GAME DESIGN DOCUMENT

Travis Watkins Game Design Documentation-ITGM-706-OL SCAD | Spring 2018 | Professor Gregory Johnson

1 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 4 Player Characters 29 Game Treatment 5 Judd Bender 30 Presentation 6 Holly Dillon 31 Development 6 Layne Collins 32 General Goal 7 Sarah Lowe 33 General Gameplay 7 Chet Cruz 34 Core Features 8 Non Player Characters 35 Game Flow 9 Alien Scout 36 Play Mode 10 Alien Commander 36 Game Saves 10 Alien Drone 37 Introduction or Recap 10 Principle Vincent 37 Day Phase Character Select 11 Dan Hicks 37 Day Phase 12 Swayze 37 Night Phase Character and Location Select 13 Night Phase 14 Setting 38 The Town of Fairfield 39 Game Mechanics 15 Misc Places 41 Day and Night Phase Movement System 16 Night Phase Character Select Map System 17 Level Outline: Episode One 42 Time 17 Goals and Victory Conditions 43 Noise 18 Prologue 43 Interactions 19 Chapter One 44 Story Events 21 Chapter Two 47 Player Character Attributes 23 Chapter Three 50 Stat Modifiers 24 Chapter Four 53 Items for Consumption or Use 25 Chapter Five 56 Crafting 27 Combat 27 NPC Alien Tactics 28 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONTINUED)

Level Document Example 60 Appendix I: Marketplace Analysis 83 Setup 61 Target Audience 84 Objective 61 This War Of Mine 85 Reward 61 The Walking Dead: A Telltale Game Series 86 Quest Start 61 Thimbleweed Park 87 Chapter Three: Night Phase: Invade the 62 XCOM: Enemy Unknown 88 Farcry 3: Blood Dragon 89 Basic Interfaces 66 Southpark: The Fractured But Whole 90 Main Menu 67 Fallout Shelter 91 Introduction OR Recap 68 Day Phase Character Selection 69 Sources 92 Day Phase Interface 70 Character Interactions 71 Important Conversations Interface 72 Crafting Interface 73 Night Phase Character Select Map Interaface 74 Character Load Out Interface 75 Night Scavenge Interface 76 Night Combat Interface 77 Searched Interface 78 Night Recap Interface 79 Start Menu Button 80 Settings Interface 81 Controller Scheme 82

Illustration By: Michael LaRiccia 3 INTRODUCTION

4 INTRODUCTION

In Night of the Saucers you do not play as a heroic one man army trying to save the day; instead you play as a group of teens trying to survive an alien invasion. They not only struggle with the hostile alien threat but also with their teenage angst. The game provides a new horror RPG survival experience built on love and war in the 80s.

Night of the Saucers is an episodic survival-themed strategy game with adventure RPG elements. The player controls a group of high school students who were stuck in detention when aliens attacked and took over their city. Now the students are taking it upon themselves to take the city back.

Game Treatment

Night of the Saucers is a love letter to teen movies of the 1980s. Those stories about kids overcoming their insecurities to achieve something thought to be impossible. Whether that be the nerdy kid getting the most popular girl in school to fall in love with him, or the class criminal rising to the occasion to save his schoolmates from alien annihilation. It fits right in with the 80s pop culture trend that has exploded recently, thanks in part to Netflix’s Stranger Things. However, rather than simply watching how the relationships unfold, the player will have a say in the matter. They will choose how to navigate teen angst and testosterone. They will need to help their characters navigate love and loss, together with life and death, in this new world ruled by alien invaders.

Fig 1: The Breakfast Club Fig 2: Red Dawn Fig 3: The Goonies

5 INTRODUCTION

Presentation

The visual presentation of Night of the Saucers will be cartoon comic book-like, similar to cartoons from the 70s and 80s, like Scooby Doo, G.I. Joe, and Jonny Quest. But, it will be updated to have the neon 80s retro design that is currently popular in style.

Fig 4: Scooby Doo Fig 5: G.I. Joe A Real American Hero Fig 6: Jonny Quest The soundtrack and sound design will be heavily inspired by horror movie soundtracks of the 80s, leaning heavily on the synthwave revival currently happening thanks to Stranger Things, bringing back inspired sounds from composers such as John Carpenter, Tangerine Dream, and Goblin.

Technology, items, and objects will be the cool trendy stuff of the 80s. For example, players will get power ups from wearing headbands, leg warmers, and weightlifting gloves. A character might find comfort from a walkman and cassette tape. To escape the aliens, the students might steal a ride in a Trans Am. The game will ooze with 80s nostalgia.

Development

Night of the Saucers will be designed for Xbox One and PS4. It will be built using a multiplatform engine similar to the one created for This War of Mine. 6 INTRODUCTION

General Goal

The main goal of the game is to defeat the current alien threat while keeping as many of the teens alive as possible.

General Gameplay

Using the High School as their base of operation, the player will need to venture out with their teens into the city to find supplies, gather information, and execute plans. The pace of Night of the Saucers is imposed byDay and Night Phases. During the day, aliens patrol the city preventing the teens from venturing too far; this gives them time to devise plans, craft items, and care for each other. At night, one teen can go on a mission to find supplies and carry out plans at set unique places in the city. Once the Night is over, the game progresses to the next Day.

7 INTRODUCTION

Core Features

Choices Matter: What you say and do effects your future as well as those around you. • The player starts off with five students to control. The choices the player makes with the students will change how they act towards each other. This affects how the student will perform during events as well as how they perform with their group. • Players will need to make life-and death decisions driven by their hearts and brains. They will need to try to protect everyone in the group, but as relationships become more intertwined tough decisions will be forced upon the player.

Episodic: Like a comic book or tv show story arc, the game’s narrative unfolds over multiple episodes. The choices you make will send you off through a branching story tree with different outcomes. • Each episode contains 5 parts where the player will have to make an important decision, choosing from limited options available. These decisions will affect each student as well as the narrative.

Chance: Players will be placed in situations where they will have a to risk themselves in order to gain advantage over the aliens. The game play style puts the focus on relationship group decisions rather than the direct actions of an individual’s performance. This is in direct contrast to traditional first person shooter, and 3rd person action game narratives.

Moods: A character’s mood changes throughout the game which effects their attributes and how they perform in the game. This can give them greater odds of success in tense situations or push them closer to a deathly result. • Playing as fickle emotional teens with raging hormones, the player will need to provide constant intervention in order to keep the students alive. It’s up to the player to maintain their characters’ health and mood levels while building towards the episode’s win condition.

8 GAME FLOW

9 GAME FLOW

Play Mode

Night of the Saucers is a Single Player Episodic Game. New Episodes will be released as downloadable content in the form of updates to the existing game.

Game Saves

The game will automatically save at the completion of each day and night.

Introduction OR Recap

From either starting a new game of continuing a game from the Main Menu, the player will first be treated by either a brief introduction cutscene that sets the story for the beginning of the game or if this is a continuation from a previously saved game it will play a brief recap of what happened in the last play session. This will resemble a clip segment of things that happened on a previous episode of a TV show. 10 GAME FLOW (CONTINUED)

Day Phase Character Select

Before the player begins the Day Phase, they will need to select their character that they will be playing as for this particular Day. This being an homage to 80s movies it would not be complete with out exploring the viewpoints of each character. The Night of the Saucers does this is by limiting the player to only using one character at a time, and then that character cannot be used again until all other characters have been used. This makes each member of the Brunch Bunch equally valuable and forces the story to be experienced from different emotional viewpoints.

