5.7 KiB
5.7 KiB
Cosmic Caravan
Game Design Document
Core Concept
A roguelike adventure game where players manage a caravan through an apocalyptic world, balancing cozy village preparation with urgent expeditions as cosmic horror threatens to consume everything.
Genre & Inspirations
- Primary Genre: Roguelike/Action-Adventure
- Inspirations: Stardew Valley (village life), Monster Hunter (preparation), Oregon Trail (caravan travel), Dark Souls (combat), Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (expedition structure)
Core Game Loop
Phase 1: Village Preparation
Duration: Player-controlled, but time pressure increases nightly
Activities:
- Explore home village and surrounding biome
- Complete fetch quests and resource gathering
- Craft and upgrade equipment
- Accept requisitions from local guild
- Manage caravan supplies and crew
Mechanics:
- Real-time day/night cycle
- Relationship building with NPCs
- Crafting system for gear and caravan upgrades
- Resource management (food, materials, gold)
Phase 2: Expedition
Duration: Variable based on requisition and player choices
Core Systems:
- Caravan Management: Real-time movement across procedurally generated wilderness
- Combat: Action-based encounters with monsters and threats
- Survival: Resource consumption, weather, terrain hazards
- Problem Solving: Environmental puzzles (broken bridges, quicksand, etc.)
Requisition Types:
- Delivery: Transport goods between settlements
- Hunting: Eliminate specific monsters or threats
- Scouting: Explore uncharted wilderness areas
- Urgent: Combat cosmic horror manifestations
Phase 3: Decision Point
Options:
- Return Home: Teleport back to village, process rewards, full Phase 1 reset
- Continue: Accept new requisition from current location
- In Cities: Full selection of appropriate requisitions
- In Wilderness: Limited to scouting missions
- In Frozen Zones: Only urgent requisitions available
Cosmic Horror System
The Eclipse Timeline
- Night 1: New star appears in sky
- Night 2: Star begins to eclipse
- Night 3: Full eclipse achieved, first frozen circle appears
- Nights 4-6: Circle expands across map, consuming settlements
Frozen Zone Effects
- Towns: NPCs become unresponsive, shops inaccessible
- Monsters: Increased strength and aggression
- Environment: Visual corruption, audio distortion
- Progression: Circle grows steadily, making areas permanently inaccessible
Victory Condition
Players must complete urgent requisitions to fight through frozen zones and destroy the Eldritch horror at the circle's center before the map is fully consumed.
Core Mechanics
Caravan System
- Mobile Base: Rolling headquarters with upgradeable components
- Crew Management: Hire specialists with unique abilities
- Supply Logistics: Food, medicine, ammunition, repair materials
- Customization: Armor plating, weapons, comfort upgrades
Progression
- Character Skills: Combat abilities, crafting expertise, social connections
- Caravan Upgrades: Enhanced durability, speed, cargo capacity
- Knowledge Accumulation: Map data, monster weaknesses, optimal routes
- Reputation: Standing with various guilds and settlements
Requisition System
- Difficulty Scaling: Rewards and challenges increase with distance from home
- Location Dependency: Available missions determined by current settlement type
- Time Pressure: Eclipse progression affects mission availability and urgency
- Chain Opportunities: Strategic route planning for multi-requisition runs
Technical Considerations
Procedural Generation
- Wilderness Maps: Terrain, resources, encounters, weather patterns
- Settlement Variation: Different guild offerings, NPC personalities, local specialties
- Threat Distribution: Monster spawns, environmental hazards, cosmic manifestations
Progression Persistence
- Between Runs: Character knowledge, some equipment, unlocked settlements
- Within Runs: Caravan upgrades, relationship progress, map exploration
- Cosmic Resets: Eclipse completion triggers world state changes
Difficulty Scaling
- Natural Progression: Distance from home increases baseline challenge
- Time Pressure: Eclipse advancement creates urgency without artificial timers
- Player Choice: Risk/reward balance through requisition selection and route planning
Art Direction
Visual Themes
- Village Life: Warm, cozy, pastoral aesthetic
- Wilderness: Varied biomes with realistic but fantastical elements
- Cosmic Horror: Progressive visual corruption, impossible geometries, color distortion
- Eclipse Progression: Sky changes provide constant visual reminder of approaching doom
Audio Design
- Ambient: Natural sounds in wilderness, village life audio in settlements
- Combat: Impactful weapon strikes, monster audio cues
- Cosmic Influence: Distorted audio in frozen zones, building tension through sound design
- Music: Dynamic scoring that responds to location type and eclipse progression
Success Metrics
Player Engagement
- Session Length: 6-night cycles create focused, completable experiences
- Replayability: Multiple paths through procedural world, various strategies
- Skill Development: Players improve at resource management, route planning, combat
Emotional Arc
- Preparation Satisfaction: Village phase provides calm planning and anticipation
- Expedition Tension: Travel phase delivers challenge and discovery
- Cosmic Dread: Eclipse progression creates escalating pressure without frustration
- Victory Relief: Successfully stopping cosmic horror provides meaningful catharsis