LO4 Off the Rails Final Presentation

On Wednesday 13th April, we (me, Matt, Kayna, Sammie) pitched our Off the Rails presentation to Dave from Sumo Digital. This is the presentation:

Our feedback was really positive and we didn't actually receive any criticism. Dave from Sumo Digital said that our presentation was "brilliant", "organised" and that he could envisage "Off the Rails" being a real, addictive smartphone game. He also said that our presentation was really well presented by all of us.

Parts of the presentation that I performed:
-About the game
-Graphics (app icon)
-Rail Coins
-Legal and ethical issues (first 3 bullet points)

LO4 Analysis of Current Market Trends

In the app market at the moment, the games most similar to ours which are popular are Temple Run 2 (the mine cart sections), Rail Rush and Subway Surfers. This is because they are all of the endless arcade / high score genre and are based around rails.

Screenshots of the games:

As you can see from the screenshots, the games are similar to the concept for our game, Off the Rails, so we would be competing closely with them in the app market. Although our game is similar, we believe it has its own unique features which distinguish it from these other games, such as:

• only being able to switch tracks at given opportunities
• its 2D, top-down graphics
• playing as an actual train rather than a human
• Rail Coins. 

Therefore, we hope that people will like our game for its unique features and choose Off the Rails over its competitors in the app market.

LO4 Visual Representations of Characters/Levels/Gameplay

LO4 Production Schedule for the Game

LO4 Budgeting for a new Game

LO4 Imaginary Entity

Graham, aged 14, is all about gaming. It's a fun way for him to pass his time when he's bored at home and it's subconsciously become a part of his everyday life. Gaming has become one of his main hobbies alongside the rest of his social activities.

Whether he's gaming alone, or with his friends it has become an easy way for Graham to relax and enjoy himself. Graham and his friends play on video games together most days after school; it's become a good form of social interaction for them all. When he's not gaming he is talking to his friends about his most recent gaming experience.

Although Graham focuses a lot on gaming, he's able to pull himself away and focus on his everyday tasks. But when he’s not able to game, Graham keeps up to date with the gaming world through his weekly subscription to a gaming magazine which he spends his nights reading.

LO4 Pitch Checklist

Include in pitch:

-Treatment or proposal for the final game (fine detail in a document). - Kayna

The Brief

We have been asked to develop an original game idea and illustrate planning for a new game that we will pitch to professionals within the gaming industry.

Concept Idea

Our final game idea is a never ending mobile game that challenges the player to avoid obstacles. The aim is to stay on the train tracks for as long as possible without dying; otherwise the game will be over.

Target Audience

The target audience for our game will consist of males and females between the ages of 10-20. We are aiming "Off The Rails" at people of both ethnicities and any subculture that belong to the social demographics B-E.

Key Milestones

Planning - 14/03/16(Identify target audience etc.)

Creation- 28/03/16
(create assets, identify gameplay etc.)

Finalise the presentation- 04/04/16

Pitch the presentation-   14/04/16

Equipment/Resources

Computer - to create all the pre-production documents & design visuals.

Word/Blogger- to type and store documents and material on.PowerPoint- to create pre-production documents on.
Photoshop- to design visuals and platforms.
Internet access- to save files and send them to the rest of the team.

Legal and Ethical Considerations

Copyright– This enables original material such as pictures, music, literature and videos to be protected. It prevents others from using your material without the necessary permissions. It is important to gain permissions so we don't run into any legal implications within the development of our game. we will have to be careful not to infringe the copyright of games like Subway Surfers and Rail Rush.

Rating- This identifies the most suitable age for players of our game. It is based off the content of the game. The app would be rated age 3+ on iOS and Android. It wouldn’t be rated by PEGI since it is a free app and not a major console game. We plan to only include very mild violent content such as when the train crashes. Other than this, "Off The Rails" will be suitable for younger players.

