It's Raining Frog! concept

Working Title: 

It’s Raining Frog!

Concept Statement: 

On one rainy night a frog heads home after a long day's work until he spots a shiny new umbrella flying in the wind. He leaps into action with his old hand me down umbrella and rides the wind to luxury.

Genre:

 Side scrolling platformer.

Concept process:

 This game is a multi level 2D platformer where the player must travers a level so they can catch a golden umbrella. The player character is a frog in a suit who finds happiness in the idea of obtaining something out of his reach. The concept came to me one day as I was walking home in the rain when the wind inverted my umbrella. The frog idea came to me as it was the first animal I thought of relating to rain. The mid air movement of the frog is inspired by Kirby's parasol form from the Kirby games (1992), Kirby's shape is also similar to the frog and will be a good animation reference. The environments will be inspired by the Ori games (2015) as the game depicts a setting covered in plant life, while the game won't recreate Ori's style it will take some pointers such as colours the size of objects. The combat in this game will simply be jumping on enemy heads as many platformers before it such as Mario (1985). The art style will be done using digital 2D illustrations, the art shown above shows the current version of the characters and may change a little to include more clear expressions.

Audience and competitive analysis:

The target audience is for a casual audience of all ages who are a fan of platformers which provide a moderate challenge. The game contains multiple short levels which increase in difficulty. This game will be appealing to younger audiences through its simple art style and inclusion of animals while some teens to young adults may relate to the frog or play the game for some platformer nostalgia. The story is given to the player visually so even those who have limited English can understand the story.

Game treatment and concept art:

Gameplay:

The player is able to move, jump and open and close their umbrella. When the umbrella is open the player can glide when falling and can also use it to rise into the air when entering a wind tunnel. The player will use these skills to make their way through the level while collecting flies which are needed to pay a giant toad blocking the exit. 

Level 1: This is the tutorial level where the player will learn the basics such as jumping on an enemies head, collecting flies and riding the wind.

Level 2: Introduces the caterpillars who can’t be touched. 

Level 3:  Has water which the player cannot enter due to a storm, lily pads which sink a few seconds after being landed on and fish who spit water balls forward.  

Level 4: A level where the player spends most of the level in the air avoiding thorns. 

Level 5:  Features mosquitoes which require the player to jump on the heads of one to another to cross a ledge.

Level 6:  Introduces falling floors which act in a similar way to the lily pads, some floors lead to flies.

Future levels combine these mechanics.

Style and environment:

The character design will take inspiration from Hollow knight (2017) which uses simple shapes to make their characters, this will simplify the designs so I have an easer time creating the animations. The game will take place at night and will be illuminated by nature such as fireflies or glowing plants which will give of a fantastical vibe.

Story:

The story starts with a sad looking frog holding an umbrella heading home from his job on a stormy day, he then spots a golden umbrella flying in the sky and imagines the attention it could bring him. He follows it to a forest and must traverse it and catch the golden umbrella. Once obtaining the umbrella on a high tree the frog sees the sunrise and smiles and lets it go chasing it again with huge smile on his face.

Enemies and obstacles: 

The game features several enemies including the mole, fish, mosquito and caterpillar. The mole moves left to right on the ground and can be jumped on, the fish shoots water in a direction at timed intervals and can be jumped on, the mosquito is either stationary or flies and can be jumped on and the caterpillar cannot be jumped on and moves on the ground, walls or ceiling. Levels feature hazards such as the lily pad or falling floor which disappear after a few seconds of the player jumping on them, there are also thorns which hurt the player and are used to cover walls or enemies. 

Respawn:

The player will only be allowed to get hit three times before having to restart at the beginning. falling down a pit or in water will also count as a hit and sends the player back to the edge before the fall.

Sound:

The audio will include the sound of the rain and giving the player a croaking sound. There will be a sound effect when enemies are hit. If music is added it may be reminiscent of lo-fi or a slow paced piano.

Settings: 

This will allow the player to adjust the music and sound effects by changing a slider or hitting a mute button.

References:

Super Mario Bros. (1985)  Nintendo entertainment system [Game] Japan: Nintendo

Kirby’s Dream Land (1992) Gameboy [Game] japan: Nintendo

Ori and the Blind Forest (2015) Windows, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch [Game] Austria: Moon Studios

Hollow Knight. (2017). PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox one [Game]. Adelaide, South Australia : Team Cherry