Terra Game Design Document

Can you help Terra save Sophirus from destruction?

Game Design Document

Copyright / Valerie Ma, Jessie Altura, Simon Veilleux, Nassir Cader

Executive Summary Terra is a fantasy adventure game, which allows the player to control two characters instead of just one. The player will take the role of either Arias, a cat-like mage who can heal and keep enemies at bay with his staff, or Terra, a powerful dragon who wreaks havoc upon enemies, as the two embark on a perilous journey to heal the land, defeat a gigantic Goliath, and solve the mystery of Arias’s disappeared childhood friend.

The player must learn to wield the two characters as they explore the world. The characters can be switched at any time, but they each have an important role to play in combat, so the player will need to use them equally.

In this game, the player will be able to fly through the sky in a large overworld map, solve puzzles and play mini-games, and uncover the story by finding clues scattered throughout the world.

Story, character and world development will be heavily emphasized in this game. The lifelike characters and environments in Terra will charm the player.

Console Wii Target Audience 1. Gamers who enjoy playing action-adventure games such as Zelda or Shadow of the Goliath, and want to experience something new and unique.

2. Gamers who want to experience controlling two characters and interacting with them.

3. Gamers who love fantasy settings and exploring large open worlds.

Genre 3D 3rd Person Action-Adventure Intended ESRB Rating Everyone: Content is generally suitable for ages 10 and up. May contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes.

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High Concept Terra gives players the experience of playing as a duo of heroes in a fantasy floating island world. Switch between your two characters at any time, using them to defend and support each other. Flap your wings bravely and breathe fire, or raise your staff to heal your friend and hurl your enemies far away.

Features Three modes of play: Soar through the overworld on the back of your dragon, heal tress and battle enemies on infected islands, or search for food and play with your characters on healed islands.

Switch between two characters: When playing on an infected island, the player can switch between Arias and Terra at any time, including during battle.

Mini-games: When playing on a healed island, the player finds food by solving unique puzzles and winning fun mini-games.

Diversity of levels: Each level will be unique and suggest a different theme. For example, there will be levels that are mountainous, icy, desert-like, moon-like with craters or feature town ruins.

Beautiful graphics: The graphical style of the game will be soft, colourful and detailed. Smooth, lively animations will make the characters come to life and feel real to the player.

Emotional characters: Your characters will display their emotions in real-time through changes to their avatar (shown on the HUD) as well as changes in their facial expressions and behaviors.

Mysterious story: The story must be pieced together like a puzzle. Terra does not speak, and Arias is very quiet (though his thoughts are sometimes shown to the player). While searching the land for his friend, Arias will discover strange artifacts, revealing a new piece of the story to the player.

Easy to play: The game will not be overwhelmingly hard and will offer the player a fun, lighthearted gameplay experience, one that is easy to get into and simple enough to pick up and play.

Player Motivation Save Sophirus by healing the infected islands. Make your characters happy by finding food for them. Gain hearts, grow stronger as a team, battle enemies and defeat the Giant Goliath!

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Core Gameplay Players will be able to‌ - Explore unique, fully 3D island levels - Discover hidden pieces of the story and find out the mysterious relationship between your characters - Use magic to heal the land and support your characters - Fly high above the land in a large open world with floating islands - Battle with enemies which not only attack you, but grab on to you!

- Use your characters to protect each other - Heal the destroyed land and watch as a whole new island full of life bursts out of the darkness!

- Play mini-games to track down some food for your characters and let them enjoy a meal around a campfire - Heal the Life Tree on each island to destroy a part of the Giant Goliath, eventually facing him in a final confrontation which tests all that you’ve learned about your characters - Save the land of Sophirus

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Story Overview A Monstrous Giant had just attacked Sophirus. Its dark presence is levitating the land that it had just destroyed.

Meanwhile, a young boy lives an idyllic life in a quiet village, helping those in need with his healing powers, whether Mithran, animal, or plant.

One day, his close friend, Mimea went missing. Due to recent news about Sophirus’ fate, she had gone back to save her hometown. Worried, Arias runs after her‌ Arias arrives at Sophirus. He couldn’t fathom the destruction that the Giant Goliath had caused, but his will to find Mimea is too strong. There were several floating islands surrounding the Goliath. He noticed an island near the base of the giant and a tree root connecting the island and the earth. He climbed up to that island and immediately noticed a withering tree in the center.

Suddenly, a dragon swoops down and attacks the dark creatures that have inhabited the island. Now that Arias has clearance, he runs towards the tree. Ahead, the dragon is attacking a giant creature that was guarding the tree. With his healing powers, Arias decides to heal it.