• Pink outline is the one the player is selecting. • White outline means they are available to play as, but the player has not selected them. • The PC that the Player played as before is colored in teal and is not available to be play as again until all of characters have been used. • Deceased player characters (PC) remain on the menu but are greyed out and not selectable.

11 GAME FLOW (CONTINUED)

Day Phase

When a place or building is visited, it is shown and interacted with through a 2D profile street view that resembles a cross-sectional cut dollhouse, with the player navigating the environment through the students.

This cross section of the High School is the main interface that the player interacts with during the day. They can move their player character around to interact with the environment and other characters. Moving the player character over an icon will allow them to interact with that part of the environment or character. See the example from This War of Mine for a better example of how this view will be experienced.

Fig 7: This War of Mine

12 GAME FLOW (CONTINUED)

Night Phase Character and Location Select

Once the Day Phase ends it’s time for the player to select a new character to play as during the Night Phase. This character will be venturing out alone from the high school on a mission that was discussed and decided upon by the group during the Day Phase. The player will also need to assign tasks for the the rest of the group to perform during the night while the player is away. These are simple maintence things like resting, guarding, or building.

When it’s time for Night, this is the Interface the player is first presented with. This interface is overlaid on top of the map of the city, with locations selectable of where to go. When a place is hovered over, the player is given information about that place and things they are likely to find there.

Fig 8: This War of Mine

13 GAME FLOW (CONTINUED)

Night Phase

The Night Phase looks similar to the Day Phase except it is night time, and they will be exploring locations away from the High School. During the Night Phase, the Player Character can switch between Scavenge and Combat mode. While in Scavenge Mode the character is free to interact and search the environment.

Once in Combat mode, they can press left or right on the D Pad to change between weapons. This removes Scavenging Icons from the Interface and changes the character to being in a combat mode stance with their chosen weapon.

Night Phase: Scavenge Mode Night Phase: Combat Mode

14 GAME MECHANICS

15 GAME MECHANICS

Day and Night Phase Movement System

Camera: Movement takes place on a 2D plain with the majority of the explorable level in view. The camera will only move with the main character when the level design is wider or taller than the normal view for the player. When the character moves to the edge of view, the camera will stay zoomed out as it is, but it will track in the direction of the character to keep them in view while revealing additional features in the environment or a new environment.

Speeds: Characters can move at 3 different speeds; Sneak (slow pace), Walk (normal pace), and Run (fast pace). To Sneak, the player holds a trigger and presses the directional stick in the direction they want to go. To Walk, the player presses in the directional stick in direction they want to go. To Run, the player holds holds a trigger and presses the directional stick in the direction they want to go.

Direction: Characters can move left or right by pressing in the appropriate direction. They cannot jump, but they can crouch. Pressing on a button will change them to a crouch state. To get them out of the crouch state they just need to press the button again. The character cannot run in the crouch state.

Hiding, Up and Down, and 2D Depth: Pressing up on the directional stick will cause the character to do different things depending on where they are located in the level. If they are at a staircase or ladder, pressing up with cause them to climb up, and pressing down will cause them to climb down. However, pressing up when they are by a door, alley, or at the edge of a countertop will make the character go into the doorway, alley, or be able to move behind the countertop.

16 GAME MECHANICS (CONTINUED)

Night Phase Character Select Map System

Camera: The map is a static camera with selectable places on the map.

Direction: Pressing the directional stick will move a cursor over selectable locations. When a location is selected, it will bring up a box with information about the location along with options of things the player can do.

Location Option Box: This box informs the player of what is known about the location. The information here can possibly change during the game depending on new information discovered by visiting it with the PC, or by learning new information from an NPC. This will also give the player their options for who they decide to send out at Night.

Time

Time passes quickly in the game. 1 hour = 1 minute of game time. Night of the Saucers game play is split up into two different phases: Day and Night.

Day Phase takes place at the High School, from 6:00 AM until 8:00 PM in game time.

Night Phase takes place at various locations throughout the city, from 9:00 PM until 5:00 AM in game time.

If a character does not reach an exit before 5:00 AM during the Night Phase, they will have greater difficulty getting home–they may not come home until several hours into the day. When they do not reach an exit, the game will change back to the High School location and the player will continue on with their Day Phase with one less character. The possible results for the late character include: wounded, not coming back at all, or loss of items.

17 GAME MECHANICS (CONTINUED)

Noise

When a character goes out at night their movements and actions make noise. These noises can attract aliens to the character’s location. For example, it would not be wise to search for things when an alien is near, unless attracting the aliens is your strategy.

The amount of noise the character creates is communicated visually through sound waves that emanate from the character when an alien is near. For example, if a character runs, a large sound wave will travel across the screen and hit an alien, drawing its attention. However if the character sneaks across the screen, the sound wave will grow then disappear close to the character, allowing for the character to escape.

Combat also creates noise. Different attacks produce different amounts of noise. For example, gun fire will produce more noise than a knife attack.

18 GAME MECHANICS (CONTINUED)

Interactions

Friendly Character Interactions: When a player character is placed next to another character, an indicator appears that notifies the player that may interact with that character. When the correct button is pressed a menu pops up that provides interaction options.

Based on the friendly characters mood they will react to the player character in different ways. This will force the player to navigate their interactions carefully. When the interaction begins, the player character will be presented with options such as Talk, Help, Order, or Rest.

If “Talk” is chosen, the player will be given a speech tree. The options throughout the speech tree will communicate the mood and personality of the character and typically force some untimely teen drama upon the player. There will be no right or wrong answers for speech options. These answers may change the way the other teenagers act towards the character. Each of the Brunch Bunch characters have unique stats that allow them to perform differently in various situations. These stats are hidden from the player, so the player cannot directly attempt to level a character in a certain area. By having them perform tasks and overcome obstacles, the stats will level change based on their moods and the characters might begin to act differently through the speech tree. For example, a character might start speaking with more confidence based on previous choices. Or, if a character failed and someone died, they might become depressed and closed off, or even hysterical.

“Help” could come in the form of providing a character with a gift to raise their mood, or to help with them with a task so it is accomplished quicker. “Order” would be giving the character a job to do, like building a weapon, or repairing a radio. A character can can also rest to restore their stamina. This makes them unavailable for any actions for one night. When a character is ordered to rest, they find a place within the school and lay down.

Environment Interactions: Similar to Friendly Character Interactions, when a player character is placed next to some objects, devices, and items in the environment, they will be given an indicator that tells them they can interact with it. When the correct button is pressed, a menu pops up that provides interaction options. These may be to search the object, to assemble parts to the object, or to operate a device.

19 GAME MECHANICS (CONTINUED)

Interactions

Scavenge and Inventory Interactions: When something is searched, the player will be presented with items they found. They will then be given the option to take the items by adding them to their inventory. If their inventory is full, they will be asked if they want to drop any items to make space. Once the character returns to the High School, the items will be placed in the High School inventory that all characters have access to. Also before a character leaves from the High School from the Map Screen, they will be prompted to take items from the Inventory with them. They do not have to take anything if they don’t want to, but they will be given the option.

Crafting Interactions: Certain places will offer the player the option to build devices using the parts they have in their inventory. This is similar to searching for and leaving items, but in a crafting situation, the player is presented with a grid interface that allows for them to combine multiple items together for assembly. When this happen the character doing so will be occupied with this activity for a set amount of time, depending on what they are crafting.

