Overview

Concept: Imbue a prototype creature with characteristics and abilities based upon roughly a minute of MIDI data, then release the creature into a level and control his newfound abilities to accomplish tasks and overcome obstacles.

Two modes:

1. Normal: Restricted to one key (user chosen), quantizing notes (to the 1/16), chord hotkeys (View Mockup). User may be able to turn these off if we get those controls in.
2. Expert: Full “virtual piano”, no restrictions. Should be able to handle a MIDI keyboard.

Alternating Stages:

• Training - Player inputs the MIDI data and transforms Lio
• Exploration - Player releases Lio into the level and controls him through it to reach checkpoints

Trainable Zyk Traits:

• Attitude (determines core statistics for a Zyk)
  • corresponds to minor vs. major key
  • expressed by the Zyk’s facial expression (major=upbeat, minor=mellow)
• Weight (determines if Zyk can walk over sparsely covered holes)
  • corresponds to chords used vs melody
  • expressed by the size of the Zyk
• Speed (how fast the Zyk can move/run)
  • corresponds to type of note used (IE eight/sixteenth notes)
  • expressed by the size of the Zyk's legs
• Sneak (can the Zyk sneak past enemies or does he wake them up)
  • corresponds to density of notes played
  • expressed by the Zyk's fogginess
• Ferocity (can the Zyk intimidate enemies)
  • corresponds to number/percent of notes played out of key
  • expressed by the size of the Zyk’s eyes/ears
• Toughness (how well can the Zyk stand up to attack IE HitPoints)
  • corresponds to the amount of repeated patterns in the piece
  • expressed by the texture of the Zyk (possible has a shell?)
• Jump (how high can the Zyk jump)
  • corresponds to number/percent of notes played in the upper range
  • expressed by the size of the Zyk’s wings
• Dive (how deep can the Zyk dive)
  • corresponds to number/percent of notes played in the lower range
  • expressed by the size of the Zyk's tail
• Attack (how much damage can the Zyk inflect)
  • corresponds to the average interval between notes
  • expressed by size of the Zyk's arms/claws
• Color (what color is the Zyk)
  • corresponds to key the player uses
  • expressed by the color of the Zyk

Special

• Infinite Flight - Unlimited Jump/Dive
  • Play only arpeggios
  • Wings grow to Max size (And maybe glitter or do something cool)
• Projectile Rainbow - Unlimited Attack/Ferocity
  • Play a chromatic scale
  • Shoot out rainbows in front of you
• Flower Blossom - Unlimited Sneak/Speed
  • Stay in a Pentatonic key (Use only five notes)
  • Flower petals follow you everywhere
• Dragon Scales - Unlimited Weight/Toughness
  • Play a whole tone scale
  • Texture of creature gets scales.

Negative Feedback

• Affects a Trait called "Irritation"
  • The higher the Irritation, the less the Zyk will listen
  • Irritation is expressed by the Zyk (twisting ears, folding them down, wincing)
  • If Irritation maxes out, the Zyk transforms into an evil block (a cube, with evil eyes)
• Note Duration
  • If notes faster than 1/16 are played for more than 2 beats
• Chord Density
  • If more than 5 notes are played at a time
• Tritones
  • If notes are played together that are 6 half-notes apart
• Half-Note Intervals in Chords
  • If simultaneous notes played are right next to each other (1 half note apart
• Boredom
  • If the player stops playing notes for more than 2 beats, or has a note that is longer than 8 beats

Level Design

• Victory condition
  • Different Ranked Checkpoints: Gray [-1], White [0], Red [1], Blue [2], Gold [3], Diamond [5]
  • As a scientist, you must gain a certain level of renown to win the game. Renown is gained by gathering the different colored flags. This means that levels are replayable. Also, someone can not move through the game if they have a negative renown, thus forcing them to recreate their Zyk or find new means of going through a level.
• Appearance
  • 3D side scroller.
  • Level editor with fixed items/objects/backgrounds/tiles that can be placed
  • Levels should be very varied - vertical motion, horizontal motion, extremes of each
  • Different Areas: Inverted pine forest, Mountain tops with crystal caves, Clouds and glass baubles, Ocean under icebergs, Plateaud red desert of geometrical cacti.
• Items
  • Boards: These correspond to weight (The Zyk walks over them and they break). 5 different types, rotted to various extents, correspond to how much weight they can hold.
  • Walls: These correspond to attack power (The Zyk lashes out against them with his fangs). 5 different types, decayed to various extents, correspond to how easily they can be broken down.
  • Boulders: These correspond to toughness (The Zyk turns around and pushes against them with his back). 5 different types, of different sizes, correspond to how firm one must be to push against them and make them roll.
• Monsters
  • Upalok: These are our bird-eating monsters. They are dull and dim-witted, but also about the size of trees. They look straight up in hopes of catching their bird prey, but despise being disturbed. Depending on size of the upalok, the Zyk may be able to sneak passed without being noticed. As soon as the Upalok hears the Zyk, it will devour it.
  • Iyabol: These are round balls with a single stalk-mounted eyeball, the rest of their body occupied by a gnashing maw. Iyabols are incredibly hard to fight by strength alone, but depending on how many of them there are at once, they can be intimidated. (The fewer there are together, the easier to intimidate)
  • Slohta: This creature looks like whatever Melissa wants it to look like. It can't be intimidated because it's a lazy bum, but luckily it's susceptible to attacks depending on its size.
  • Nurran: This creature has a fin that runs the length of its body. Its favorite attack is to coil into a ball and roll after its prey at high speeds, grinding back and forth over their bodies until they’re destroyed. The best way to handle these creatures is to run. Fast. Very fast . There are different sized Nurrans, the smallest being the fastest.
  • Sulger: A sulger has an enormous flat head that it loves to ram into everything it sees. If you’re tough enough to withstand the initial bash, the Sulger normally manages to knock itself out in the process of trying to run you over.
  • Kinsin: Kinsin are flat, gelatinous monsters. If you’re heavy enough, you can just squish them into the ground and watch them dissipate. If you’re not, walking over these guys is a very, very unpleasant experience as they tend to bubble up and burn away corrosively at flesh.