And then, something happens. Life came back to the island. Leaves gathered around the tree and the island became more colorful. The dark creatures, and the giant protecting the tree, vanished. Terra looks at Arias in amazement. (Appendices A & B)

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Visual Style The game will look similar graphically to games such as Zelda: Skyward Sword or Zelda: Wind Waker, with light yet vibrant, pastel-like colours and a cel-shaded look. Many of the menus, controls and camera angles will also look very similar to these Zelda games.

Smooth curves, soft-coloured backgrounds that look like paintings, and characters with cute, exaggerated features will make the game more appealing to gamers looking for a light-hearted yet emotional adventure. The characters and especially the enemies will look realistic – ie, properly proportioned and with realistic animations – but with an anime-like feeling to them.

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In terms of design, the colossi may look similar to the colossi from Shadow of the Colossus. The world may also share some similarities with the world in that game.

In terms of player feedback so that the player knows what they can and can’t interact with, we will implement a targeting system which will give a visual indicator letting the player know when objects or NPCs can be targeted. Also, Arias’s and Terra’s eyes and head will move in the direction of objects/creatures which interest them.

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Player Objectives To Beat the Game: Destroy Giant Goliath The goal of the game is to heal the withering Mother Tree and restore the disintegrated land of floating islands to its original state. In order to do this, Arias and Terra must weaken the extremely powerful armoured Giant Goliath in the center of the Overworld by healing each island level within the game. Each healed island weakens the Giant by destroying a piece of his armour, which falls away into the abyss and disappears forever. At the end of the game, the Giant will lose enough armour to be damaged by Terra. The player must then defeat the boss in a grand battle at the end of the game.

To Beat a Level: Heal Infected Islands

For each island level, the player’s objective is to heal the island. In order to do this, the player must find the dying Life Tree and use Arias’s magic to heal it. A boss monster called a Colossus, which must be defeated in order to pass through, guards each Life Tree.

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Before healing the Life Tree, the player must find and heal a number of smaller Life Saplings scattered throughout the level.

After healing each Life Sapling, the area around that Life Sapling becomes healed, making enemies weaker in that area and making the environment around the Life Sapling brighter and greener.

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Bonus Objective: Finding Food on Healed Islands

Once an infected island has been healed, the land itself changes form. New pathways open up, trees, flowers and waterfalls appear, and birds and animals arrive to colonize the island. The player can choose to replay the level after it has been healed in order to experience a new kind of gameplay.

In the healed island mode of gameplay, Terra flies off to explore on her own, and the player controls Arias on his own. The player can choose to look for Terra or explore the island freely.

There are no enemies on this new island.

On each healed island, a number of food items can be collected by solving small puzzles. If the player chooses to look for Terra and finds her, she will appear to be very interested in something on the island. The player must then find out what she wants and obtain it.

For example, Terra may be curious about a cave on the island which she is too big to enter. The player must then enter the cave as Arias and search it for mushrooms which Terra wants to eat.

Bringing back the mushrooms will earn a very excited reaction from Terra!

Example scenarios: 1. Terra is staring at a pond and seems to want something. The player must find a fishing rod and play a mini-game to catch a fish. Catching a fish for Terra will also make her react happily.

2. Terra is looking up at an apple which is hanging on a branch high up on a cliff. The player must use Arias to climb up the cliff and then climb along the tree in order to reach the apple.

3. Terra is ravenously watching rabbits playing and dashing helter-skelter through the grass.

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Arias must chase after the rabbits and try to catch one before they disappear into the underbrush.

After the player has collected the intended types of food, the game will ask the player to head to the Life Tree. After reaching the Life Tree, the player will view a cutscene in which Terra and Arias are sitting around a campfire under the stars, cooking and eating the food that has been collected. After finishing the meal, the two characters will go to sleep. In the morning, the player will view another cutscene returning the characters to the Overworld. The player will then receive a fragment of the story as a reward for completing the healed island, as well as gaining one health point (heart) for each character.

End Game Once all the islands have been healed and connected, they form a ring which encircles the Giant Goliath, whose armour is now almost completely gone. The Giant Goliath is now weak enough for Arias and Terra to take on by themselves. This is the final battle which decides the fate of the world, and of the future for Terra and Arias.

Multiple Endings After the player defeats the final boss, the Goliath disintegrates and becomes a mountain, which is surrounded by all the islands that the player has healed throughout the game. Now the Goliath mountain and the beautiful green islands sink into the ground once again and become part of the earth, just like before the Goliath ever arrived.

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A story cutscene then reveals that Terra is in fact Mimea, the girl that Arias has been searching for all along. Depending on how many story fragments the player has collected throughout the game, the ending will be different: 90-100%: Terra transforms back into her original form and becomes Mimea once again.

Mimea and Arias return to Arias’s home village and their idyllic life there before the game began.