20 GAME MECHANICS (CONTINUED)

Story Events

There are 3 different types of Story Events that contribute to the story of the game differently. These story events do not count towards overall time in the Day and Night phases.

Cut Scenes: Occasionally, to draw attention to the narrative of the story, the game will cut to a brief animated cutscene. This is triggered by events in the game, like the player finding an important item, or when assembling a device, etc. For example: The player discovers the box of dynamite in the hardware store. The game cuts to the front door of the shop bursting open and 3 alien scouts walking inside. The game then resumes with the player taking control of their character.

Important Conversations: These take place during key moments of planning or negotiating in the game. They occur during transitional moments of gameplay before the Day or Night begins and sometime when certain items are found. These are narrative moments that look like a scene from a movie, but the interaction with them are dialog based with a scripted narratives. The players makes choices of how they navigate the conversation tree which adjusts how other characters act towards them and can also modify their mood states. These could be described as “interactive cut scenes.”

When a PC is going through an Important Conversation, they are prompted with a menu of multiple choice answers that they can select from to provide a response and progress the conversation.

Fig 9: Interface Example Overlayed over a scene from the Breakfast Club film. 21 GAME MECHANICS (CONTINUED)

Story Events (Continued)

Device Interaction: When the player completes a new device the game will sometimes immediately transition to an interaction with the device. The player then will be presented with a cursor that allows them to move around the screen and interact with it. For example: The player completes the crafting of the AM/FM Radio by putting batteries into it. The scene transitions to a close up of the radio and the player can tune to the news station. This would then transition to an Animated Scene, and would eventually end in an Important Conversation event. Devices from Episode One that require interaction are:

• AM/FM Radio • CB Radio • Hacking Computer Screen and Keyboard

Fig 10: Fallout 4. 22 GAME MECHANICS (CONTINUED)

Player Character Attributes

These are the attribute catagories for each of the Player Characters.

Speed: How quickly and carefully a character moves. Quicker characters make less noise, which gives them a greater chance of moving without detection.

Intellect: How quickly they can craft something.

Stamina: Duration they can perform tasks without resting.

Charisma: How easily a character can achieve positive results from another character.

Strength: Amount of damage a character can inflict doing a melee attack.

Health: Amount of damage a character can take.

Inventory: Amount of items they can carry at night.

23 GAME MECHANICS (CONTINUED)

Stat Modifiers

Moods: A character’s mood is affected by events that they experienced in the game, conversations they have had with another character.

Amount Affected Mood Stat Adjustment Interaction How to Adjust Unable to Scavenge Being consoled/ or perform actions. cheered up raises -2 Afraid -2 Charisma, -2 Speed Character makes the stat. Traumatic negative comments. events bring it down. Being consoled/ +1 Speed, +1 Character makes cheered up raises -1 Angry Strength, -1 Intellect agressive comments. the stat. Traumatic events bring it down. 0 Normal Base Character Stats Normal +1 Intellect, +1 +1 Determined Charisma, +1 Stamina Character gets here by helping, -1 Strength, -1 Character makes witnessing others +2 Content Intellect, +1 Charisma positive comments. doing good. Being influenced by other’s charisma.

Equipped Items: A character can have up to two items equipped to them at a time. These items will provide them with game play bonuses to their stats. These are separate from the items in their inventory.

Wounds: One wound = -1 Health. 24 GAME MECHANICS (CONTINUED)

Items for Consumption or Use

Some items can be consumed by the characters to provide boosts to their stats. Other can be used to enable the use of other items. Or can be combined to make new items.

Item How to Make What it Does How to

First Aid Kit Restore 1 Health

Matches Ignite other items

Firecracker Makes Noise Combine with Match and Throw Used for barricading and Steel Pipe building. Used for barricading and Tape building. Used for barricading and Lumber building. Used for barricading and Nails building. Bag of Chips Recovers 1 Stamina

Dynamite Combine with Match and Throw

Soda Recovers 1 Stamina

Cassette Player Combine with Batteries Improves Mood by 1 S Share with another character

25 GAME MECHANICS (CONTINUED)

Items for Consumption or Use (Continued)

Item How to Make What it Does How to

AM/FM Radio Combine with Batteries Provides Information Interact with Device

CB Radio Provides Information Interact with Device

Combine Lumber and Improvised Weapon +2 Strength Equip for Melee Attack Nails

Batteries Powers other Items

Handgun Combine with Bullets +3 Ranged Attack per bullet Equip for Ranged Attack

Bullet Projectile for Handgun Weight Lifting +1 Charisma Equip Gloves Sneakers +1 Speed Equip

Baseball Bat +1 Strength Equip for Melee Attack

Headband +2 Strength, -1 Speed Equip for Melee Attack

Fire Axe +3 Ranged Attack per bullet Equip for Ranged Attack

Science Book +1 Intellect Equip

Backpack +4 Inventory Equip

26 GAME MECHANICS (CONTINUED)

Crafting

Certain items have a set-up time and a wait time. For example, “0.5 (+5 hrs)” means that it takes half an hour to set up the item(s) and another 5 hours to acquire it / them.

• Saucer Hacking Computer - Requires Arcade Machine parts and Motherboard.

Combat

While scavenging, players can attempt combat with aliens. Players can switch between scavenge and combat modes by holding a trigger to switch the controls over to combat. While in combat mode, the survivor can’t loot or use tools. Combat mode will automatically switch if the Player Character is attacked.

Switching from scavenge mode to combat mode will brandish a fist, or a weapon if one is equipped. There are two different types of possible combats for the PC: Melee and Ranged.

Melee: Melee is using their fist to punch the alien or swinging and item like a baseball bat. For melee combat the PC needs to be within arms reach of the alien to land a hit.

Ranged: Ranged is only available when the PC has an item that will allow it, such as a gun or a projectile explosive item like a pipe bomb. Range combat has a limit based on the item being used. A handgun can shoot across the screen. A pipebomb can only be thrown a distance of half of the screen. All NPC Alien attacks are ranged.

Character Health: Player Characters have 2 health. If they are hit once, they are wounded. Another hit and they die. When a character is wounded, they instantly move slower and are only able to engage in combat if they have a projectile weapon. Its possible to gain more health than 2 by equipping an item or engaging in an activity that provides a boost.

Alien Health: Alien Drones have 2 health. Alien Scouts have 2 health. Alien Commanders have 3 health.

Alien Damage: For each successful hit an aliens lands it deals 1 damage to a PC.

27 GAME MECHANICS (CONTINUED)

NPC Alien Tactics

Surrounding: Aliens investigate the noises made by the player if it reaches them. Noises are seen as shockwaves made by certain actions, that produce sound, such as gunshots, breaking things, and running.

Visual Awareness: Upon seeing a character Aliens will open fire trying to kill them. The shooting instantly alerts more Aliens, causing them to come to the action. Aliens will also call for more backup if they discover a slain alien.

Patrolling: Aliens have a fixed patrol pattern, often triggered when the player’s character enters an area. Aliens will yell at the character and attack on sight. If the character manages to hide unseen, the alien’s will pass by the character’s hiding spot, giving the character a chance to get the drop on the alien, or to make a break for it in the opposite direction.

28 Player Characters

29 PLAYER CHARACTERS

The player characters, the teens in detention, will be collectively called The Brunch Bunch. The Brunch Bunch is made up of Judd Bender, Holly Dillon, Layne Collins, Sarah Lowe, and Chet Cruz.

