combat

This is the current focus of the game. The combat is turn-based. On each golem’s turn, a golem may move up to their movement stat and use an ability (in any order). Movement can also be split before and after using an ability.

Combat ends when one side no longer has any golems above zero hit points.

Golem Acquisition

Golems are currently acquired for free from the “Foundry.” This will be expanded on in the future (see Additional Ideas and Possibilities).

Golem Raising

This is pretty undefined at the moment (see Additional Ideas and Possibilities).

Artistic Style Outline

  • Simple

  • Clean

  • Bright/vivid colors

  • NPR/Stylized

Systematic Breakdown of Components

  • Panda3D (often shortened to Panda) is the game engine being used

  • PBR rendering with IBL

    • Using panda3d-simplepbr, still need to add IBL

  • GUI

    • Using DirectGUI, which is part of panda3d

  • Game Data

    • Stored in JSON files and managed by gamedb

  • Data Editor

    • It is desirable to not require hand-editing of JSON files

    • Ideally done with web technologies and JSON Editor

    • Can use a web server (built using Flask, bottle, etc.) that we point a web browser to over localhost

    • Proof-of-concept Started in editor branch

  • Abilities system

    • A system to easily define and execute abilities

  • Visual Effects

    • Need VFX for abilities

    • Will start with Panda’s built-in particle effects

    • Will need to use a custom file format since ptf relies on eval(), which is bad news

  • Audio

    • Need both background music and sound effects

    • This can be handled by Panda and its built-in OpenAL support

    • Do we want to try something with adaptive audio?

  • Save/Load

    • This game requires saving and loading

    • Should be able to dump/restore state from JSON data (most internal data already has JSON representations)

Suggested Game Flow Diagram

The main game loop is to participate in combats to gain resources to upgrade golems. Once the player completes the “final battle,” they “win” the game, but they may continue to play.

graph TD get_golemist(Create/Load Golemist) --> workshop{Workshop} workshop -->get_golem(Get Golem from Foundry) get_golem --> workshop workshop --> review_golems(Review/Upgrade Golems) review_golems --> workshop workshop --> combat combat --> gain_jp(Gain JP) gain_jp --> workshop workshop --> boss(Boss Fight) boss --> end_game[End Game]

Additional Ideas and Possibilities

  • Golem age and death

    • Have set lifespans with events that can reduce the lifespan (e.g., losing combat, stress)

    • Golems behave differently depending on age?

  • Acquire golem “cores” or “fragments” upon golem death to improve newly created golems

  • Player funds

    • Need ways to earn (winning combat/tournaments)

    • Need costs

      • Rent?

      • Golem upkeep?

      • Buying golems or items?

  • Non-combat ways to improve golems and/or acquire funds?

  • Items

    • One or two “accessory” slots on golems to give bonuses

    • Make non-visible to reduce the amount of art required

    • Consumables?

  • Allow more ratios of PA and MA in abilities

    • Currently 100% PA or 100% MA

    • For example: 50% PA and 50% MA

    • May just do “mixed” type of 50/50 instead of exposing a ratio

  • Control how many golems a Golemist can take into combat with some sort of spirit points (SP)

    • The Golemist would have a limit (one that could be increased) of SP to spend building a team

    • Golems would have different SP costs (with possible discounts)

  • Some sort of skill tree or perks for Golemists?

  • Workshop upgrades

    • Number of active golems

    • Unlock new upgrades for golems?

    • Different training options?

  • Golemists could join different guilds providing different story lines, abilities, prices, or golems

  • Story lines, or side quests outside of just arena fighting