40-89%: Terra transforms to her original form, but then she decides that it would be better if she stayed and helped the survivors rebuild their land. She remains in Sophirus while Arias returns to his home village alone, with a promise from Mimea that she will come visit him very soon.

1-39%: Terra does not transform back to her original form. Instead, she only gains the ability to talk to Arias. She communicates to Arias that now that the land is back to its original form, she must stay and watch over it, helping the survivors rebuild their homes. Arias returns to his home village alone. Terra promises to come visit him sometime soon.

Spread Your Light: Heal the Life Trees and Life Saplings At the start of the game, each island and area of the overworld has been blackened by the Giant’s dark magic. The world appears to be in the midst of an evil, never-ending storm, with chunks of rock swirling about in the sky and enemies cavorting in the air above the islands. The player cannot cross these dark skies. The dark magic around the current island must be released before the player can fly to the next island.

In order to free the island and the corresponding area of the overworld from the Giant’s dark magic, the player must find and heal all the Life Saplings on the island and then use Arias to heal the Life Tree. By doing so, the player releases the island from the dark magic that has ruined it and kept it in chains. The island becomes restored to its original state – lush, green, verdant, filled with plant and animal life. This completes the level.

The player then views a cutscene in which the Life Tree on the current island forms a magic link with the Life Tree on the next island, creating an illuminated path which the player can follow, from the current island to the next one. The player then watches a cutscene in which Arias returns to the Overworld on Terra’s back.

The player, now flying in the Overworld, is free to continue flying to a new level or return to the recently healed island in order to play the level again.

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Overworld

When playing in the Overworld, the player controls Arias riding on Terra’s back, and can fly freely through the sky. The player controls Terra’s wing beats, altitude, speed and direction of flight. The player can also use a short-range attack and a long-range projectile to damage flying monsters. In addition, the player must watch out for the floating pieces of rock scattered throughout the sky. These obstacles will damage the player unless they are avoided.

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The player can fly for as long as desired. In order to land on an island, the player steers Terra over an island and slows down her flight. Then the player selects “Land.” Arias and Terra will drop down from the air and land on the chosen island.

To return to flight, the player either completes the level, or jumps off the island at any time (only possible if the island has already been completed). Terra cannot fly in levels that have not been completed.

In addition to the main island levels in the game, there are much smaller islands which may contain secrets such as hidden story fragments. These are considered side quests and are not necessary to progress the game.

The player can fly anywhere in the Overworld as long as that area has already been healed by the player, or a path has been illuminated by one Life Tree to another.

Otherwise, the sky is filled with dark magic which the player cannot pass through.

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Characters

Aria s

Class Race Age Height Weight

Healing Mage Mithran 16 5’4” 118 lbs

Arias is a gentle youth with a quiet and caring disposition. He comes from the ancient race of Mithrans, a secretive, peace-loving species who, despite their in-born prowess with magic, keep to themselves and do not usually roam far from their homes. Now 16 years old, Arias has had the power to heal others since he was a child. He is easily recognizable with his cat-like ears and tail and chin-length bluish hair. He wears a long, hooded tunic, as well as carrying a staff.

He lived an ordinary life in his home village until one day when he discovered his close friend Mimea missing. Determined to bring her back, he runs away from home in search for her. Many great dangers await him in the land he is traveling to – as well as a fated encounter with a dragon, who becomes his only hope in this treacherous new land.

Health

Mag. Defense

IIII

Stamina

II

Strength

I

Speed

III

Defense

I

Magic

IIIII

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Magic Spells

Ability

Effect

How to use

Heal

Recover one health point of targeted character.

Swing Wiimote in any direction.

Charge Up

Boosts physical attacks of targeted character for 5 seconds.

Thrust the Wiimote upwards while holding it vertically.

Force

Removes enemies that have grabbed Arias or Terra.

Shake the Wiimote.

Arias Casting Heal on Terra

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Terra Class Race Age Height Weight

Fighter Dragon Unknown 11’6” 825 lbs

Terra is a mysterious red dragon who found Arias when he was looking for a way up to the floating islands. After grabbing Arias in her talons and carrying him to an island, she leaves him alone but seems to want him to follow. Terra eventually becomes Arias’s companion and will always be at his side throughout the game. Physically strong, fearless, and fully prepared to do combat, Terra is mainly used in the game for attacking enemies and defending Arias in battle.

Like a blazing fire, Terra is an emotionally volatile, temperamental creature. Normally she is happy to help in whatever way is needed, even playing around and displaying a sense of humour and curiosity. However, when she becomes angry, she is truly a force to be reckoned with!

Terra has a past that must be uncovered through developing her friendship with Arias and finding memory items in the game. Although she does not talk, she communicates with Arias through expressions and behaviors, demonstrating a clear personality of her own.

