Concept Devlog

Working title:

Escape from GeoLabs

Concept statement:

In Escape from GeoLabs, the player plays as a victim of forced procedures and experiments from a laboratory, which have in turn given the player the powers to break free. Manoeuvre your way through chaotic obstacles, avoid security guards or use your gained abilities to blast straight through them to escape from the laboratories’ grasp.

Genre or category of game:

This game will fit the platformer genre, given the way that it will be designed, forcing players to move, jump and dash across obstacles for the player to complete each level. This game will also be an action shooter, with an emphasis on gunning down enemies that stand in the player’s way. This game is also somewhat of an adventure game, given that it incorporates an underlying story that has an end goal for the player.

Concept creation process and influences:

Since the beginning of this concept creation process, it was always centred around a platformer shooter that makes the most of each genre.  As a platformer, this game will aim to have fast-paced, crisp movement, allowing for the players inputs and in-game movement to feel at one. This game will also aim to have enjoyable shooting mechanics, that require fast decision making and precise inputs from the player. Initially, the idea was to have a game that was optimized for the PlayStation controller, in which each button would shoot that button in the game (e.g., hit triangle, a triangle button is shot). The game will also include the option for keyboard inputs. These components combined will hopefully create an enjoyable experience for the player.

This game will draw on key components from the platformer genre, with games such as Super Meat Boy[1] providing a general feel for how the movement mechanics will be implemented, with the addition of a few other components such as dashing and double jumping. As well as this, the game will also be influenced by the story telling style of the Super Mario series[2] in which the player is initially confronted with the problem, which they must make their way through the game to resolve. The shooter component of this game will draw on elements in other games such as the directional shooting style of Cuphead[3], whilst at the same time, incorporating an alternate method for weapon firing. To ensure that “Escape from GeoLabs” will share in the success of others game in this genre, these traits will be important.

Audience and competitive analysis:

The target audience of this game would be casual adolescent/adult gamers who enjoy the platformer genre, mainly games such as the previously mentioned Super Meat Boy and Super Mario Bros. As such, it will be important to find the right balance in difficulty for this game, ensuring that players have a fun experience, whist also having the right level of challenge. Whilst this is primarily designed for adolescents and older, given the bright pixel art and little gore, this game could also be enjoyed by a younger audience. The relatively straightforward controls that will be implemented in this game should also allow players to easily adaption from a range of players. This game will mainly be designed for the PlayStation, and hence PlayStation users, as the shooting mechanics will utilise the buttons to represent the ammunition types in the game. The style itself is also a will also aim to be a selling point of this game, with the pixelated art style being popular in a huge range of games and genres. There is also an underlying story to this game, which will hopefully aid in drawing in a wider audience for whom a story is a must-have element in a game.

In comparison to other games that fit this genre, there are a few similarities, such as the art style and movement mechanics, which will hopefully aid in drawing in the large audiences that those games have. Whilst this is the case, the slight differences, such as unique story and the shooting mechanics will hopefully contain enough variation to make gamers want to play this game as well. Hopefully, the combination of these elements will allow the game to have its place in the 2D platformer market.

Game treatment and concept art:

Concept/story:

“Escape from GeoLabs” revolves around a player who is being held captive and forced to undergo experiments from the “GeoLabs” laboratory. The game begins with the character waking up from a recent experiment, this time, it has given them special powers, allowing them to break through the beginning door. The character will have to use their movement abilities, including jumping, double-jumping and dashing to make it through obstacles and make it to the end of each level. Also included in the mutations created by these experiments is the ability to shoot several different objects from the player. These include circles, squares, and triangles, which will correspond to the buttons on a PlayStation controller. Each level will include scientists that will shoot at the player. These scientists/guards will be wearing protective suits, depending on the area of testing that they are from, and will require an ammunition type that reflects their protective suits. Given the use of this concept, the game will be intended for use with a PlayStation controller, primarily using the left joystick for horizontal movement, and using the ‘shape’ buttons for shooting and jumping. The laboratory in this game is broken up into different sections, represented by different levels in the game.

Concept Art:

The art for this game will feature a combination of a somewhat clean and sterile laboratory setting, with slight variations across the different levels. The art style will follow a simplistic 2D pixel art style, which will be implemented for a few reasons. Firstly, this style of art allows for stylistic consistency throughout the whole game, as well as providing clear visuals that will aid in the player’s perception of this fast-paced gameplay. secondly, this style allows for the easy implementation of a tile-based level system, which allows for faster production of levels. There will also be a few UI elements, such as a health bar and timer.

[1] Super Meat Boy (2010), Team Meat. Available at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/40800/Super_Meat_Boy/

[2]  Super Mario (series) (2023), Super Mario Wiki. Available at: https://www.mariowiki.com/Super_Mario_(series) (Accessed: 27 August 2023). 

[3] Cuphead (2017), Studio MDHR Entertainment inc.. Available at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/268910/Cuphead/