u/Circa64Software

I have an idea for a gamedev-related discussion, if it's ok to post this here and enough people are interested...

I spent literally 10 minutes coming up with a brief 2D game design, and I'd like to spark a debate to improve the design ( because it needs it ), just for fun really. If something good comes out of it, feel free to use the design for yourself or you could team up...

I'm not a gamedev myself, just an interested hobbyist. My career has mostly been in Embedded C, but I think it would be interesting to see how real gamedevs come up with something.

This is the design:-

PLATFORM: WINDOWS. Consider ANDROID / IOS.

TYPE: 2D Top-down explorer/dungeon crawler.

CONTROLS: Keyboard / External Controller. Consider Mouse option.

GAME ENGINE / FRAMEWORK:

    - LibGDX / Java.
    - Monogame / C#

    ( Consider Unity / Godot )

DESCRIPTION

The player controls the main character 'Little Bob'. Bob is from a small village which is located
near to a large castle. In the castle are members of Bobs village who have been wrongly arrested 
and jailed by raiders who attacked the village. Bob has been tasked with rescuing these villagers
and returning them to the village.

The castle is very large and holds many secrets and hazards. There are many raiders living there,
as well as some very strange creatures. There will be other characters too:-

- Raiders
  These will usually be fouond just standing around, unless they become aware of Bob. When this happens
  they will immediately try to reach Bob and attack him.

- Spinning Spike Balls
  These will be found in many areas. Contact with these is extremely painful and removes 25 health points.

- Spinning Spike Blocks
  See spinning spike balls.

- Villagers
  These will be found in various areas of the castle. Its is possible to talk to these people via conversation
  panels which are selectable via the controller. Villagers can ask Bob to perform tasks for them. Not all
  villagers will ask.
  See Tasks section.

- Giant Scorpions
  There are a few of these wandering around the castle. Nobody knows where they came from, but they are deadly.
  If they sting Bob, he will lose a life.

- Moving Walls
  Blocks of wall which move in and out. Will push Bob on contact, and also remove 5 health points.

-


TASKS

There are many tasks which can be offered to Bob, for a reward if completed. There are 3 major tasks, 
shown on panels at the bottom of the game screen:-

- Recover 8 lost Magical Runes.
- Recover 8 lost Books.
- Recover 8 lost Potions.

Minor tasks are:-


-


COLLECTIBLE ITEMS

- Magical Runes
- Books
- Potions
- Coins - hidden in barrels, crates and pots. Some will also appear when certain creatures are killed.
- Gems - see coins.
- Food items


HIDDEN ROOMS

There are several of these which can be found around the castle. Some are empty, some contain rewards.

HUD

The HUD will show the following:-

- Player lives (Maximum of 5)
- PLayer health. When this reaches zero, a life is lost.
- Coin count.
- Gem count.
- N, E, S, W indicator, which show the direction of any exit doors for each of the castle areas.
- Major collectibles panel.


PLAYER CONTROL

- Movement  - Up, Down, Left, Right, plus combinations.
- Attack    - Sword.
- Action    - Activate message panel.
  - Pick up items.
  - Push / Pull items.
- Interact
  - Talk to NPCs.

Game Design Challenge