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Attributes

Health Stamina Speed

Mag. Defense

I

IIIII

Strength

IIIII

II

Defense

IIII

Physical Attacks

Ability

Effect

Notes

Claw Swipe

2 dmg/hit

Swing the Wiimote to execute up to a 3-hit combo of quick claw swipes.

Bite Lunge

6 dmg

Push the Wiimote straight forward. Terra lunges forward for a fearsome bite attack. Shake the Wiimote to toss the enemy around for extra damage.

Tail Whip

4 dmg

Shake the Wiimote and Nunchuk at the same time. Area effect, damages multiple enemies. Slow recovery.

Breathe Fire

4 dmg/second

Hold B button continuously. Damages enemies in a stream in front of her.

Terra’s Claw Swipe Attack

Terra’s Tail Whip & Dodge

These images are representations of in-­‐game presentation.

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Level Design Sample Level (Refer to Appendix C)

First Two Levels: A Walkthrough

1. Start on an infected island with only Arias. Player is trying to find Mimea, his

2.

3.

4.

5.

childhood friend. Player moves Arias around the level, exploring it.

Shadowy enemies appear nearby. Game Tutorial teaches player to use Arias’s staff to kill these very easy enemies.

Move Arias towards a dying Life Sapling, which glows in the distance. When Arias sees the Life Sapling, a thought bubble pops up near his icon at the top of the screen: “It looks like it’s dying. I might be able to heal it…”

As player moves Arias towards Life Sapling, player searches for clues about where Mimea might be. Arias looks at some ruins and shouts his friend’s name. No response.

The player learns some of Arias’s basic abilities: running, blocking, interacting, targeting, swinging his staff, and magic abilities.

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6. Player reaches the Life Sapling, defeating some enemies. Player heals Life Sapling.

The area around it bursts into bright light and the area starts sprouting leaves and flowers. Enemies in this area now become weaker.

7. The player climbs a set of vines along a cliff to reach the top of a large rock. The player moves towards another Life Sapling, fighting enemies and healing the Sapling.

8. The player sees the huge dying Life Tree nearby and runs towards it. Suddenly a huge Colossus comes lumbering out from behind the Tree.

9. Terra the dragon swoops down from the sky, striking the Goliath on the head from behind. The player then fights the boss by controlling Arias while Terra kills the boss as an AI. Player learns how to use Arias’s magic to support Terra in battle.

10. The boss is defeated. Terra then takes Arias on her back and flies into the sky.

11. Player enters the overworld. The game teaches the player how to fly in the overworld.

12. The player must avoid obstacles while flying around in the sky.

13. The player decides to return to the recently completed level to try the new gameplay on the healed island.

14. The player controls Terra’s flight and lands on the previous level. Player then learns that all healed islands can be played in two modes by selecting one of two options: infected island and healed island.

15. Player selects “healed island.” Player starts the level as Arias. Terra spreads her wings and flies away into the distance. The player learns that two types of food must be collected in this level in order to complete it.

16. Player moves Arias to a cave mouth where Terra is standing peering inside. Arias goes inside and finds some mushrooms inside. Terra reacts with joy.

17. Terra then flies off to another location. This time the player finds her next to a pond filled with fish. The player sees a stick nearby and picks it up to use as a fishing rod.

The player manages to catch a fish. Terra is very happy.

18. The level is now completed. The player moves Arias to the Life Tree and chooses to leave the level. The player gains one health point for both Arias and Terra, as well as unlocking a new story fragment.

19. The player flies to the next island to save the next infected island.

20. This time, the player is allowed to switch between Arias and Terra as the controlled character.

21. The player also learns how to revive Arias or Terra if one of them falls.

22. The player learns the three different targeting/camera modes and how to use them.

23. The player learns how to call Arias or Terra to your side.

24. The player discovers enemies that now grab on to the characters and must be removed using Force.

25. The player learns that the character which is not currently controlled by the player always blocks attacks automatically, but that this uses up stamina.

26. After healing all three Life Saplings and the Life Tree on this level, the island becomes healed and another piece of the Giant Goliath falls to the ground.

27. The player returns to the Overworld and can choose the next destination.

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Battle System

In this image, Terra is shown attacking the enemies while Arias is auto-defending.

This diagram also shows: Top left icon: The character currently controlled (in this example, Terra).

Note: Character’s expression will change depending on current state.

When attacking: Character will look aggressive.

When casting: Character will look concentrative.

When taking damage: Character will look in pain.

When low health: Character will look very miserable.

grateful.

When pulling off a string of moves: Character will look elated (“on a roll”).

When being healed/having enemies removed: Character will look happy and When “Charge Up” spell is used: Character will look “fired up.”