Judd Bender

The juvenile delinquent of the group, also known as the Criminal. A bad boy with a heart of gold. He’s compulsive, a bit annoying, and cannot keep his mouth shut. He’s the fly in the ointment. He needs to learn that he doesn’t have to go at it alone.

Illustration By: Michael LaRiccia

SPEED INTELLECT STAMINA CHARISMA STRENGTH HEALTH INVENTORY

2 1 2 2 3 2 12

30 PLAYER CHARACTERS (CONTINUED)

Holly Dillon

The snobby Princess. She is the entitled stuck up rich girl. She usually goes with whatever flow will keep her popular. She needs to find her own identity and become someone besides the rich girl.

Illustration By: Michael LaRiccia

SPEED INTELLECT STAMINA CHARISMA STRENGTH HEALTH INVENTORY

1 2 2 2 1 2 10

31 PLAYER CHARACTERS (CONTINUED)

Layne Collins

Known as the Brain, he’s an academic overachiever with a fear of failure. He needs to have both some success and failure with some real world tests to gain some confidence in himself and relax.

Illustration By: Michael LaRiccia

SPEED INTELLECT STAMINA CHARISMA STRENGTH HEALTH INVENTORY

2 3 2 2 1 2 10

32 PLAYER CHARACTERS (CONTINUED)

Sarah Lowe

The Basketcase, the weirdo goth girl. She’s not afraid to go against the grain, as she usually does so for attention at home and at school. She needs to realize she can just be herself and doesn’t need to impress anyone by doing or saying controversial things.

Illustration By: Michael LaRiccia

SPEED INTELLECT STAMINA CHARISMA STRENGTH HEALTH INVENTORY

2 2 2 2 2 2 10

33 PLAYER CHARACTERS (CONTINUED)

Chet Cruz

The Jock with daddy issues. He excels in everything physical, but struggles with the book smarts. He’s fairly judgemental of others and is in detention for bullying. He needs to be more accepting of others.

Illustration By: Michael LaRiccia

SPEED INTELLECT STAMINA CHARISMA STRENGTH HEALTH INVENTORY

3 1 3 2 3 2 10

34 NON PLAYER CHARACTERS

35 NON PLAYER CHARACTERS

Alien Scout

These units patrol and search the city for humans. When they find one, they either kill the human or take them to one of the detention camps in the city. The Scouts are armed with ray guns that can either stun or destroy a human. These creatures are a bit reptilian in appearance, with large reddish pink eyes and scales and thorn-like protuberances all over their bodies. They are bipedal and use their hands with three large fingers in a similar way as humans do. On average, they are larger than a human, standing about 9 feet tall when erect. However, they often walk hunched over. They seem to fit in most rooms in the game, but they take up a large amount of space, so they do not navigate the space very quickly. The scouts are equipped with some type of canister on their backs with two hand gun type laser weapons.

Alien Commander

These creatures are bad news. They herald the marking of a location for destruction. The only way to save the location is to kill the commander before it can relay the orders back to the mothership. Once the orders are in, its just a short matter of Illustration By: Michael LaRiccia time before the location is gone for good. These creatures are from the same species as the scouts, but they are differentiated from the scouts in appearance by the helmets they wear and their gear types.

36 NON PLAYER CHARACTERS

Alien Drone

These units are stationed all around the city and are used as sentries. They are miniature tripod-type units that do not move around much. Instead, when they are deployed, they dig into the ground with their harpoon-like legs and monitor the area for intruders. They are not very big; about the size of a small child. Principle Vincent

He can be found hiding in his office in the high school. He provides access to his car, which allows the students to travel further into the city. He offers this in exchange for supplies. He also provides information about the location of special items that an be found throughout the city, as well as access to special stuff in the high school. Although the principle is kind of a selfish jerk, he is a valuable resource for the Brunch Bunch. If you mess with the bull, you get the horns!

Illustration By: Michael LaRiccia Dan Hicks

Dan is the owner of the Pawn Shop and can be found bunkered inside it. He can provide some interesting weapon options, electronic supplies, as well as some more...questionable...items. It’s possible that he might gift items to the Brunch Bunch, but more than likely he will need to be bartered with.

Swayze

Swayze is the voice at the other end of the Rebel Outpost CB Radio. To talk with Swayze the kids will need a CB Radio. He can provide information about what is going on in the city. 37 SETTING

38 SETTING

The Town of Fairfield

Night of the Saucers takes place in a mid-sized town in the United States called Fairfield. It represents “Anytown, USA” in the 1980s. The town is divided into five districts, Fremont, Waterside, Pearl, Fenway, and Old Fairfield.

Old Fairfield is the heart of the city featuring the oldest buildings. It features Pioneer Square, home to Fairfield’s original clock tower and court house. It was built in 1885 with the founding of the town. Nearby is the Fairfield police station, bank, the Hollywood movie house, as well as some of the oldest homes in the city.

The Pearl district features the tallest buildings in Fairfield. Nakatomi Plaza is the center of high finance for the city. Up the street is Fairfield Hospital, WKBW Radio, and the Channel 62 public cable access television station.

Fenway is home to the Quarter Nebula Arcade, Black Circle Record Shop, and Twin Pines Mall. It’s a teen entertainment paradise.

The Waterside district is nestled against the Willoughby river. There you will find the River Willows Apartments, Mac’s Pizza, Cut and Screw Hardware Store, the Fire Department, and the Pawn Shop.

The Fremont district is home to the Hughes High Panthers...go Black Cats! Nearby you will find Black Hole Doughnuts, the Chicken Shack, Pig Burger, and the Gulp and Go mart. Hughes High School is where more than half of the game takes place. It is where the students interact with each other the most in order to create the drama that propels them to adventure. Popular places in the school to explore will be the cafeteria, the gym, the science lab, the computer lab, library, janitor’s closet, and the principal’s office.

Illustration By: Michael LaRiccia 39 SETTING

40 SETTING

Misc Places

These are places a player will not directly visit but are referred to or are observed from a distance in the game.

News Crew and Rebel Outpost - Although there are not plans to visit these these groups, they do inhabit a space in the game world that provides information to the player. The Rebel Outpost is someplace outside of the city limits. The News Crew is similar to the Rebel Outpost, but they provide information that is more overarching to the what is happening in the world.

Alien Mothership - It’s unlikely the game will ever physically visit the Mothership that is hovering over the city. But will be often used as a frame of reference to where the aliens are focusing their efforts.

Detention Camps - The Aliens are corralling humans into detention camps for testing. There are a few of these camps stationed throughout the city.

41 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

42 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Goals and Victory Conditions

Each Chapter of each Episode will have a different victory conditions that must be met in order to progress the game and the story. These victory conditions will be learned through the story during the Day Phase.

Chapter One: Survive first contact with the Aliens Chapter Two: Get the CB Radio Chapter Three: Get the parts from the Arcade. Chapter Four: Get the Motherboard from the Pawn Shop Chapter Five: Destroy the Alien Saucer

Prologue

Aliens have just invaded. There is a Saucer overhead in the sky. The streets of Fairfield or in chaos. People are being killed, people are fleeing, aliens are everywhere. The Brunch Bunch observes this out of the school library window; they are terrified. Principle Vincent observes it as well, but he flees to his office and locks himself away. The kids are on their own.

43 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Chapter One

Day Phase: The group is in a panic; one of them needs to take charge of the situation. The player must choose the character they want to play as for Chapter 1. The player can choose from any of the characters now, but they will not able to use this character again until all other characters have been used.

