Task 2
Idea development
early title and logo
Little World: The Curse of the Shadow Bugs
new title and boxart
Little World: The Curse of the Shadow Bugs
this box is intended for a Nintendo switch case
Make each sector of the main town easily recognizable.
Play as a bee for different takes of the environment.
I want the game to have a cartoony art style, a bit like sonic the hedgehog.
Action Adventure game.
I didn't want the game to take too seriously.
Story
The leaders of the shadow bugs Ven & Violet have kidnaped Rosey but with not much is know why they did that. Queen Belle has now requested Buzz to venture outside of Leafyville to find where Rosey went and to find out why the shadow bugs are doing this.
Characters
Buzz: Traveller that lives in Leafyville, the bee who was asked to find rosey and is the main character you will be playing as:
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Rosey: Princess of Leafyville (even if she not to fond her role...)
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Lens: a scientist bee that helps lens with new weapons and armour he can make using the shadow essence buzz gets for him.
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Hunny: a bee nurse which helps buzz when he has colasped in battle with life honey, though she loves honey herself and can eat it..
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Queen belle: The queen of Leafyville, she is always worried for Rosey.
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Shadow bugs: we don't what they are but they seem evil.. they have leaders which are Ven and Violet.
each shadow bug has a different perosonality
The game will be unrealistic as bees don't last to long and male bees barely do anything in the real world.
Gameplay
The game genre at the moment is undecided. I don’t really have certain genre the game will be it might be 3D action adventure.
You will be playing as Buzz and you be able to attack using leaf blade, using the wings float walk and run
doing quests to get to the end of the game.
The game may be inspired by ape escape with the enemies.
Old story will be in old concepts
Old concepts click here
Audience
I would like the game to be suitable 3-7 year olds so I would make some adjustments to suit that rating.
The game will be light-hearted so the should not take itself too seriously, the antagonists might be a bit silly.
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There will be no instance of death, losing all hp will make buzz collapse to the ground and wake up at the last checkpoint and enemies defeated will turn back to there normal selves.
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Violence will be kept absolute minimum.
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Difficulty would be low.
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Areas in Leafyville would have different colours to make each area distinct for people
3 and 7 year olds are the ages. I will try to get my game to be these ratings, both have similar requirements but 7s can have non-realistic violence. 12,16 and 18 ratings would not fit the game at all.
Though I do want the game to be a pegi 3 rating.
These are the descriptions of the 3+7 Rating
''The content of games with a PEGI 3 rating is considered suitable for all age groups. The game should not contain any sounds or pictures that are likely to frighten young children. A very mild form of violence (in a comical context or a childlike setting) is acceptable. No bad language should be heard.''
''Game content with scenes or sounds that can possibly frightening to younger children should fall in this category. Very mild forms of violence (implied, non-detailed, or non-realistic violence) are acceptable for a game with a PEGI 7 rating.''
These pictures are from: https://pegi.info/
Discriptions:https://pegi.info/what-do-the-labels-mean
Leafyville Layout
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Beehive Castle Interior
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Apple Treehouse Interior
Strawberry House Interior
Orange Lab Interior
Concept of the three characters
This was the outline of Buzz on the early stage.
Concept of Lens
This character lives in the Orange Laboratory in a secret entrance in the stalk walls.
He helps buzz to make stronger gear for him for his journey.
Concept of Queen Belle
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Belle is the queen of Leafyville and lives in the bee hive castle.
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Worker bees concepts
workers that are in the beehive castle making honey for the bugs around leafyville
Shadow Bugs
Shadow bugs are mischievous creatures which all have different personalities. The two leaders are Ven and Violet.
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They seem to be innocent bugs that have been taken over by the shadows, they can be reverted back to there normal forms but they will need to be captured.
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Note: Buzz vaguely remembers Ven and violet.
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These shadow bugs I made will be related to the Pipo monkeys found in Ape Escape as each enemy has a different personality with their eyes.
This is a screen shot of a video called 'Ape Escape 20th Anniversary' the screenshot was on: https://www.destructoid.com/stories/sony-japan-spotlight-ape-escape-20th-anniversary-video-and-twitter-account-558518.phtml
Buzz's Apple Tree House
This is the main house, you start here at the beginning of the game. You can train here with a training dummy to check how much damage you are doing this the bed is also a rest point to to fully heal Buzz.
Lens Lab
This place hidden behind a tunnel next to the Beehive Castle is Lens's Laboratory that sells swords, staffs and armour to help Buzz on his journey but only if he gets lens shadow orbs from the shadow bugs that he needs for his experiments.
Each type of equipment gives a small increase in stats.
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Armour increases health (max 12 Health points)
which there are 4
1. fresh Leaf set (+2 health)
2. stinging netels set (+4 health,thorns)
3. amber set (+6 health)
4. Shadow set (+8 health,disguise)
swords increases range and attack.