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Green ring around icon: The character’s current stamina (grey portions indicate used stamina).

Gold ring around icon: The character who is currently controlled will display a gold ring.

Hearts in top left: The currently controlled character’s health points.

Top right icon: The character not currently controlled by player (in this example, Arias).

Hearts in top right: The health points of the character not currently controlled.

Dialogue box below icon: Arias’s thoughts and feelings. A form of feedback to the player to tell them how well they are currently doing.

When low health/taking heavy damage: Arias will shout: “Terra!” or “I can’t hold on much longer!”

When very far away from partner: Arias will think to himself: “I need to find Terra…”

When Terra pulls off a string of moves/defeats a harder enemy: Arias will say: “That was great, Terra!”

Red triangular indicator: Terra’s current locked-on target.

While playing on an infected island, the player will be able to switch control between Arias and Terra at any time. One character will be controlled at a time. Each character has the same basic controls: walking, running, blocking, dodging, interacting, calling the other character, and attacking. Arias also has the ability to use three magic spells: Heal, Force, and Charge Up. Character actions: Blocking: The character that is not currently controlled will automatically attempt to block all attacks from enemies. Blocking successfully negates all damage to that character’s health points.

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Dodging: Characters may dodge attacks and avoid damage completely while also moving rapidly to another position.

Interacting: Interactions depend on what object/character is currently being targeted. An interaction may be picking up an item or talking to a character.

Calling the other character: The character which is not currently controlled will not follow the player’s controlled character automatically. He or she must be called. After being called, the character will follow the player’s controlled character, unless he or she is attacked by an enemy.

Attacking: Characters are able to perform physical attacks on enemies in order to defeat them.

Casting spells: Arias can cast magic by charging up his concentration for two seconds and then choosing a target and a spell to activate. Heal recovers health points. Force removes enemies which have grabbed on to a character. Charge Up boosts the character’s attacks for 10 seconds.

While Arias is charging up his energy, the player is able to move around a circular cursor to select a target. This circular cursor will appear on the surface of the field that Arias is currently standing on. To help the player select a target, the cursor will automatically become “magnetized” towards Arias or Terra when the player is casting a supportive spell. The cursor will become magnetized towards enemies when casting an offensive spell.

Spells will activate as soon as the player uses a gesture with the Wiimote. Spells will only effect the area shown by the circular target cursor. The cursor will disappear after the spell has been cast.

In addition, the player is able to use several different kinds of targeting/camera control.

Aggressive targeting: Lock-on targeting to the closest enemy. Controlled character moves in a circle around the enemy. Release the button to disengage targeting.

Defensive targeting: Use the other character as an anchor and move the controlled character and camera in a circle around the other, with the controlled character’s back facing the other. This is useful especially when controlling Terra and trying to protect Arias.

Free camera: Player rotates the camera manually.

The player’s characters lose health points when taking damage. Arias and Terra have separate health gauges. When health points for one character reach zero, that character falls unconscious. If both characters fall unconscious, the game is over. A fallen character can be revived: Arias has fallen: Terra hauls Arias on her back and brings him to a Life Sapling that has been healed. Arias revives after 15 seconds.

Terra has fallen: Arias must escape the battle by running away to a nearby Life Sapling that has been healed. Terra revives after 15 seconds.

Stamina limits how many actions the characters can take before requiring rest. Stamina is represented by a circular gauge on the screen, which becomes depleted gradually as actions are taken. When a character’s stamina runs out, the character loses the ability to defend or take any actions for 5 seconds. Stamina gradually refills at a rate of about 25% per second after no

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actions are taken for half a second. (Blocking is not considered an action in this case.) The player must be careful not to use too many actions too quickly.

Actions which deplete stamina include blocking damage, dodging, dashing, attacking and casting spells.

Terra Action

Stamina Cost (%)

Block damage

5

Dash

5

Dodge

10

Claw Swipe

5 (per hit)

Bite Lunge

15

Tail Whip

20

Breathe Fire

10 (per second)

Arias Action

Stamina Cost (%)

Block damage

10

Dash

15

Dodge

20

Swing Staff

20 (per hit)

Heal

50

Force

60

Charge Up

40

Arias casts spells by charging up a circular concentration gauge and then choosing a target and spell to activate. The concentration gauge takes 2 seconds to charge up to its full size. While casting, Arias becomes vulnerable to enemy attack and cannot move or defend. After casting, Arias must wait for his concentration gauge to return to its starting position and cannot cast

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another spell for 4 seconds.

The player holds down B to start casting, which causes the blue concentration gauge to appear under Arias and begin enlarging. If the player releases B at any time, the concentration gauge will return to its original size and then fade away. If the player charges the concentration gauge to its full size, the circle will begin to glow, indicating to the player that a spell is ready to use.