Decide to send someone out: As night falls, the kids decide to send someone out to see what’s happening.

Night Phase Character Select: The group has decided that someone needs to go out into the city under the cover of night to get a better idea of what the situation is and see if they can find some help. The player can decide to send their character out or have one of the others go.

Night Phase - Option A: Player goes out and Encounters an alien drone - If the player goes out, their character explores one of the local buildings in the neighborhood. They can search the building for supplies and information. They will encounter an alien drone in this building, which they must sneak away from.

Death: If they try to engage the drone they will die. If they do not sneak carefully, they will die. If the player dies, that character is gone from the game and the player replays Chapter 1’s night phase with one less character. They will need to successfully complete Chapter 1’s night phase to progress.

Escape: If the player carefully sneaks, they will trigger a human in the building to come after the player to beg for help. When this happens, the drone wakes up and kills the building resident in front of the player. The player then runs away, escaping the drone and safely making it back to the high school to tell the group what happened. The player then proceeds to the Lie to Group Choice.

44 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Chapter One (Continued)

Night Phase - Option B: Send another character out - If a different character is sent out, the game simulates the passage of time with the remaining kids waiting around on alert at the high school until the character returns. The character comes back extremely scared and rattled and gives an account of an alien drone killing a person that was begging them for their help. They barely escaped with their life. This character will now refuse to leave the high school for the rest of the game. After the character has finished giving their account, the game progresses to the Lie to Group Choice.

Choice: Lie to Group: The player must decide how they want make the group feel. Do they want to lie and be confident, telling them everything is going to be okay and they have a plan? Or do they want to tell the truth that they are scared and don’t know what to do. Either answer will affect members of the group differently.

Truth: The truth will bolster some members with confidence and lower their panic, but for others, it will raise their panic and lower their confidence.

Lie: A lie will have the opposite effect of the truth on the same characters.

End Chapter One

45 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Chapter One (Continued)

Chapter One Flow Diagram

46 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Chapter Two

Day Phase: Character Select: After successful completion of Chapter 1, select a character to take charge of during Chapter 2. This cannot be a character that has been used previously.

Day Phase: Once the player has made the choice they are free to explore the high school and direct students to do things like barricade doors and windows, looks for supplies within the school, sleep, and build things. Side Quest character development conversations take place during this time as well, the conversations affect the characters stats. During the search of the building they will find the AM/FM Radio. When this happens the player will move to AM/FM Radio.

AM/FM Radio: The Brunch Bunch listens to the radio and hears a news report. This gives updates of cities being taken over all across the world and warns people to leave any area that has a saucer directly overhead. They also warn of sentry alien scouts. People are urged to stay indoors and out of sight. Through this information the kids come up with a plan that they need to find a CB radio to call for help.

Plan to find a CB Radio: At the end of the day the kids decide that they need to find a radio so they can get more information. They decide that the Police Station is their best bet.

Night Phase: Character Select: After successful completion of the Chapter Two Day Phase, select a character to take charge of during the Night Phase of Chapter 2.

47 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Chapter Two (Continued)

Night Phase - Option A: Player goes out and Encounters an alien scout - If the player’s character goes out, they explore the Police Station. Inside they will find a CB Radio. Once this has been discovered an alien scout appears.

Death: If the player dies, the character is gone from the game and the player replays Chapter 2’s night phase with one less character and no CB Radio. They will need to successfully complete Chapter 2’s night phase to get the radio and progress.

Escape: If the player hides and waits, they will have an opportunity to sneak past the scout and leave the building. The player then skips to Use CB Radio.

Night Phase - Option B: Send another character out - If a different character is sent out, the game simulates the passage of time with the remaining kids waiting around on alert at the high school until the character returns. The character comes back badly injured and gives an account of the scout shooting them and wounding their arm. They barely escaped with their life. This character will now work at half capacity. After the character has finished giving their account, the game progresses to Choice: Use CB Radio.

Use CB Radio: They make contact with Swayze, a member of the Rebels. They learn that the Rebels are trying to fight back and that is where most of the scouts seem to be located. They also learn that there are bigger, badder aliens that the Rebels are calling commanders. These aliens seem to be linked with the saucers. When one of the commanders shows up, a building seems to get blown up by a saucer shortly after. The Rebels let them know that they saw one heading in the direction of the high school. The kids are pretty much trapped for now.

End Chapter Two

48 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Chapter Two (Continued)

Chapter Two Flow Diagram

49 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Chapter Three

Day Phase Character Select: After the successful completion of Chapter 2, the player must select a character to take charge of during Chapter 3.

Day Phase: Once the player has made the choice they are free to explore the high school and direct students to do things like barricade doors and windows, looks for supplies within the school, sleep, and build things. Side Quest character development conversations take place during this time as well, the conversations affect the characters stats. The kids notice that the saucer has moved closer. It’s only a matter of time now, they move on to Saucer Hack Plan.

Saucer Hack Plan: Looking through the computer lab, the Brunch Bunch has a revelation that they might be able to hack the Saucer using some awesome 80s hacking power. But they will need to get ahold of some parts that are not available at the high school. So, they are going to need to venture out across town. They need arcade machine parts from Plan 9 Arcade. But, first they need to get the Principal’s car.

Get Principal’s Car: The students have to get the keys for the principal’s car to get across town and back with the parts they need. This is a minor boss battle puzzle. They need to get the principal to come out of his office in order to lock him up in a different room, so they can be free to take his keys from his office.

Night Phase: Character Select: After successful completion of the Chapter Three Day Phase, select a character to take charge of during the Night Phase of Chapter Three.

50 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Chapter Three (Continued)

Night Phase: Go to The Quarter Nebula: The player’s character goes to Plan 9 Arcade. Drones are stationed at the arcade. They must have been drawn to the noise from the machines. The player needs to sneak around the drones.

Death: If the player dies, the character is gone from the game and the player replays Chapter 3’s night phase with one less character. They will need to successfully complete Chapter 3’s night phase with a different character to get the parts and progress.

Escape: The player navigates the arcade carefully avoiding detection and is able to get the parts. The player then skips to Return to High School.

Night Phase: Return to High School: The player returns to the High School with the parts.

End Chapter 3

51 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Chapter Three (Continued)

Chapter Three Flow Diagram

52 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Chapter Four

Day Phase Character Select: After the successful completion of Chapter Three, the player must select a character to take charge of during Chapter Four. At this point if a character has died and all characters have been used, they may reuse a character.

Day Phase: Once the player has made the choice they are free to explore the high school and direct students to do things like barricade doors and windows, looks for supplies within the school, sleep, and build things. Side Quest character development conversations take place during this time as well, the conversations affect the characters stats.

Start Building Hacking Machine: The kids start work on the machine in the computer lab using the parts they got the night before. They discover that they are also going to need a motherboard from the Pawn Shop.

Night Phase: Character Select: After successful completion of the Chapter Four Day Phase, select a character to take charge of during the Night Phase of Chapter Four.

Go to Pawn Shop: The player’s character goes to the Pawn Shop, where they are met by the shop’s owner, Dan Hicks. Dan has the motherboard you need, but he isn’t just going to give it away. He gives you two options of what he will take.

Principal’s Car: He’ll trade you his motherboard for the principal’s car. If the player chooses to trade the principal’s car they skip to Night Phase: Trading for the motherboard.