1. fresh leaf blade
2. vine blade
3. amber blade
4.shadow blade
Beehive Castle
This the area where your main quest of find Rosey begins. The area has a bunch of worker bees going around the castle making honey for the bees around Leafyville with Queen Belle being the main worker here.
Strawberry House
This is Rosey's old home, she rarely goes here anymore as she lives as a princess in Beehive Castle with her own room. She does very occasionally come back when she feels overwhelmed by work.
Watermellon Stage
this stage usilly had two popular bugs that would sing on stage every Saturday but as shadow bug have been sighted around leafyville they don't show up any more so nothing really happens here now.
Old Sketches of Buildings
Rosey's Strawberry House
Buzz's Apple Treehouse
Len's Orange Laboratory
Watermelon Stage
Beehive Castle
Branch Gate
Sunflower Lamp
Stem Wall
Stem Tunnel
Academic Research
To identify facts and/or opinions that will assist in solving the problem or dealing with the situation.
Making a rigorous and relevant contribution to knowledge. Understanding of a cause and effect relationship of a given phenomenon or uncovering a new phenomenon. Organised inquiry to provide information for the solution to a problem.
Facial Expressions
The pictures of expressions I did show what the characters needs to follow when there are supposed to express something.
Focused
Natural
Shocked
?
Cultural Research
Cultural studies researchers generally investigate how cultural practices relate to wider systems of power associated with or operating through social phenomena, such as ideology, class structures, national formations, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, and generation.
What I am going to do for cultural research is show the main entries of the sonic franchise as my project would have a similar art style as the sonic games.
Sonic the Hedgehog franchise
(main games only).
Before Sonic 1990
In April 1990, Sega requested a game capable of selling more than 1,000,000 copies; a character who could compete against Nintendo's popular Super Mario.
Several character designs were submitted by its AM8 research and development department, here are a few of the early designs;
1990
Sonic the Hedgehog, the launch title for what would become the Sonic series, was released in 1991 for the Sega Mega Drive to critical acclaim and far exceeding Sega's commercial expectations, becoming one of the best-selling games in history, and, at the time, giving a huge popularity boost for Sega, enough so that the company could directly compete with Nintendo.
After the first game's success, a sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, soon followed in 1992. it introduced Sonic's then-new sidekick and best friend, Miles "Tails" Prower. Unlike the original Sonic the Hedgehog, it was developed by the Sega Technical Institute rather than Sonic Team.
Sonic the Hedgehog CD was released the following year in 1993, developed by a different team in Japan headed by Naoto Ohshima. While this game was supposed to be the same as Sonic the Hedgehog 2, during development, it eventually became its own project. Sonic the Hedgehog CD was released for the Mega CD, a special add-on for the Mega Drive; due to this, it featured higher-quality sprites and soundtrack in comparison to previous Sonic games; the latter differed between the American and European/Japanese versions of the game.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3, released in 1994, continued where Sonic the Hedgehog 2 left, and saw Sonic and Tails venture into Angel Island, after hearing unusual activity coming from the place. It introduced another character to the series: Knuckles the Echidna, who, while an enemy to Sonic and Tails in this game, would become one of their best friends later on. During development, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was split in half, having a direct sequel, Sonic & Knuckles, released later that year, which included the leftover content from Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
Knuckles' Chaotix, released in 1995 for the Sega 32X Mega-Drive add-on, saw Knuckles the Echidna in the role of protagonist instead of the titular character Sonic (who only makes a cameo in the good ending of the game alongside Tails), and introduced the team that would later be known as the Team Chaotix, including Espio the Chameleon, Vector the Crocodile, and Charmy Bee, alongside a returning Mighty the Armadillo. Similar to Sonic the Hedgehog CD years earlier, Knuckles' Chaotix featured higher-quality graphics and OST than preceding entries.
Sonic 3D, named Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island in Europe and Japan, and Sonic 3D Blast in North America, was released as a "swan-song" for the Mega Drive in December 1996, and was the last Sonic game released for the console. This game, similar to SegaSonic the Hedgehog, was also played from an isometric perspective. Although it shared elements with the 2D platform Sonic installments, it stood out by introducing a new gameplay mechanic, which was to collect Flickies (one of the many animal friends that are captured regularly to power Dr. Robotnik's Badnik army) after rescuing the birds from the robots and then, as a method of progress, the player had to warp them into Giant Rings to get through the stages.
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
Classic era 1991-1997
2001
The first Sonic game to release simultaneously on multiple consoles, Sonic Heroes, was released on the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox in December 2003 in Japan, with American and European releases in 2004 and a PC version during the following November. The platforming was largely similar to that of the Adventure titles, although the player now controlled the lead character in a team of three characters, with the other two following closely behind. The player could switch to a new leader at any time to make use of each character's unique skills.
