Working Title:  

Falling Stars

Concept Statement:

Falling Stars is a 2D-motion-centric-platformer about a girl called Luna. She must defy physics and climb down a staircase of clouds to bring her companions, the stars who fell from the sky, back home. Are you ready for a compelling journey?

Finding Process / Game Genre:

Starting this unit (KIT 109), I was interested in creating my own jump and run combined with puzzle characteristics. Since I am obsessed with the night sky and the galaxy, it was easy for me to decide on a theme for my background story. During the course, we had to complete practicals, where we learned the basics of unity. They moved my attention toward tools that play with gravity and area effectors. I figured this project would be a great opportunity to experiment with them. As I envision it, Luna should not have the ability to jump or duck but rather navigate herself through the world with simple left and right movements. Using the surrounding clouds and tools to help her progress through the levels. This sets the game apart from a typical jump and run and makes it into a 2D-motion-centric-platformer. If I had to explain the concept of my game, I would say I am aiming for a wild mix between Celeste and a reversed version of Doodle Jump. 

Arguably, the game can be categorized as a Collect-a-Thon platformer, because you have to collect stardust, as you move through the levels. It is basically your main goal. However,  Collect-a-Thon platformers are typically 3D-based and not focused on collecting a single collectible.

Backstory:

In Falling Stars, you play a girl called Luna. She lives far up in the sky, together with her best friends, the stars. One day, their world gets shaken up and all stars drop down to earth. Luna sets out to find her companions, collect them in her huge backpack and bring them back home. Therefore, you must defy physics and make your way through the clouds, where many threats await you.

Player:

You navigate Luna through her fall and make her land safely at checkpoints. To do so you can only use left and right movements. You cannot jump, duck, or conduct any other type of movement.

Game Structure: 

• You navigate through clouds, following the trail of stardust your friends left behind when they fell. If you collect enough stardust at the end of a level you unlock a puzzle. After you successfully solve it, you can free a star, tuck it in your bag, and move on to the next level. However, if you did not collect enough stardust, you can decide whether you wish to replay the level or continue your journey while leaving one of your friends behind. :(
• The levels are pre-structured and spiked with many exciting features but also evil threats. So, be aware of where you fall!
• For example, there are different clouds with their own mechanics:

Blue:                    Solid and allows you to stand on it for an unlimited time

Orange:              Bounces you back up, guides you through a jumping motion

Purple:                Blows you in a direction, mostly upwards

Yellow:                Vanishes and reappears after a certain time

• There are black holes that suck you in and relocate you
• Avoid touching spikes! If you are not careful enough, they will steal your collected stardust or kill you if you are not carrying any
• A sketch of a level:

Game structure:

• First, you get introduced to the background story through an image intro
• Then, you guide yourself through an introduction level, where you learn the game mechanics
• After that, the actual game begins and you make your way through the various levels
• On your journey, you can unlock new game mechanics and tools to make the whole navigation easier
• At the end of the game, there is an ending scene where you and your friends fly back up into the sky

Target Audience:

The goal is, to attract a broad potential audience. You don't need to be a hardcore gamer with years of experience and training to play Falling Stars. The only requirement is having a computer. The simple left and right motion control will enable you to play the game with very little knowledge. However, if you are into speed-running this game could appeal to you as well. 

The design of the game is cute and simple with calming colors. Making it aesthetically pleasing and open to a diverse range of people. It can be enjoyed by any age, gender, or ethnicity. On top of that, I added my own style and unique features to the game. This will make the game fun to play and sets it apart from any other platformer or a simple jump-and-run. 

Since the game is a single-player it is easy to pause at any time. This enables you to casually play on the side, whenever you find a few minutes to spare.  But you can also spend a whole day completing every single level.

(All art was created by myself.)