Game Concept

Working Title - Static Vs UndeAAd

Concept Statement

As the night-shift security guard at Generic Power Company, your job is to send sets of commands to your defence robot, named "Static", in order to protect the company’s power generator from the UndeAAd. The UndeAAd are lurching, power-hungry, zombie batteries with a hunger to recharge. There is just one catch; Static has very little memory and can only accept 3 commands at a time! Can you manage Static’s limited memory to keep as much power as possible during your shift?

Genre

Given the turn-based structure, the theme of memory management, and limited moves per turn, ‘Puzzle/Strategy’ is the most appropriate mashup of genres.

Concept creation process/area and influences

The primary influence is a game named “Faselei!”, which is where the idea of queuing up a limited number of actions to be executed in order comes from. “John Wick Hex” showed the versatility of the mechanic, but for “Static VS UndeAAd”, I decided to keep the complexity somewhere between the two games.

As for the theme, the idea of being a night-shift worker fighting off undead, mechanical lifeforms was inspired by the first entry in the “Five Nights At Freddy’s” franchise. The idea of the enemies being undead batteries came from a struggle to get a particularly stubborn rechargeable battery to work. I started to refer to the battery as being ‘UndeAAd’ as a pun on ‘AA’ being a type of battery and that it would intermittently hold a charge (being both a dead battery, and a charged one).

Audience and competitive analysis

I believe that “Static Vs UndeAAd” will suit a casual audience of either gender, ages 13 and up, with interests in pixel art, turn-based games and puzzles.

Broadly speaking, according to Metacritic, Turn-based strategy games and puzzle games are generally well-received. The closest recent relative would be “John Wick Hex”, a game which received decent Metascores of 78 on PS4 and 74 on PC. On both platforms, however, the game received mixed reviews from players. The most common complaint against “John Wick Hex” appears to be the mismatch between player expectation and gameplay genre, with some comments being around a game using the “John Wick” license should be an 3^rd-person shooter or other action game, and not a turn-based strategy game.

With “Static Vs UndeAAd” not being a licensed title, no consumer expectations for the license exist. This is a benefit for “Static Vs UndeAAd”, as consumers will approach the game and judge it on its own merits.

Game treatment and concept art

You are the night-shift security guard at Generic Power Company. Using your handy computer interface, send commands to your security robot, “Static”, to make it move and shoot down zombie batteries that are intent on draining the power from your generator! Thankfully, you only need to manage 3 nights (with each night being its own level) before “Static” is upgraded to an autonomous unit and can handle the “UndeAAd” itself!

Everything in the Generic Power Company takes place on the ‘Power Grid’, an 10x10 grid, filled with narrow paths and obstructions. It is through this maze-like set of corridors that the “UndeAAd” seek their way towards the generator, and the satisfaction of their hunger. “Static” can only accept 3 commands at a time initially, with that number increasing as the nights progress. “Static” has two types of commands, movement commands and shooting commands. As you enter commands, a target will show you where “Static” will end up at the end of the turn.

            “Static” Commands

• Movement: Movement commands move “Static” one space in the desired direction on the Power Grid. The available directions are north, south, east and west.
• Shoot: Shoot commands fire “Static’s” Plasma Blaster in one of the four available directions. One shot from the Plasma Blaster travels until it hits a wall. It’s an instantaneous shot, capable of taking out most “UndeAAd” in one hit!

            Enemies

• “UndeAAd” : These standard zombie batteries move 1 space at a time, and cannot occupy a space that is already inhabited, but they will wait patiently until it’s their turn to move. They consume 5 power from the generator each turn they’re in contact with it.
• “UndeAAAd” : These slimmer, faster zombie batteries move 2 spaces at a time! They’re also unable to occupy a space that’s already inhabited, but they will attempt to reroute and move around the obstruction. They consume 3 power from the generator each turn they’re in contact with it.
• “UnDeaD” : These large, bulky zombie batteries only move 1 space at a time, but they don’t stop for nothing! Anything in their way that isn’t “Static” is crushed beneath its powerful bulk, and it will take 2 shots to take them down. They consume 8 power from the generator each turn they’re in contact with it.

             Concept Art

I envision "Static" as looking like a CRT TV on legs, with something resembling a shotgun, with a purple color palette.

The "UndeAAd" variants I imagine as different sizes of tube batteries, with a grey and green color palette.

The generator the player will be defending I imagine will look as below, with a blue, metallic color palette.

References

“Faselei!” developed by Sacnoth, published by SNK on December 29^th, 1999,

            For the Neo Geo Pocket Color.

“John Wick Hex” developed by Mike Bithell, Bithell Games, published by Good Shepherd Entertainment, on October 8^th, 2019

            For Playstation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating systems.

            On Metacritic; https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/john-wick-hex

“Five Nights At Freddy’s” developed and published by Scott Cawthon on August 8^th, 2014

            For PC, Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

CRT TV photo provided by @ajing_ on unsplash.com; https://unsplash.com/@ajing_ 

Battery photo provided by Danilo Alvesd on unsplash.com; https://unsplash.com/@daniloalvesd

Transformer photo provided by Scott Webb on unsplash.com; https://unsplash.com/@scottwebb