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Project Plan and Scope

After experimenting with Prototype 1 of Castle-Run and being convinced that the concept merits more exploration and eventually a playable demo I knew I had to have some form of plan to be able to build this game as a solo developer. After exploring different forms of planning during my development of this game I decided to loosely based my planning structure of delivering demo iterations on scrum's agile form of discipline and practice. With this mindset I started my journey into developing and trying to complete a full playable demo in a steady continuous manner hoping to complete the project as fast as humanely possible while trying to avoid burnouts. 

Sprints/Iterations

Project Plan Analysis 3.png

With Castle-Run I defined the scope of the project by delivering three different prototypes each builds on the previous iteration as well as explores a certain aspect of the game. After the completion of each prototype the game is then uploaded online as a WebGL build and shared with friends, colleagues and family as a way to explore for bugs and exploit imbalances so that it can be dealt with before the next iteration gets developed.

Iterations 1

The first stage of the Prototype will focus on testing whether the Semi-Confined Movement concept is even playable and if there is any fun to be had, for that I need the following:

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  • Auto-Moving Camera that moves at a constant speed.

  • Player that moves by default at the same constant speed as the Camera.

  • Invisible barriers within the boundaries of the Camera view.

  • The Ability to Speed up or Slow down.

  • The Ability to Jump.

  • Simple horizontal test level with some harmless obstacles to test the responsiveness of the Player’s Semi-Confined Movement.

  • Death sequence that could result from the Player being pushed by the Camera’s view boundaries against an obstacle.

Iterations 2

Castle-Run Prototype 2 Sprint.png

The second stage of the Prototype aims to test if the Semi-Confined Movement is enjoyable and suitable to maneuver smoothly and safely in a test level specifically designed around a few different types of traps, for that I need the following:

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  • A few Stationed Traps.

  • A few Looping Traps.

  • A few Triggered Traps.

  • A short test level specifically designed around the aforementioned traps.

  • Suitable and enjoyable Player controller that feels natural when trying to maneuver around the aforementioned traps.

Iterations 3

The third stage of the Prototype will focus on testing whether the Semi-Confined Movement is ideal for combat maneuver in a test level specifically designed around a few different enemy types each with their own unique behavior, for this I need the following:

 

  • One Patrolling Enemy AI.

  • One Wait & Ambush Enemy AI.

  • One Chaser/Pursuer Enemy AI.

  • One Stationed/Projectile Shooter Enemy AI.

  • One Airborne Enemy AI.

  • Ability to Attack in an overhead arc using a weapon that represents a Mace.

  • A small sized semi-linear test level that contains a few small combat Arenas.

  • Each Arena will pose a specific challenge depending on the Enemy behavior to test the Semi-Confined Movement combat capabilities.

Iterations 3 Revised

Castle-Run Prototype 3 Sprint.png

The third stage of the Prototype needs revision, the scope of Enemy AI was bigger and more complex than anticipated. A Power-Up system is also needed to give the Player a fighting chance when exploring the maneuverability of the Semi-Confined Movement and it's combat capabilities, for this I need the following: 

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  • One Patrolling Enemy AI.

  • One Airborne Enemy AI.

  • One Stationed/Projectile Shooter Enemy AI.

  • Ability to Attack in an overhead arc using a weapon that represents a Mace.

  • A Power-Up that will give an extra one hit point and a temporary weapon upgrade which can be lost upon taking damage.

  • A Power-Up that doubles the number of hit points gained.

  • A Container that once destroyed releases a random Power-Up.

  • A semi-linear test level that contains a few small combat Arenas.

  • Each Arena will pose a specific challenge depending on the Enemy behavior to test the Semi-Confined Movement combat capabilities.

  • Between each Arena a Power-Up Container is placed as a reward for completing a challenge and as a way to test the Power-Up system.

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