Shadow the Hedgehog was released in the United States in November 2005. It was commercially successful, but as with Sonic Heroes, received mixed reviews from critics. Example sites such as IGN and GameSpot panned the game. Nintendo Power and Gametrailers, however, both rated it above 8 out of 10, praising the replay value.
2005
dreamcast era 1998-2003
The full leap into 3D platforming was made with Sonic Adventure, a launch title for the Sega Dreamcast console.
JPN: (23 December 1998)
US:(9th September 1999)
The game is divided up into two stages: Action Stages, and Adventure Fields. The division of Action Stages and Adventure Fields was a serious departure from all previous Sonic games.
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Sonic as a character had some big changes in its design
as he was redesigned by Yuji Uekawa as a fifteen-year-old character, with longer legs and a less spherical body, longer and more drooping spikes, and emerald green-coloured eyes.
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1998
On 21 June 2001 in North America (23 June in Japan and Europe; the 10th anniversary of the US release of Sonic the Hedgehog), Sonic Adventure 2 was launched it was also launched everywhere on the same day. Gameplay takes place between two different points of view storylines, the "Hero" story and the "Dark" story; the player has the option of advancing in either one or the other at any time.
2003
Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) is a platform video game that was made to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.It is the first Sonic game to support high definition graphics.
The game faced development issues which resulted in the product being rushed. Upon its release, it was widely criticized for its numerous gameplay glitches and long loading times.
2006
Sonic Unleashed, known in Japan as Sonic World Adventure Whilst incorporating Sonic's traditional platforming and trademark speed, the gameplay style for this game is notably different, focusing on 2D side-scrolling platform gameplay rendered with 3D visuals, as well as behind-the-back, third-person stages; gameplay seamlessly transitions between these two styles. This radical change in gameplay, coupled with the focus on extreme speed and boosting (during the day stages), makes this game considered at least in part the first "boost 3D" Sonic game,
Sonic Colors in Japan and North America, titled Sonic Colours in Europe and Australia, is a platform video game for the Wii and Nintendo DS. the gameplay on the wii version is praticly the same as sonic unleashed daytime stages with minor tweaks.
2008
2010
modern era 2008-present
Sonic Generations is a 2011 platformer video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Nintendo 3DS. The game was made and released to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The game features levels derived from twenty years of Sonic history, ranging from levels from games on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, to the Dreamcast, to the Wii. There is a level taken from almost every main series Sonic game to represent the different eras. Each level can be played with either Classic Sonic or Modern Sonic,
2011
Sonic Lost World is a platforming video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The game was released exclusively for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS on 18 October 2013 in Europe, 24 October in Japan and 29 October in North America. The player controls Sonic the Hedgehog in an action platformer. The levels take place on tube-shaped worlds that shift in perspective, allowing for both 2D and 3D gameplay. The boost-integrated gameplay from the more recent 3D titles has been eschewed in favor of a new control style, more similar to the control style found in the Sonic Adventure titles.
2013
sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_series#Notable_games
this website has helped a load when making this so check this website if you want to know more about sonic
Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, known in Japan as Sonic Toon: Ancient Treasure is a video game for the Wii U published by Sega and developed by Big Red Button Entertainment. It is one of the two video game prequels for the Sonic Boom television series, the other being Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal, Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric is an action-adventure game with a stronger emphasis on exploration and combat compared to previous Sonic the Hedgehog installments.
2014
Sonic Mania is a side-scrolling platformer video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise which acts as a celebration of the Sonic series' 25th anniversary. Set in an alternate reality, the game follows Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, and Knuckles the Echidna as they try to keep Dr. Eggman and his Hard Boiled Heavies from harnessing a mysterious new energy source.
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Sonic Mania was developed by Christian Whitehead, who had previously worked on enhanced ports of early Sonic games, with the aid of Headcannon and PagodaWest Games, who were chosen for their work in the Sonic fangame community, and was published by Sega. The game emulates the gameplay and 2D sprite animation of the original Sega Genesis Sonic games, and serves, along with Sonic Forces, as a “continuation” of Sonic’s 25th anniversary.[
2017
Sonic Forces is a platform video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. It was released in November 2017 for Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.​
The game marks the return of the collaboration between both Classic Sonic and Modern Sonic, along with their associated gameplay styles, since the twentieth anniversary game Sonic Generations (although it is not a sequel to any previous games). In addition, Sonic Forces also introduces a third gameplay mode featuring the "Avatar", the player's own custom-created character. The game serves, along with Sonic Mania, as a “continuation” of Sonic’s 25th anniversary.
2017
This did take me a long time to make, and I have missed quite a bit of games, however I have condensed it to the most relevant titles for my research,
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The following information was referenced from:
https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Sonic_News_Network
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