Contingencies

Our work gets deleted. - Make sure everything is backed up.A member of the group isn't here. - Make sure we all have access to copies of all the work.Somebody pitches a similar idea. - Research ways to make our game more original.

-Competent production schedule for the final game. - Kayna

-Gameplay with associated visuals / Examples of levels, visuals and layouts- Matt

Company logo

Gameplay

Textures

Character

App icon

End of presentation

-Target audience - mood board, description, imaginary entity. - Kayna, Alex, Josh, Sammie

We aim to create a game that a wide range of people will enjoy. Therefore, the target audience for our game will consist of males and females between the ages of 10-20. We are aiming "Off The Rails" at people of both ethnicities and any subculture that belong to the social demographics B-E. Our target audience will generally be interested in gaming - but not to the highest extent. Gaming will just be a casual and small hobby for when they’re bored.

-Relevant legal and/or ethical issues - PEGI rating, copyright, music etc. - Alex

The app would be rated age 3+ on iOS and Android. It wouldn’t be rated by PEGI since it is a free app and not a major console game. 

In terms of original content, we will have to be careful not to infringe the copyright of games like Subway Surfers and Rail Rush. However, we think that the game contains enough originality to be different and separate to these games, for example the 8-bit art style and the unique power-ups and switching-tracks ability.

Ideally, the music for or game would be originally composed but this may not be possible. If it isn’t, we will have to find royalty-free / Creative Commons music that would be a suitable game soundtrack.

Ethically, since the game is rated age 3+, we will have to make sure that there isn’t any offensive content in the game. This means that there will be no violence, sexual content or bad language - we just want the game to be fun for all ages. The cartoony graphics should make the game look fun for the younger audience while also letting the parents know that it is inoffensive and fine for their kids. 

-Platform details and requirements - justification for selection. - Alex

On iOS:

Category: Games

Size: 74.5 MB

Rating: Rated 3+

Family Sharing: No

Compatibility: Requires iOS 6 or later. Compatible with iPhone (4 or later), iPad (2 or later), and iPod touch (4th generation or later).

Languages: English

On Android:

Size: 40.5 MB

In-app purchases: £0.99 - £19.99 for pieces of railroad - buy things in shop, continue playing.

The game will be available on Android phones and tablets. Android version 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or higher will be required. Recommended 1GHz processor required.

We have selected these platforms because they are easily accessible for many people - almost everybody within our target age range of 10-25 has a smartphone available to them. Also, our game isn’t too high-powered so it will work on a range of smartphones and tablets, not just the top-of-the-range ones. Finally, the simple touch controls for Off the Rails are best suited to handheld touch-screen devices such as phones and tablets.

-Plot synopsis and characters. - Alex and Kayna

Synopsis:

-The game starts with a train pulling out of a station.

-The brakes of the train fail (puff of smoke) so it begins to slowly speed up as you continue.

-There are five tracks shown on the screen, and when there is an opportunity to switch tracks, you must choose the right pathway by thinking quickly or you will crash into an obstacle. These could be barriers, workmen, slower trains or parked carriages.

-The longer you stay on the rails without crashing, the higher your score gets. The train also continually gets faster as you play, making it harder.

-The game ends when you collide with an obstacle.

-Rail Coins are earned as you go along the tracks. These can be used to revive when you die, or can be used to upgrade your train to make it better.

Upgrades:

-Stronger exterior, more crashes.

-More coins on the track.

-Make the railroad easier for a certain amount of time.

Characters:

-The train is the only main character in the game, which you must steer onto the right track.

-The colours of it can be changed and it can be upgraded using Rail Coins.