Dynamite: Up the street is the Hardware Store, and inside it is a cabinet of dynamite. Dan will trade for that also. If the player chooses to get the dynamite, they go to the Hardware Store, where they must search for the dynamite. Once the dynamite is found, a group of alien scouts show up.

53 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Chapter Four (Continued)

Death: If the player tries to engage the scouts they die. If the player dies, the character is gone from the game and the player replays Chapter 4’s night phase with one less character. They will need to successfully complete Chapter 4’s night phase with a different character to get the dynamite and progress.

Escape: If the player hides and waits, they will have an opportunity to sneak past the scouts and leave the building with the dynamite. The player then skips to Night Phase: Trading for the motherboard.

Night Phase: Trading for the the motherboard: The player either gives over the keys to the car or brings back the dynamite, and Dan gives them the motherboard. If they trade dynamite they then move on to Return to High School. If they trade the Principal’s Car, they go to Sneak Back to High School.

Sneak Back to High School: The player doesn’t have a ride back to the High School, so they will need to sneak their way across the Old Fairfield District to make it back to the High School.

Death: If they engage with any enemies they die. If the player dies, the character is gone from the game and the player replays Chapter 4’s night phase with one less character. They will need to successfully complete Chapter 4’s night phase with a different character to get the motherboard where it was dropped, sneak back to the school, and progress.

Escape: If the player makes it through the district undetected, the player then skips to Night Phase: Return to High School.

Night Phase: Return to High School: The player returns to the High School with the motherboard.

Night Phase: They were followed: A cut scene shows a scout following the player and watching as the player enters the High School. The Scout then radios the information.

End Chapter 4

54 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Chapter Four (Continued)

Chapter Four Flow Diagram

55 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Chapter Five

Day Phase Character Select: After the successful completion of Chapter Three, the player must select a character to take charge of during Chapter Five. At this point if a character has died and all characters have been used, they may reuse a character.

NOTE: At this point if the player is down to only one living character, the Night Phase events will be played in a linear level progression starting with the Roof Defense, then the Main Entrance, and finally the Hack Saucer.

Day Phase: Once the player has made the choice they are free to explore the high school and direct students to do things like barricade doors and windows, looks for supplies within the school, sleep, and build things. Side Quest character development conversations take place during this time as well, the conversations affect the characters stats.

Build hacking machine: The kids complete the build of the hacking machine.

Set up hacking machine on high school roof: The kids must set the machine up on the roof of the high school connecting to the satellite dish.

Prepare defenses: The kids must repair and set up the defenses for the high school.

Night Phase: Character Select: After successful completion of the Chapter Five Day Phase, select a character to take charge of during the Night Phase of Chapter Five.

56 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Chapter Five (Continued)

Night Phase: Who is hacking and who is defending the school?: Someone needs to hack the saucer, and the others need to defend the hacker and the machine.

Roof: Scouts are dropped onto the roof to attack the dish.

Death: If they fail at defending the dish, the player must send the others to make it up to the roof to protect the dish.

Kill Scouts: If successful in the defense of the dish, the player moves these characters to assist with the Main Entrance.

Main Entrance: Through the Main school entrance comes a Commander.

Death: If they fail at defeating the Commander, the player must send the characters on the roof down to the main entrance to defeat the Commander.

Kill Commander: If successful in the defense of the main entrance, the player moves the characters to assist with the Roof.

Night Phase: Hack Saucer: If the defenses hold, it is now up to the hacker to get into the alien mainframe. The player is now presented with a puzzle that they must complete in order to gain access to the saucer.

No Hack: If they fail to hack the saucer’s mainframe, the saucer strikes with a giant laser blast that destroys the high school. Game Over.

Hack: If the player is successful, the saucer flies across the city, crashing into the side of a mountain. Player continues to Day is Won.

57 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Chapter Five (Continued)

Night Phase: Day is Won - The kids celebrate their victory. Cheers from off in the distance can be heard from the roof of the high school.

Alien Mothership Appears: But the celebration is short lived, off in the distance seemingly from out of nowhere an even bigger saucer appears. To be continued...

End Chapter 5 and Episode 1

58 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Chapter Five (Continued)

Chapter Five Flow Diagram

59 LEVEL DOCUMENT EXAMPLE

60 LEVEL DOCUMENT EXAMPLE

Setup

Looking through the computer lab, the Brunch Bunch has a revelation that they might be able to hack the alien saucer using some awesome 80s hacking power. But, before they can attempt to hack, they will need to modify the school’s computer. The parts they need for completing the modification are located at the Quarter Nebula Arcade.

Objective

Get the Arcade Machine Parts from the Quarter Nebula Arcade and safely return to the High School.

Reward

Returning safely to the High School with the Arcade Machine Parts will progress the story to Episode 4.

Quest Start

The quest begins once the Player has selected their Player Character for the Night Phase, set their Load Out, and pressed the GO button.

61 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Chapter 3: Night Phase: Invade the Arcade

Level Map

62 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Chapter 3: Night Phase: Invade the Arcade (Continued)

The level starts outside of the Quarter Nebula Arcade in the parking lot. Debris is littered about as are a few small fires that add to the night time ambiance. The Quarter Nebula Arcade is located inside a two-story building that used to be the home the Fairfield Chronicle. The second story has a little patio terrace that hangs over the front entrance to the arcade.

Enter the Arcade: When the player approaches the front door entrance to the arcade, they see that it appears to be unobstructed and free to enter. They also notice that they could choose to climb up to the second story terrace.

1. Front Entrance: If the player chooses to enter through the Front Door, they will be met with an immediate blast from an alien drone that is camped out and waiting. If this happens the player will be wounded, having learned the location of an alien drone the hard way. 2. Second Story Terrace Entrance: If the player climbs up to the second story and enters the second floor of the arcade via the terrace door, they enter undetected.

Second Floor of the Arcade: When the player enters the Arcade on the second story they have a limited view and awareness of what is below them. The room is dimly lit. Inside the room they see rows of video game cabinets along the wall, all turned off. They also notice halfway down the room is a staircase leading down to the first floor. There is also a few outcroppings in between machines that the player can use to hide in. If the player walks through the room, they will notice that there is a power button next to a Space Invaders machine at the end.

1. The player could walk down the staircase to the first floor, but they would be met by an alien scout as well as the alien drone. They are unlikely to survive this encounter. 2. They could also walk around upstairs making enough noise to draw one of the scouts up to the second floor. They could do this by switching on the machines using the power button. When this happens, the machines on the second floor turn on with lights and noises, and the scout will walk up the stairs to inspect and engage with the player if it sees them. The player should hide and wait for an opportunity to attack the scout when its back is turned, or simply sneak past it down the stairs. If the player chooses not to do anything when the scout is searching, the scout will turn off the machines and return downstairs, and the player will have to turn the power back on and try again.

63 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Chapter 3: Night Phase: Invade the Arcade (Continued)

First Floor of the Arcade: The first floor is lined with more video game cabinets. These, too, are controlled by a switch that can power them on if desired. At the opposite end from the front entrance is a counter where the arcade manager would normally sit. On the counter is a cash register with some snacks. The counter is a space that the player can hide behind. This area is searchable. About mid-way across the room, on the other side of the staircase leading up, is a staircase leading down to the basement. At the opposite end of the first floor is the front entrance with the alien drone on alert.

