HIGH CONCEPT

• Camera: Third-person camera

• Game Type: Action-Adventure / Procedural Post-Apocalyptic

• Platform: PC / Next Gen consoles

• Engine: Unreal Engine 5.3

 

AVATAR & USP

• Avatar: A futuristic nomadic survivor

• USP: Fast-paced combat, procedural world, cooperative play, evolving equipment system.

 

SCENARIO PITCH

You play as a nomad, a traveler and survivor on the planet Arkanis in the year 5454. After an unknown cataclysm wipes out 80% of the population, the world is overrun with mutants. Your goal is to survive, fight back against the mutant hordes, and uncover the origins of the disaster that devastated the world.

 

GAMEPLAY PITCH

Nomad is a procedurally generated action-adventure game where you control a traveler equipped with gear that enhances their physical abilities, enabling them to reach incredible speeds. Explore an infinite world either solo or in co-op with up to 8 players. You’ll face hordes of mutants, massive bosses, and mutated animals that have become more dangerous. By completing quests and exploring, you'll earn rewards that allow you to upgrade your equipment. Each weapon and piece of gear has unique stats, and you can find enhancement items to further customize your loadout.

 

MECHANICS

• Dynamic Combat: Fast, responsive combat featuring sprinting, quick reflexes, and a variety of animations.

• Wall-Running (TBD): Add mobility-based mechanics for an additional layer of strategy.

• Zombie Hordes: Classic zombie hordes (inspired by World War Z or Days Gone), along with more evolved mutants (inspired by The Last of Us, Resident Evil, The Thing).

• Challenging Enemies: Bosses and enemies that challenge players with unique attack patterns.

• Procedural World: Infinite, procedurally generated biomes with diverse points of interest, ensuring high replayability and discovery.

 

WEAPONS & EQUIPMENT

• Weapons: A mix of cybernetic and modern firearms with varying types and feedback, ensuring satisfying combat.

• Equipment: Different types of gear (armor = increased HP/damage reduction; weapons = increased damage; tertiary gear = new powers and enhancements).

• Weapon Variety: Customizable weapons with unique stats and the ability to add enhancements from items found in the world.

• Progression: Equipment stats don't limit player skills; instead, players can find, buy, or loot skills, then slot them into their gear.

 

UNIQUE MECHANICS

• Environmental Hazards: Randomly occurring elemental storms (sand, lightning, tornadoes) similar to Mad Max, leading to parallel quests, tougher enemies, and boss encounters.

• Dimension Shifting: If caught in a storm, players can be transported to another dimension, triggering new challenges or parallel storylines. Players can return by surviving until the next storm or using specific items.

• Cycle of Day/Night: A 70% day / 30% night cycle where enemies become stronger, and special bosses appear at night. Players cannot skip time and must survive or hide during night phases.

 

CORE GAMEPLAY LOOPS

1. Exploration Loop

   • Explore the environment, find destinations, and earn rewards through exploration (loot/money).

2. Horde Combat Loop

   • Identify a horde, analyze enemy types and attack patterns, select the appropriate gear, and defeat the horde for rewards (loot/experience/money).

3. Boss Combat Loop

   • Discover or trigger a boss encounter through quests or exploration, analyze its patterns, choose the right weapons, and defeat the boss for rare loot and experience.

4. Quest Loop

   • Accept quests from NPCs or contracts, travel to the quest zone, complete objectives, and earn rewards (items/experience/money).

 

SYSTEMS

• Character Control: Multidirectional movement via keyboard; aim and shoot with the mouse.

• Third-Person Camera: Adapts based on the ability used, weapon equipped, and aiming mechanics.

• Character: A humanoid nomad with advanced physical capabilities due to futuristic equipment.

 

GAME DESIGN INTENT

• Fast-Paced Gameplay: Character movement is swift and responsive, emphasizing fluid combat and exploration.

• Weapon Variety: A wide range of firearms and gear with unique stats, ensuring diverse playstyles.

• Loot & Equipment: Players find and upgrade equipment through exploration, with items that reward exploration without overly restricting player progression.

• Technological Upgrades: Equipment enhancements that provide new powers, skills, or stat boosts.

 

EQUIPMENT SLOTS & PROGRESSION

• Customization: Players can unlock skill slots and stat bonuses as they progress.

• Stat-Based Gear: Each piece of equipment has its own unique stats, but players can equip skills to further personalize their abilities.

• Balanced Progression: Avoid overpowered weapons and level-gating that limits player freedom while rewarding skillful play and exploration.

 

MULTIPLAYER

• Co-op Gameplay: Up to 8 players can team up to tackle the world together, focusing on cooperation and shared progression.

• Class-Based Roles: While the game doesn't enforce strict class systems, weapons and stats will naturally define a player's role in combat.

 

UNIVERSE

• Setting: A sci-fi post-apocalyptic world, blending elements of Technomancer, Star Wars, and No Man’s Sky.

• Theme: A hostile, alien world ravaged by disaster, filled with dangerous mutants and environmental threats.

 

REFERENCES

• Gameplay: Mad Max, The Last of Us, World War Z, Days Gone, Resident Evil.

• Environment: No Man’s Sky, Technomancer, Star Wars.
   

MY WORK​

For this project, I designed the environment by incorporating a procedural appearance system, allowing different areas to be randomly generated for a unique experience every time you play. I also worked on the lighting and shaders to optimise the visual atmosphere of the game, as well as on the character animations to ensure fluid and natural movements.