The player then uses one of the Wiimote gestures to cast a spell. The concentration gauge then takes 4 seconds to return to its original position and become ready for another charge.

Arias and Terra perform very different roles in combat. Arias’s magic abilities make him essential to surviving battle. However, because Arias has lower health points than Terra, the player must be careful to make sure Arias is defended as much as possible. Terra’s physical attacks are also much faster and more powerful, while Arias’s are weak and slow.

Enemies will sometimes not only damage the characters but grab on to a part of the characters’ bodies. When enemies have become latched on, they make movement much slower and disable certain abilities of the characters they are affecting.

If Arias is grabbed: He becomes unable to defend.

If Arias’s staff is grabbed: He becomes unable to defend, attack or cast magic.

If Terra’s arm(s) is grabbed: She becomes unable to use claw swipes.

If Terra’s tail is grabbed: She becomes unable to use tail whip.

If Terra’s wing(s) is grabbed: She becomes unable to defend.

If Arias is grabbed, the player must use Force to remove the enemies (if able to) or use Terra to attack the enemies. If Terra is grabbed, the player must use Arias’s Force spell to remove the

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enemies.

Before initiating combat, the player should make sure to call the other character so that both characters are present!

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Enemies The Giant Goliath is the final boss in this game. A hulking monstrosity, the Giant Goliath sits in the center of the Overworld at all times, watching Arias and Terra with huge malignant eyes.

Using dark magic, the Giant Goliath has plunged Sophirus into ruin: the whole land is now heavy with storm clouds, swirling flying rocks and terrible monsters.

In order to defeat the Giant Goliath, the player must heal all the islands in Sophirus and face the monster in a final confrontation. Each island that is healed forces the Giant Goliath to relinquish a part of its evil grasp on land and weakens it by causing it to lose a part of its armour.

Colossi guard each of the Life Trees in Sophirus’s floating islands. Much larger in size than Arias or Terra, the Colossi are fearsome opponents with tough rock hides, thick metallic armour and hideous and twisted forms. Each Colossi has a particular weakness which must be targeted and exploited in order to be defeated.

The common enemy in this game is a shadowy humanoid blob which stands on two legs, uses physical attacks, moves slowly and is not very intelligent. In addition to attacking by swinging their long arms, these enemies will latch on to Arias or Terra by grabbing on to a part of the body – arms, wings, tail, legs – slowing the target’s movement and disabling certain ability(ies) while they are attached. The enemy must then be removed by using Arias’s magic ability, Force, or Terra’s attacks.

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Other enemies include wolf-like shadows which move on four legs and jump around quickly, mage and archer shadows which use magic or ranged attacks, shadow soldiers which wield shields and spears, and flying shadows.

Enemy

HP

Damage per Attack (HP)

Behavior

Shadow Grunt

6

1/2

Slow with long arms. Moves forward in a predictable pattern and tries to strike or latch on to Arias or Terra.

Shadow Wolf

20

1/2

Smart and fast. Can dodge player’s attacks. Prefers to target Arias. Runs away when targeted by Terra. Can latch on to player’s characters by biting.

Shadow Mage

30

1

Intelligent, with a high damage attack.

Lower health points make it easier to kill, but it tends to keep far away and hide behind other monsters for defense.

Throws a magic projectile at the player’s characters. Does more damage to Terra.

Won’t latch on.

Shadow Archer

40

1/2

Long-ranged attacker who is hard to kill.

Prefers to target Arias. Its arrows must be carefully watched and blocked against. Won’t latch on.

Shadow Soldier

50

1

High defense, relatively fast. Carries a shield to block attacks. Wields a spear giving it a long range of attack. If shield is destroyed, it will try to latch on to player’s characters.

Colossi (Boss)

200

1-2

Each boss is different. Tends to have extremely high defense and slow movement. A huge monster with highly damaging attacks that knock down the player’s characters. Can crush the player’s characters with one stomp of its huge feet.

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Controls Arias Nunchuk Control stick: Move.

C button: Control camera manually with Nunchuk C-stick.

Z button: Target enemy.

Shake: Block with his staff.

C + Z buttons: Set camera anchor to Terra.

Shake while dashing: Dodge to the side.

Wiimote A button: Interact/Call for Terra.

B button: Charge magic to cast spell.

- button: Open inventory menu.

A + B buttons: Switch character to Terra.

Swing: Attack with staff.

While holding down B: (after magic has been fully charged) Control stick: Select target.

Swing: Heal target.

Shake: Use force on enemies.

Thrust vertically: Use Charge Up on target.

Terra Nunchuk Control stick: Move.

C button: Control camera manually with Nunchuk C-stick.

Z button: Target enemy.