1. If the player goes down the stairs at normal-to-fast speed, they will make too much noise and alert the alien drone. It will turn and shoot the PC. It will also alert the scout if the scout has not been slain. 2. If the player sneaks quietly, they will have the opportunity to come up behind the drone and destroy it before it sees them. 3. They could also choose to sneak down the next set of stairs to the basement without engaging the drone.

Of course all of these factors also depend on how or if the player got past the first alien scout.

When the player searches the Arcade Manager’s Counter they will find:

• Bags of Chips x3 • Candy Bar x2 • Sack of Quarters x1 • Pair of Fingerless Gloves x1

64 LEVEL OUTLINE: EPISODE ONE

Chapter 3: Night Phase: Invade the Arcade (Continued)

Basement of the Arcade: The basement has a few more video game machines lined up against the wall. These can also be powered on by a switch if desired. There are also a few places to hide. In the back of the basement is a utility room with the door open. Inside the utility room is an alien scout digging through a box of arcade machine parts.

1. If the player walks or runs down the basement stairs, the sound will alert the scout. The scout will turn to engage the PC. 2. If the player sneaks down, they will be undetected by the scout.

The player then needs to get the Arcade Machine Parts from the utility room. But to do that they either need kill the scout or lure it away from the utility closet.

When the player searches the Boxes inside the utility closet they will find:

• Arcade Machine Parts x1 • Screwdriver x1

If the player has cleared the Arcade of all Aliens prior to getting the Arcade Machine Parts:

1. When the PC takes the Arcade Machine Parts into their Inventory, a cut scene triggers showing one of the dead alien scout’s transponder beeping. Then two Alien Scouts from outside barge in through the front door of the arcade. The dead scout called for backup! The Scouts then start patrolling the main and 2nd floor of the arcade. The player will now need to escape by killing these final two aliens, or by sneaking past them through the Exit area.

Quest Complete: To successfully complete the quest, the player needs to have the Arcade Machine Parts and run past the Exit area on the left side of the screen.

65 BASIC INTERFACES

66 BASIC INTERFACES

Main Menu

This is the first screen that the player can interact with in the game. They can choose to “Continue” the previously saved game or start over by selecting “Another Try.”

67 BASIC INTERFACES

Introduction OR Recap

From the Main Menu the game will then play either a brief introduction cutscene that sets the story for the beginning of the game or if this is a continuation from a previously save game it will play a brief recap of all that has happened so far in the game. Like a clip reel of things that happened on a previous episode of a TV show.

68 BASIC INTERFACES

Day Phase Character Selection

• Pink outline is the one the player is selecting. • White outline means they are available to play as, but the player has not selected them. • The PC that the Player played as before is colored in teal and is not available to be play as again until all of characters have been used. • Deceased player characters (PC) remain on the menu but are greyed out and not selectable.

69 BASIC INTERFACES

Day Phase Interface

This cross section of the High School is the main interface that the player interacts with during the day. They can move their player character around to interact with the environment and other characters. Moving the player character over an icon will allow them to interact with that part of the environment or character.

70 BASIC INTERFACES

Character Interactions

Depending on the part in the story and the mood of the characters, the interactions that appear in the menu will be different. But the basic interactions the PC can have with another character are talking, helping, or ordering. Talking can be simple word bubble type things that appear with surface level talk that indicate a character’s mood or if they are busy.

71 BASIC INTERFACES

Important Conversation Interface

When important conversations are initiated the screen changes to a cinematic scene with this interface overlaid. Pressing one of these buttons gives the selected sentence as your characters responses to the conversation.

72 BASIC INTERFACES

Crafting Interface

When a player engages a crafting center indicated by the Wrench and Tool Icon, or is Ordered by a PC to do something, they are presented with an Interface like this. The left side indicates the possible things that could be crafted. The side on the right indicates the details of crafting that Item/Device.

73 BASIC INTERFACES

Night Phase Character Select Map Interface

When it’s time for Night, this is the Interface the player is first presented with. This interface is overlaid on top of the map of the city, with locations selectable of where to go. When a place is hovered over, the player is given information about that place and things they are likely to find there.

The characters on the right need to be assigned a task to do for the night.

74 BASIC INTERFACES

Character Load Out Interface

The character that has been selected to Go out, is then given the Load Out Interface. This is where the player can add things to their backpack to take with them. If an Item for Combat is in their Backpack, they can select it for combat by cycling through their Combat Options from the Night Interface.

75 BASIC INTERFACES

Night Scavenge Interface

This is similar to the Day Interface, but from here they can switch between Scavenge and Combat mode by pressing up and down on the D Pad.

76 BASIC INTERFACES

Night Combat Interface

Once in Combat mode, they can press left or right on the D Pad to change between weapons. This removes Scavenging Icons from the Interface and changes the character to being in a combat mode stance with their chosen weapon.

77 BASIC INTERFACES

Searched Interface

When the PC searches an Object they are presented with an Interface like this. It tells them what they found from searching and gives them the option to take individual items, or take all the items. It also tells them how much room is remaining in their Backpack.

78 BASIC INTERFACES

Night Recap Interface

When the PC ends their Night phase whether the played through the Night Phase or simulated it, they will be presented with a screen that will let give them a recap of the characters state and what they brought back with them. This will then transition to a Character Select screen where they make their PC selection before starting their next Day.

79 BASIC INTERFACES

Start Menu Button

If a player presses the Star Button they are given these options. Resume returns the player to the game. Settings and Controls takes them to a different menu. Leave returns them to the Main Menu.

80 BASIC INTERFACES

Settings Interface

The player does not have many things they can adjust Settings wise in the game.

81 BASIC INTERFACES

Controller Scheme

Here is the controller scheme for Night of the Saucers.

82 APPENDIX I: MARKETPLACE ANALYSIS

83 MARKETPLACE ANALYSIS

Night of the Saucers shares much of its design and mechanics with This War of Mine. But where This War of Mine takes a serious look at the effects of war on survivors, Night of the Saucers takes a humorous parody approach to teenage emotions during fantastical situations.

Story progression and character development structure is inspired from the mechanics of various Telltale Games and the character leveling/customizations of XCOM and Fallout Shelter. Dramatic storylines will fill in moments at the high school between characters, spilling over into how the characters act around each other during moments of duress. The episodic story structure used by Telltale games will be used reveal the story to the player in a similar way to 80s sitcoms and procedurals. Cliff hangers will be a regular occurrence that will bring players back for more. Items found and encounters amongst the teens will affect their stats and inventory.

Target Audience

Players of indie RPG Adventure games 25 - 45 age range. Fans of Stranger Things, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and similar high school horror dramedies.

Fig 11: Stranger Things Fig 12: Buffy the Vampire Slayer 84 MARKETPLACE ANALYSIS

This War Of Mine

This War of Mine is a war survival video game inspired by the 1992–95 Siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War, which differs from most war-themed video games by focusing on the civilian experience of war rather than the frontline combat. Characters have to make many difficult decisions in order to survive everyday dangers. There are various endings for each character, depending on the decisions made in the game.

Developer: 11 bit studios Genre: Survival, Strategy Modes: Single-Player Platforms: PS4, IOS, Android, Xbox One, OSX, PC, Linux Releases: Digital Download, Scenario Editor, Player Creator, The Little Ones, Board Game

85 MARKETPLACE ANALYSIS

The Walking Dead: A Telltale Game Series

Based on The Walking Dead comic book series, the game is an episodic interactive drama graphic adventure survival horror video game. Unlike many graphic adventure games, The Walking Dead does not emphasize puzzle solving, but instead focuses on story and character development. The story is affected by both the dialogue choices of the player and their actions during quick time events, which can often lead to, for example, certain characters being killed, or an adverse change in the disposition of a certain character or characters towards Lee. The choices made by the player carry over from episode to episode.

