User Interface: Weaponsmaster

Here are some ideas for user interface. I think the user interface should be clear enough for the eyes to see but compact enough so it doesnt block much of the map. Afterall, the screen is limited. Today's agenda will focus on the HP bar concept, life, scoreboard, damage values, fevor bar, D-Pad, and buttons.

HP Bar
The HP bar should be located on the top left or right of the screen because the bottom is reserved for D-Pad, jump, attack, and weapon swapping. Putting the hp bar on the sides should be avoided because not only will it block the map a bit but it will be unpleasant to the eye. The small space is very crucial for a this game style and screen.

For damage calculations, we will have two types of hp bar in a single bar - Actual and Regenable.

The current idea is to split the damage the weapon master (WM) receives into actual and regenable damage. Actual damage is the damage the WM receives and it can be only healed via potions, rations, etc dropped by monsters. Regenable damage is damage that can be regenerated via killing/slashing the monster. Something like using their blood to bathe your wound kinda thing. However, if the actual part is reduced to 0, then the WM dies regardless of his regenable hp. The damage formula would probably look something like (damage x .75 = actual) and (damage x 25 regen).

• An idea would be to designate a weapon that has life steal aura and every level the WM completes, the weapon that has the aura will be different - this will probably be considered the "hard" level. An easy game level would have the aura for all weapon; normal level would have aura for all weapons with lesser % hp regen;hard level would have aura for random weapon with even lesser %hp regen.

Scoreboard
Any game contains a scoreboard and this game is no different. The scoreboard will be located at the top right/left corner of the screen. Basically, the score starts out with eight zeros (ie. 00000000) and it will increase throughout the gameplay - stardard arcade scoreboard interface. We are still discussing whether we should grant extra life to the user when certain amount of score is met or let the user clear certain number of levels to gain an extra life.

Life
The WM will start off with 4 lives for easy mode, 3 for normal, and 2 for hard. This will change if needed during alpha testing. As discussed earlier, we might let the user receive extra life after reaching a certain amount of scores or after a certain amount of levels are cleared or one of these two and random life drop from monsters. The life will be denoted by an icon with a number beside it as this seems to be the most space efficient.

Damage Values
We like big numbers. So we're going to aim for big numbers. The damage cap will probably be 9999 because if the damage is too large, it will hog too much space on the screen. When the WM hits a monster, a damage number will pop nearly the top-center-right of the sprite and will fade away after a second or so. There will be critical hits too, so they will appear slightly different than normal damage.

Fevor Bar
It is kind of hard to display a fevor bar because of space availability. We can put a "combo #" text on the upper-centered-right screen to indicate this. When fevor is increasing, the combo text will gradually change color until its "hot" .. maybe red/yellow or something.

D-Pad
The D-Pad will only have left and right arrows as there will be a button for jumping. Crouching is unnecessary at the moment. Maybe we will implement this feature for later releases to introduce new levels. It will be located near bottom-left of the screen.

Buttons
I think we should have only the jump button and 4-weapon-swap button and no attack button. Its already difficult to touch on the iPhone with so many things on the UI. We should allow the user to tap anywhere on the screen to attack. It allows users to act faster when switching weapon for combos since they are not restricted to a certain area on the screen.

Gameplay Mechanics: Weaponsmaster

Weaponry
The gameplay mechanics of Weaponsmaster will be based on the usage of four weapons.

Sword, Daggers, Bow and Lance.

These four weapons will each have their unique abilities and help the player in certain situations. Here's a simple table to describe the weapons.

Weapon	Speed	Damage	Hits Max	Ability
Sword	Slow	High	3	Critical Hits+
Daggers	Fast	Low	6	Movement+
Bow	Medium	Medium	3	Mini-stun
Lance	Slow	Medium	4	Blocking

Note:
Damage refers to overall damage output, considering weapon skills.
Mini-stuns will interrupt a spell being cast.
Blocking will prevent attacks from damaging the player.

Weapon Skills
Weaponsmaster will feature an energy system called "fervor". The gaining of fervor is tied into the combo system which will be described in the next section. At the cost of fervor, each weapon can cast unique weapon skills.

Skills are learned through a skill tree and learning a skill for one weapon can sometimes benefit a different skill on another weapon. These benefits are called "Weapon Harmony" and can become the basis on which skill builds can be developed.

Combo System
The combo system is a key part of the game, affecting the moves the player can perform and the score the player receives.

Combos are performed by players by consecutively performing attacks without getting hit. As the player reaches a combo multiplier of X3 or more, the player begins charging fervor. At higher combo multipliers, fervor charges quicker and thus more damage can be done through weapon skills. At a certain point a "Harmony skill" may be used that deals damage based on your current fervor and combo multiplier values.

Control Schema
What's a game without controls? For Weaponsmaster it is still a design we are thinking about. The current thought is that we will use a virtual gamepad: a d-pad and buttons for jump, attack and changing weapons while skills will be cast through touch gestures on the screen.

Character Design: Weaponsmaster

Here are some sprites for our hero in our upcoming game tentatively named "Weaponsmaster".

These may not be the best sprites in the world, but that's the best I can muster without hiring a professional artist. More to come.

Game Concept: Weaponsmaster - Overview

"Weaponsmaster" is the tentative name for our new side-scrolling action game.

The main character for our game will be equipped with four weapons, each giving the player unique advantages in different situations. Gameplay revolves around completing combos in order to charge "fervor" for weapon skills and also for points.

The game will be fast paced, and not a simple button mashing action. The boss fights will be something to challenge and enjoy. This game will be taking in a lot of ideas from games I love and find amazing. Hopefully we can bring it all together in a nice package and deliver a solid first game.

Development Team

Currently, I want to explore the side scrolling action concept. Up to now, I've only drawn up a character design for the main character and created some sprites for the design. Talking with a couple of friends, I've generated some interest and may be gaining more members to the team.

I've gathered a friend and fellow developer to help in the realization of this game. Later on, there may be another friend that will become part of the development team as well.

Hurray for more man power!

Press the START button

It's time to start the game.

Wait. What game are we talking about, hows it played? Good question.

I will attempt to create a successful game for the iPhone. This is my journal. On this journey I am armed with nothing more than enthusiasm, interest, average programming knowledge and an itching to try and bring the ideas in my head to life.

So what's the first step?

Concepts.

Assuming programming knowledge is not a barrier to be overcome, the first task at hand is developing concepts and refining possibilities.

Here's my list of concepts I want to explore sometime soon:

• old school side-scrolling action with virtual buttons
  
• game which integrates usage of the camera to interact with objects in the environment
  
• creativity game focused on touch controls to create objects for puzzle solving

I'm keeping this list very vague at the moment, but these are the directions I want to be approaching very soon. Currently I'm in the process of fleshing out the first concept and details should come shortly.