Intro
Okay, we're gonna start it off nice and simple. If Color Fusion had do be described in one sentence, that sentence might look something like this:
" Color Fusion is a cooperative action-adventure puzzle platformer game where changing a color changes everything."
Background Story
Our story is thus far horrifically undetermined and up in the air. There's a few different paths we could take with this, and we have no idea which way to go. (So please vote on your favorite!)
Story #1
A young boy named Johnny has created a colorful, fingerpainted world. When three small blobs of paint venture from their buckets, they are treated to a the vast expanses Johnny has painted. The trio decide to embark on a journey, exploring the world before them, on a quest for adventure and discovery.
Story #2
A 3-year-old boy named Johnny finger paints extravagant, imaginative worlds on his toy easel every day. But alas, all good things must come to an end and every night Johnny's father comes into his room and tucks Johnny into bed. After that the easel is cleaned for the next day of painting, at least that's how Dad views it. What he doesn't see is the savage destruction of the paint world from a blob's eye view. The paint bucket lid being left askew one night, three blobs witness the genocidal murder of their friends. The next day when the blobs themselves end up on the canvas, they know they have til sundown to escape lest they be viciously destroyed like their comrades before them.
Story #3
One day in happy paint-blob land, three blobs witness a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Three massive and majestic birds soar past the blobs, each a color that the blobs themselves are. Seeing that their colors have such potential to be great, the blobs set forth to find the birds and become just like them.
Objective / Goal
The objective in Color Fusion is simple: all three players must navigate their ways through each world, cooperatively solving a myriad of puzzles in order to progress until they have traversed the entire canvas universe.
Gameplay Elements
Player and the Environment
If a player is the same color as an environmental object, they can interact with it. For walls and floors, this means they can walk on them. Secondary colored players can interact with any objects of the two colors that make up their current color, as well as any object of their specific color. It's the primary gist of the game: you can only touch or interact with objects of your color or the colors that are used to make your color.
The purpose of interactable objects is to change the current state of the level, such as moving walls. They are scattered throughout the levels and are used as the primary building blocks for most puzzles.
Player Abilities and Fusion
Each color has abilities associated with it. Abilities are unlocked as the players progress through the game. At the beginning of each new world, new abilities are unlocked. When players encounter a situation in which none of their current abilities seem to work, they can fuse, opening up even more abilities.
The abilities are another crux of the game, allowing each player to fill a unique "gamespace" making the experience different with each run-through as a different color.
Color Personalities and Abilities
- Red
- Personality: The angriest blob of paint in he history of pretty much ever. Red takes out his anger on the world around him, smashing, throwing, and yelling at everything that gets in his way.
- Abilities: Damaging, environmental modifier
- Yellow
- Personality: Maybe a little bit too happy for his own good. Yellow's energy level is so high, he can't help but run wildly, jump erratically, and even charge through walls whenever he gets excited.
- Abilities: Mobile
- Blue
- Personality: Sadder than a room full of children who just found out all of their puppies died. Blue cries so much, it's a wonder he hasn't dried up.
- Abilities: Supportive
- Light Green
- Personality: Really sick. Throws up a lot.
- Abilities: Supportive, temporarily alters environment
- Dark Green
- Personality: Jungle man. Very animal-like and savage.
- Abilities: Mobile, manipulates objects
- Light Purple
- Personality: Creative bard. Charming.
- Abilities: Supportive, manipulates objects
- Dark Purple
- Personality: Regal knight. Fierce and honorable.
- Abilities: Damaging and shielding
- Light Orange
- Personality: Tinkerer. Versatile.
- Abilities: Support, mobile
- Dark Orange
- Personality: Pyromaniac. Volatile, unstable.
- Abilities: Damaging, modifies environment
Character Death
In the world of Color Fusion, players do not permanently die. Instead, when a player is hit by an enemy or falls into a pit, they will be knocked back and their color will start transitioning to gray. Once completely gray they will be unable to interact with colored objects, and will lose their special abilities. It takes roughly 2-3 hits to lose color entirely.
To get their color back, players must find a gerbil bottle and drink from it. Also, enemies may occasionally drop color pellets, which the gray character can absorb to regain color without using a gerbil bottle.