Developer: Telltale Games Genre: Graphic Adventure, Interactive Drama, Comic, Episodic, Survival Horror Modes: Single-Player Platforms: Android, IOS, Kindle Fire HDX, OS X, Linux, Ouya, PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC Releases: Digital with 4 downloadable episodes, retail version Sequels: 2 additional games with episodic content with a fourth game on the way. Awards: Many accolades as well as Game of the Year awards from many publications.

86 MARKETPLACE ANALYSIS

Thimbleweed Park

A spiritual successor to Maniac Mansion and The Secret of Monkey Island, Thimbleweed Park is designed to be similar to graphic adventure games released in the late 80s early 90s, both visually and gameplay wise. The game is played similarly to early graphic adventure games; it is seen from a third person perspective, with a view of the area taking up the majority of the screen, while the bottom portion is taken up by the player’s inventory and a list of verbs, such as “use”, “pick up”, and “talk to”. By clicking on a verb followed by one or two items or characters, the player character will attempt to perform the action described. The game has five different player characters which the player can switch between in the middle of gameplay, similarly to Maniac Mansion.

Developer: Terrible Toybox Genre: Point-and-Click Adventure Modes: Single-Player Platforms: PS4, Nintendo Switch, IOS, Android, Xbox One, OS X, PC, Linux Releases: Digital Download Misc: Partially funded through Kickstarter crowdfunding.

87 MARKETPLACE ANALYSIS

XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Set in the near future during an alien invasion of Earth, the game puts the player in control of an elite multinational paramilitary organization called XCOM and is tasked with defending the Earth. The player commands troops in the field in a series of turn-based tactical missions; between missions, the player directs the research and development of new technologies from recovered alien technology and captured prisoners, expands XCOM’s base of operations, manages XCOM’s finances, and monitors and responds to alien activity.

Developer: Firaxis Games Genre: Turn-Based Tactics, Tactical Role-playing Modes: Single-Player, Multiplayer Platforms: PC, IOS, Android, Xbox One, OS X, Linux, PS3, PS Vita, Xbox 360 Releases: Digital Download, Retail Version, Elite Edition with all previously release DLC. Sequels: XCOM: Enemy Within, XCOM 2 Awards: Critically acclaimed, with several reviewers commenting on the game’s difficulty, replayability, and addictiveness. A number of publications, including GameSpy, GameTrailers and Giant Bomb, named it Game of the Year.

88 MARKETPLACE ANALYSIS

Farcry 3: Blood Dragon

The game, a parody of 1980s action films, cartoons and video games, takes place on a retro-futuristic open world island with players assuming the action role of the military cyborg Sergeant Rex “Power” Colt. It’s an 80s VHS vision of the future, where the player must get the girl, kill the bad guys, and save the world.

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal Genre: First-Person Shooter, Action-Adventure Modes: Single-Player Platforms: PC, PS3, Xbox 360 Releases: Digital Download, Retail Far Cry Compilation Misc: Fastest selling downloadable title in Ubisoft history. Awards: Was nominated for several awards including Inside Gaming Award for Best Art, D.I.C.E. Award for Downloadable Game of the Year, and National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards for Original Light Mix Score, Franchise and Writing in a Comedy. It won the VGX award for Best DLC.

89 MARKETPLACE ANALYSIS

Southpark: The Fractured But Whole

The game is played from a 2.5D third-person perspective, replicating the aesthetic of the television series. The New Kid is able to freely explore South Park, interacting with characters, undertaking quests, and accessing new areas by progressing through the main story. The player can choose from up to ten superhero archetypes ranging from high-speed Speedsters, close-combat Brutalists, powerful Psychics, and healing Plantmancers; each offering unique abilities. The New Kid and up to three allies fight their enemies using attacks including melee, ranged, and powerful farts. Battles take place on a grid, around which participants can move freely. Attacks have specific areas of effect, requiring tactical positioning for attack and defense.

Developer: Ubisoft San Francisco Genre: Role-Playing Modes: Single-Player Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch Releases: Digital Download, Retail

90 MARKETPLACE ANALYSIS

Fallout Shelter

In the game, players build and manage their own Vault as an Overseer – the leader and coordinator of their Vault. Players guide and direct the citizens of the Vault, and need to keep them happy through meeting their needs such as power, food, and water. They rescue dwellers from the wasteland and assign them to different resource-generating buildings in the Vault, using the SPECIAL statistics system from the other Fallout games. Each character’s SPECIAL profile affects their ability to generate different resources, and their statistics can be increased by training them in rooms devoted to each stat. The dwellers can level up over time, increasing their health, and can be given new items and weapons to help with various tasks. The number of dwellers can be increased by waiting for new dwellers from the wasteland to arrive or by pairing a male and a female dweller in living quarters to produce babies.

Developer: Bethesda Game Studios, Behaviour Interactive Genre: Simulation Modes: Single-Player Platforms: IOS, Android, PC, Xbox One Releases: Digital Download

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Fig. 1. The Breakfast Club 1985. Digital Image. Google Image Search. http://cdn.playbuzz.com/cdn/fe4ee921-2d5d- 4a10-a6a0-2c763ae8cfbc/9f28e2b7-611f-4cd5-b648-478db0b8cb58.jpg

Fig. 2. Red Dawn 1984. Digital Image. Google Image Search. https://reddawnmovie.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/ reddawn31.jpg

Fig. 3. The Goonies 1985. Digital Image. Google Image Search. http://www.creativealliance.org/sites/default/files/ events/2015/05/Untitled-1_23.jpg

Fig. 4. Scooby Doo Cartoon. Digital Image. Google Image Search. https://wendylovesjesus.files.wordpress. com/2016/09/night-fright14.jpg

Fig. 5. G.I. Joe A Real American Hero. Digital Image. Google Image Search. https://i.pinimg.com/236x/d1/1d/d3/ d11dd304961a9df075609c85026e4164--cartoon-icons-best-cartoons.jpg

Fig. 6. Jonny Quest. Digital Image. Google Image Search. http://static.flickr.com/61/246823971_9f75b612bf_o.jpg

Fig. 7. This War Of Mine. Digital Image. Google Image Search. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UL7Uz8JwMP8/ Va4LWBuDA6I/AAAAAAAAetI/O2c0bCL7fPQ/s1600/analisis_thiswarofmine_03.jpg

Fig. 8. This War Of Mine. Digital Image. Google Image Search. http://www.ludophiles.com/media/this-war-of-mine- map.38/full

Fig. 9. The Breakfast Club 1985. Digital Image. Google Image Search. https://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/03/17/ movies/video-the-breakfast-club-escaping-vernon/video-the-breakfast-club-escaping-vernon-superJumbo.jpg

Fig. 10. Fallout 4. Digital Image. Google Image Search. https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/fallout/images/7/76/Pip- Boy_3000.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110712154420

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Fig. 11. Stranger Things 2017. Digital Image. Google Image Search. https://pmctvline2.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/ st.jpg?w=620&h=420&crop=1

Fig. 12. Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1997. Digital Image. Google Image Search. http://cdn.funcheap.com/wp-content/ uploads/2017/03/Buffy-the-Vampire-Slayer1.jpg

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