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Level Design
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6 levels - all representing different colors of the color spectrum
+ white hub world + black final level
Each Level has 2 things to find — collectable colors that allow you more paint, and a color master that give you a new color
- each level to have its own central 'gimic' a la megaman
Exploratory platformer, a la Journey
No combat
Needs to allow for multiple routes to the solution
Scale is important, the levels need to feel big
How do you reward exploring and experimenting? New colors yes, but new techniques?
Goal of each level is to bring color back to the world
BLACK - city + hub world (with museum in the center)
BLUE - sky world
RED - rock and canyon
YELLOW - forest
Once you get the primaries, you can color mix and see the second half of the world
ORANGE - Desert
PURPLE - Flower field
GREEN - ocean
Could build in Metroidvania elements where your exploraation is rewarded by enhanced techniques, deeper paint bucket, wearables, etc
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Character Design
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How do we express a fictional personality to a real person?
Could be cool to collage some aesthetics of famous painters across characters
Character isn't SPECIAL persay. They have access to the same tools as NPCs and the masters
Movement is key, with some kind of central color interactivity
- need to determine how color ties into a signature move for the character
- character needs to feel fluid + able to climb
— Do they wield an oversized paintbrush? (used to hover, glide, double jump)
- They could also use color more abstractly...
Key Feature is the big paint brush, build around that
Key moves
- Double Jump (float on the way down)
- Wall grab of some sort
- Glide
— Slide
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Story Design
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Should be able to finish in one sitting - 3-6 hrs
Keep story super minimal
What is the core question of this game?
Leave room for speculation and imagination
The color is gone, and its your job to bring it back
Arc...
Small scale exploration >
Open-ish world exploration >
High energy set piece >
emotional low >
Color returns >
End
World Building
Whats the most essential, bare minimum lore needed to understand whats going on?
Establish timeline of the world
Rules of the world - broadly + culturally
Government?
The evil force is whiteness - ie the absence of color
You play as a member of the black kingdom - ie the source of all colors as all colors are contained within black
very subtle but also overt commentary on blackness/whiteness