Shake: Block with her wings.

C + Z buttons: Set camera anchor to Arias.

Shake while dashing: Dodge to the side.

Wiimote A button: Interact/Call for Arias.

B button: Breathe fire. (can hold down for longer breath) - button: Open inventory menu.

A + B buttons: Switch character to Arias.

Swing: Attack with claw swipes.

Shake Wiimote + Nunchuk: Use tail whip attack.

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Push forward: Lunge forward to bite the enemy.

Flying (Overworld) Nunchuk Shake: Block with Terra’s wings.

Wiimote Point and Tilt: Change direction or dive downwards.

Tap (vertically, in beating motion): Beat wings. (gain altitude) A button: Fly faster.

B button: Breathe fire. (can hold down for longer breath) - button: Open inventory menu.

Swing: Attack with claw swipes.

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User Experience Overall Game Flow 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Title screen Select new game Story introduction Start on an infected island Heal the Life Tree on the infected island Fly into the overworld Land on another island Complete another island Return to overworld…

Once all islands have been healed, the final boss becomes available to fight.

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Music & Sound Style The auditory tone of our game will tend to be on the quiet, mellow and relaxing side, though the music when combat mode is engaged will become more fast-paced and intense. Like in Zelda, there will be several versions of each track, some more rhythmic and fast-paced, others more sparse in instrumentation, which will play depending on whether the player is in battle or not (for example).

There will also be moving, emotional pieces, due to the focus on characters and story, and tracks which give off an air of mystery and otherworldliness, due to the strangeness of the world.

The music will be entirely made up of orchestral, instrumental pieces. Typical instruments used would include: -­‐-­‐-­‐ strings -­‐-­‐-­‐ woodwinds -­‐-­‐-­‐ guitar -­‐-­‐-­‐ percussion Example tracks from other games which match the style of Terra: Overworld Map theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjPnMqWRkG4#t=131 Exploring a strange new island: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMGzHTn5Aa4 Theme when flying: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRbROTdOgj0 Difficult Island: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIrjgE2-C-s Fighting against a boss: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4vCEHpv6Hg The sound effects will be stylish and dramatic, like in the Zelda games. Each sound effect should be iconic and unique. The characters will make many sounds including voice sound effects (for example, when taking damage, attacking, using an ability, when Arias is encouraging Terra, or when the characters are playing). The emphasis is on making the world appear full of life and charm. The sound effects don’t need to be realistic so long as they make the player feel like the world is vibrant and interesting.

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Appendix A: Our story begins…

An ancient tribe of mages lives a peaceful, secluded existence hidden deep in the forests.

The Mithrans, a race distinguished by their cat ears and tails, pride themselves on three things: their natural talent with magic, their pacifist ideals, and their deep connection with the land. Tending the Life Trees with care, the Mithrans have maintained the purity of the land and ensured prosperity for themselves and others. So it has always been.

One day, a terrible calamity befalls the land the Mithrans call Sophirus.

It has arrived.

The Giant Goliath, an armoured titan of mythic proportions, heaves its gigantic rockhewn limbs into Sophirus. Each step of its huge feet shatters the land, uprooting trees and sending Mithrans scurrying for their lives. The Giant lifts one enormous arm and claims for itself the life source of the Sophirans: the majestic Mother Tree.

In what seems like an instant, all life on the land withers away and dies. Dark creatures called Shadows pour from the Giant and infest the land, feeding themselves from the Life Trees. The land itself tears into pieces, as though an earthquake has shattered it, and the torn pieces of earth catapult into the sky.

Impossibly, the pieces do not return to the earth. They remain there as floating islands, suspended forever.

The land once beloved to the Mithrans is transformed into a floating wasteland, a grotesque reminder to all of the fearsome powers of the Giant.

Meanwhile, a few leagues from Sophirus, a quiet youth named Arias lives an idyllic life in the village of his birth. With his gift for healing, he passes his days caring for those in need, whether Mithran, animal, or plant.

One morning Arias wakes up to cries of panic. “The Giant is back!” Scrambling to his feet, Arias searches the village desperately for his Sophiran friend, Mimea. No matter where he looks he cannot find her. She is already gone – back to Sophirus.

“It’s too dangerous!” His father tries to stop him. But Arias won’t listen. Grabbing his staff and some traveling clothes, he shouts farewell and hurries towards Sophirus.

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Appendix B: Story Overview Arias went on a journey to search for his close friend who ran off to Sophirus, the land she came from, when she heard it was in grave danger. After hearing his friend had departed, Arias knew without a doubt that he had to go after her.

Arias journeyed for a long time before he came to Sophirus. There, he encountered a dragon who helped him reach the floating islands that Sophirus had become. She flew away after helping him, but Arias was determined to find her again.