If a player is hit or falls while gray, a player will disappear completely until their team mates find a gerbil bottle, at which point they can respawn in full color.
If all players have disappeared completely, the team will need to restart from their most recent checkpoint (gerbil bottle).
There will be a few different types of enemies. All enemies are able to hurt the players or their progress in some way. Enemies may be necessary for the solution to puzzles. Some enemies may be world specific.
Progression
Environments and Worlds
Given that most worlds will have 3-4 levels, the level scheme should be: Teach - Practice - Mastery. Meaning that the first level of any given world should focus on teaching the different aspects of the new abilities gained in that world. The next will focus on using those abilities constantly in simple situations to familiarize the play with them. And the following level(s) should require the player to demonstrate mastery of recently learned abilities by implementing more difficult puzzles that use them.
Each level in a world will be a different flavor of that world, have slightly different art, and progressively increasing intensity. This is to create some variation and a steady rising, climax, falling pace to the game where things rise over the course of the first three levels, peak during the final, and fall when the players discover the next level. We could also tie these art changes into the story.
Levels will be separated by their place in the game. The categories being early-game, mid-game, and late game.
- Playground
- Relaxing, freebee world. Tutorial oriented to teach the players all the basic abilities, enemies, objects, and interactables. No fusion.
- Forest
- Beach
- Castle Siege
- Metropolis
- Ice World
- Space
- Dragon's Lai
- Stormy Skies
Art Specifications
Characters
All characters in the game will be clean, smooth, vector-based sprites with no more than two colors, plus highlight and shaded tones and a dark border. Outer lines are 3 point, while inner lines are 2 point. Characters emotions and personality are conveyed through their faces. Their expressions will be large and simple, in a 'chibi' style. Eyes are white and have no pupils.
Character Animations
Animations are bouncy and alive, representing the blob-like nature of the characters. When characters move they will bob and sway accordingly and will deform if pressed against something or when landing, and will bounce back into place afterward. Each animation will be cute and fun.
Backgrounds
Backgrounds will consist of three parallax layers: a light, subtle gradient, middle ground elements, and sub-foreground objects. The gradient will not move with the players, the middle ground will move slowly, and the sub-foreground will move at the same rate as the foreground.
The gradient will be created in Photoshop to create a dreamy watercolor look. It will be subtlety laid over a paper texture. Gradients will be monochromatic and represent the underlying feeling of the level.
Middle grounds will be painted by hand, with finger paint, and scanned into a digital format, then edited in Photoshop to have transparent backgrounds and to conform to the size standards.
Sub-foregrounds will be created in Photoshop using a specially developed fingerpaint brush. Sub-foreground elements will each be drawn separately and will be placeable objects in the level editor so that designers can match the sub-foreground to their level designs easily. Some elements may have sprite sheets that can be set to play by the designers on certain switch events.
Interface
Interface elements in Color Fusion, when they appear, will be large, bright, and animated. Button prompts will look like droplets of paint on the canvas, will shimmer, and will depress when the button is pushed before popping and disappearing.
Each button prompt may be stylized to match the personality of the player character who is being prompted.
Audio Specifications
Sounds
Silly and emotionally robust sounds for characters and enemies; Lots of squishy sounds.
Music
Music should change according to world, but maintain the same basic theme. Should get progressively darker as the players progress through the worlds.
Here are some examples of music we're trying to emulate:
- http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/241260
- http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/103445
Game Controls
A – Jump
B – Grab blocks for pulling
X – Interact with objects, such as signs and switches
Y – Fusion
Left Joystick - Movement
Right Trigger – Special abilities. While pressed, other controls may change. This varies by character.
Right and Left Trigger Simultaneously – Suicide. Used to reset puzzles.
Marketing Analysis
Color Fusion is designed to appeal to a wide variety of audiences. Color Fusion's cute theme lends itself well to both young women and children. Parents find the game to be interesting because it promotes cooperation and teamwork, an important lesson to get across to children. Color Fusion will appeal to gamers thanks to its challenging nature allowing hardcore and casual gamers alike to test their skills in a unique and fun environment.
Since Color Fusion is planned to be released on the Xbox Live Indie Arcade, and therefore sell for less than five dollars, all interested parties who own an Xbox will have.