-Financial breakdown of development costs. - Sammie, Josh

LO4 Gantt Chart

LO4 Production Plan

LO4 Team Roles and Responsibilities

A) Treatment or proposal  for the final game. - Kayna

B) Competent production schedule for the final game. - Kayna

C) Gameplay with associated visuals. - Matt

D) Target audience – Moodboard, description, imaginary entity. - Kayna, Alex, Josh, Sammie

E) Relevant legal and/or ethical issues – PEGI rating, Copyright, Music etc.- Alex

F) Platform details and requirements – Justification for selection. - Alex

G) Examples of levels – Visuals and layouts. - Matt

H) Plot synopsis and characters. - Alex, Kayne

I) Financial breakdown of development costs - Sammie, Josh

LO4 Early Video Game Pitch: Off The Rails

LO4 Game Idea "Off the Rails"

The game is an app, and has an 8-bit retro style. A train sets out from a station and the camera goes to a top-down view, so we can see three or four tracks. The train's brakes blow off immediately, and as the train speeds up the player must dodge obstacles by switching tracks, such as workmen, barriers, slower trains and parked carriages. There would be power-ups, such as temporary invincibility, to aid the player. The longer you stay on the rails, the higher your score. The game ends if you collide with an obstacle. Red lights with sound effects and level crossings as you play to increase enjoyment and entertainment.

-The best possible hardware for the game is the mobile platform, as it would work best as a pull-out-of-your-pocket game which can be played for short periods. The simplistic controls would also work best on a touch screen.

-The target audience for the game Off the Rails would be primarily males of the age 10-20 who enjoy playing addictive, time-killing games when they have a moment to spare.

-The genre of the game is endless arcade.

-3 games that Off the Rails might compete with for market share are:

Temple Run

Subway Surfers

Rail Rush

These games are all similar in the way that they are related to rails in some way and they are all addictive high-score games.

LO4 New Game Concept Ideas

Endless arcade game:
"Off the Rails".
The game is an app, and has an 8-bit retro style. A train sets out from a station and the camera goes to a top-down view, so we can see three or four tracks. The train's brakes blow off immediately, and as the train speeds up the player must dodge obstacles by switching tracks, such as workmen, barriers, slower trains and parked carriages. There would be power-ups, such as temporary invincibility, to aid the player. The longer you stay on the rails, the higher your score. The game ends if you collide with an obstacle. Red lights with sound effects and level crossings as you play to increase enjoyment and entertainment.

Survival:
"Haunted House".

Haunted house. Game could be an app or a download on PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, Nintendo eShop... cheap. On-rails combat game - there are ghostly entities on each floor of the house and when you defeat all on one floor, you move upstairs. As you progress up floors, there is a larger amount of enemies and different types. They also have slightly more health on each floor. There are a range of different tools to use to get rid of different types of enemy. Score is in terms of floors survived and points gained.

Side-scrolling shoot-em-up:
"Ship Shoot".
This game is an app once again, and the player is in a speedboat on the left side of the screen. The player must move the speedboat up and down, as well as forwards and backwards to an extent. The speedboat will have guns at the front and on either side. The main character is a man in shades and a white suit. Coming towards the player will be different types of boat;
-battleships with more powerful guns but slow movement
-other speedboats, driven by men in black suits and shades, who come quickly down the sides. Side guns would be used to tackle these.
-submarines could be seen under the water. Must move out of their path before they shoot a large missile straight upwards.
-viking ships come along the side fairly slowly, the cannons must be shot to render them useless.
Old-school graphical style and especially sound effects for shooting.
Controls: up-down-left-right D-pad faintly on screen to the left to begin with.
                Diagram of three gun positions on right; tap them to fire that gun on your boat.
Pace increases the longer you survive, as does your score. Power-ups could float on the water occasionally to improve your guns.

LO4 Early Game Ideas

Addictive high-score app for all ages. Cartoon-like graphics.

-"Off the Rails". Possible title.
-Involving a train. Maybe has no brakes, player has to switch it between tracks to avoid obstacles as it speeds up. Eventually you will go "off the rails". You must last for as long as you can.

-Red lights along the way - can't stop as you don't have any brakes.
-Could be stopped by collisions with other trains or buildings, running out of fuel - you could pick it up along the way.