“When Arias arrives in Sophirus, he is devastated to find that the land is in shambles, with gaping craters hewn from the earth and giant chunks of land actually floating in the air. Most terrifying of all is the Giant Goliath in the center of it all – a towering, massive titan of a size and proportion he has never before in his life even imagined. He searches

for days but his friend is nowhere to be found. If only there was a way for him to get up onto those islands floating way above him…

Just as he is about to give up and return home, a dragon swoops down from above, grabs him in its talons, and carries him up to one of the islands. Before he can do anything to thank the dragon, it beats its massive wings and departs, leaving him on an island infested with monsters, hundreds of meters above the surface of the earth. He looks where the dragon has gone, and he notices it looking back at him: it wants him to follow.

Arias surveys the dry, broken landscape in front of him, wondering how he’ll get to the next island. Then he notices the eye of the Giant Goliath shifting to stare at him. He

hates this creature before him, which has destroyed the land Mimea cared for so much.

But he can’t let himself get distracted – he came here to find Mimea and bring her back to safety. Where is he going to start…?”

This is where our game begins.

Arias manages to reach the next island by climbing a vine that connects the two islands.

There, he finds the dragon again. The dragon comes to his side and seems to be offering her help to him. The two make their way through the islands one by one, always helping each other.

Her motivation seems to be to destroy the enemies that are harming the land and making it a barren, withered place. As Arias helps her by healing her and healing the Life Trees they encounter, the bond between the two develops and grows stronger.

At the beginning Arias wants to help Terra because he knows they need each other in this empty land – he feels compelled to help her when she charges into battle and emerges wounded. He also believes that with a dragon at his side he will have a much better chance of finding Mimea, who he is determined to go to any lengths to find again.

What he doesn’t realize is that Mimea was there by his side all along, in the form of the dragon Terra!

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At the end of the game, the player is told that the dragon is Mimea, the girl Arias has been looking for all along. She has been transformed into a dragon by the dark powers of the Giant Goliath. Arias does not make this connection at all, at first. But he gradually begins to realize the truth as he continues to search the strange, treacherous land for signs of life… and discovers mementos among the ruined places that hold the secrets of Terra’s past – that point to her being Mimea, his child friend.

At first Terra doesn’t know who she is/was or who Arias is either. But she also senses a connection that goes beyond the surface. As Terra, she is essentially a goddess of destruction: powerful, prideful, even arrogant, her main concern is revenge on the Goliath. As the game progresses and the relationship deepens, Terra throws off her vengeful personality and becomes more curious and playful, like Mimea – her real inner self. She becomes softer, milder, more in tune with Arias.

As Mimea, she is a softer girl who loves the world and would do anything to protect it.

Her family originated from this land but, a few years ago, she left for Arias’s home village because she wanted to explore the world. She is spirited, daring and adventurous, but at the same time a conscientious soul who cares deeply about one and all.

End of the game Arias and Terra fight together through thick and thin until they reach the last boss, the Giant Goliath. There, they realize that the Giant has become inseparably entwined with the Mother Tree. Thus, destroying the monster would destroy the land as well.

Note: There are multiple endings at this point, but these will be elaborated later in the document. This is the “normal” ending: Arias and Mimea decide to allow the Giant to keep existing, but Arias uses his strongest magic to purify it, which will turn the monster into a mountain and will return all the floating islands to their original places in the earth.

Unfortunately, this also means that Terra won’t be able to return to her original form as Mimea. However, this is a sacrifice she is willing to make. After having adventured so far and wide with Arias, she has regained her ability to communicate using words. She tells Arias she is very happy that the land is back to the way it once was – almost. A lot of people and creatures have been lost in the destruction, but now they can at least hope for a better future.

She tells Arias that she will stay here to watch over the land for now. She wants him to return home on his own. Some day soon she will go over to visit him and they will travel the world once again.

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Appendix C: Sample Level

To beat this level, the player must get to the Tree of Life.

1. Controlling both Terra and Arias, the player must fight their way through a large number of enemies. The player comes to an area with enemies sporadically placed around it.

The player does not have to defeat every enemy, but it will be hard to avoid them.

2. The player discovers a half-hidden cave passage is half-hidden.

3. Deep within this corridor is a Life Sapling growing in the centre of a small lake. This Life Sapling needs to be healed by Arias before he can successfully heal the Life Tree.

4. The Life Tree is protected by a boss monster and a group of enemies. The player must find the path on the right, up the hill to the Life Tree, and must switch between Arias and Terra in order to defeat all the enemies in betwen. The player then must challenge the boss monster guarding the Life Tree.

5. The player clears the level by healing the Life Tree. The island is restored! The player returns to the Overworld on Terra’s back.

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