Considerations
Dynamics
The basic rule will be if you die you lose and are placed at the last checkpoint.
The player must abide by the laws of physics dependent on the planet they are on.
The player must collect money to purchase supplies (available on corpses, pick ups, in buildings).
The game is a single player project based on the story lines of the three main characters so there are no interactions with other players. When the rules are set in motion the player has to keep an eye on their health, ammo and weapons and collect/buy top ups as they travel to ensure they are in the best position possible to proceed. The player has to plan a way through a level/planet and where the best weapons or upgrades are located. They also need enough money to buy these.
Aesthetics
The play of the game will be interesting, fun and at time frustratingly challenging. The player will be able to play as each of the three main characters in a different story line and each with have a different emotional feeling to them e.g. Blondie is the Hero and the player will feel this through the deeds the player does.
Target Audience
My target audience is obviously gamer's across all major platforms. It has to appeal to these or it wont sell. The violence in my game will put a limit on who I can sell to but I imagine the game will be an 18+ so my target audience is young adults upwards.
Hardware (platforms) suitability
My game is intended for all major platforms. This means that for each individual platform i must consider hardware specifications of each. I must take into account;
- Graphics capability (GPU and memory) has to be considered when designing a game. Aesthetically a game can be limited by graphics hardware. To counter this problem I will have to consider polygon counts within my game to ensure my creations are as graphically efficient as possible for each different platform. I could also possibly advise of a minimum specification for platforms such as the PC.
- CPU has to be considered as it is the main source of power in the machine. Overloading this can cause the machine to lock up. The programming for my game must be efficient as not waste on processing power on unnecessary calculations.
- Hard drive space is a major factor and should always be considered. Without enough space a user would be able to play my game. Advising a user what space they will need to use the software will be a way to counter this. I will also have to ensure that there is no waste data to ensure that my files are as small as possible.
- Memory has to be considered as this is where the most used calculations are stored for repeated use. The more memory the faster data is transferred. However lower spec machines wont have the power to do this so they must be considered too. Again i must recommend a minimum amount for my game and ensure that the correct data is being sent to memory.
Genre Suitable
My game is a mix of Sci-Fi and old Spaghetti Western styles. I need the game to appeal to people who enjoy both or one or the other so getting the right balance is important. To do this I intend to stick with a traditional Spaghetti Western theme and story but add futuristic Sci-Fi elements too it aesthetically and alter the setting of the story to space rather than keeping it in one place. This gives me the opportunity to design different environments. I have to consider the different genres to always ensure that the game will appeal to my intended target audience.
Legal issues
Copyright is the main legal issue i would have with my game. The games story although based in the future and has been changed to a sci-fi setting, it still follows the film's initial story and has the films name. To address this I need to revisit the story and make alterations and change the name of the film.
Ethical issues (race, gender, religion, sexuality, decency)
As there is only one human in the project and she is Caucasian because of her English nationality there could be issues racially. To combat this I could offer an option to change the characters skin colour as England is now a multicultural country. I must also consider globalization of my product, to ensure my players are not offended I could perhaps offer customization of playable characters to enable them to change key features such as skin/hair colour. This will be to avoid any potential ethical issues issues.
All my main characters are female. I chose to do this as the film version has all male characters and wanted to make the game more diverse. I believe that there will be no gender issues.
Within the story a religious figure is found dying in a runaway cart. To avoid any issues with religious groups I have created a fictional religion.
The game has no sexual reference or scenes but as the characters are all female. I have given the character Angel Eyes a Bi-sexual sexuality. The reason i did this was because her character is a selfish, greedy sociopath (not saying bi-sexuals are) but the character gets what she wants regardless of the consequences. This could cause issues because the character is the evil character but is also promiscuous. People may find this offensive because the evil character is associated with a promiscuous sex life.
There is some violence in the game with the use of firearms. The story is about greed, thievery and outlaws
Localisation
My characters are of an alien race apart from the human character Blondie. My intention was to give them all an accent spoken in English to try and emphasize the characters personality. The reason for the multiple accents is to keep the characters diverse so they can be related to by the viewer no matter what their nationality, race, gender
Blondie (the good) will have a stereotypical English accent to fit her human form, a posh almost James Bond accent.
Tiko (the ugly) will have a Colombian accent. This accent I believe will go well with the characters personality of being a smuggler/outlaw.
Angel Eyes (the bad) will have a German accent. Purely because the accent is very coarse and sharp. It will solidify the characters evil intentions within the story.
If the game is to be sold in multiple different countries I must consider the language spoken and consider releasing the game in the native language as not everyone understands the English accent.
