Red Wastes: Conceptualizing A First Game
MipMap #025: Utilizing 24 Editions Worth of Research For My Next Big Project
At the start of 2024, I re-launched my newsletter with the goal of exposing the research and work I do in the 3D medium to a wider audience. My hope was that turning the ideas into (somewhat) palatable essays would allow those interested to follow along and maybe even find a starting point for their own research into the depths of 3D.
While I can’t be sure if anyone’s gained anything of particular value from my writings yet, I think I am achieving my goal of succinctly sharing my findings. None of it is groundbreaking, but I hope that each edition of MipMap can shine a little light in a medium that seems impervious to explore. The world of 3D is vast and unless you find a small section to latch onto, you might spend weeks or even months figuring out what a particular section entails.
I’ve spent the past two months laying the ground work for a focus on video game development, specifically within the Unreal Engine. Even though I’ve heard that the best method of learning is doing, I’m more of a planner than a pantser. Every endeavor I’ve been apart of was always more successful when the thought and care was put into it upfront rather than as we went.
Following this methodology, I’d like to use this edition to unveil the concept for a game design document. I say concept since I don’t think anyone would read the thousands of words required to fully layout every aspect of the game. Instead, I’m interested in figuring out the steps required to take a random thought all the way to a near-production ready game.
To give the best general idea of what I’m envisioning, I’ll lay out this newsletter in three sections: the games that inspired this idea, the vision I have for this concept, and a shortened overview of the game I am envisioning. The last section can be thought of as a shortened overview of the core elements and identity that I want to develop.
Let’s begin.
Dissatisfied With My Current Catalogue
Over the past three years, I’ve played almost exclusively map games (Civilization and EUIV/HoI4) and first person shooters. If we look long term (and ignore the extremely unhealthy binge sessions), first person shooters are the clear winners. Among the FPS titles, the overwhelming majority of time falls within Destiny 2, Counter-Strike, and Gunfire Reborn. Three different types of shooters, three distinct ways to make a game.
What is key among all of them is the ever-so-satisfying gunplay that sits at the core of each game. Destiny 2 is the premier PvE shooter, and is also made by Bungie, the studio that revolutionized FPS titles with the Halo franchise. Counter-Strike is as simple as it gets, but perfected the FPS formula as it applies to competitive tactical shooters. Gunfire Reborn is the most recent title of the three, but has managed to carve out a solid following by incorporating Rogue-lite elements into its high-octane game play. Altogether, these titles represent a healthy sample of the FPS genre as we have it today.
However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention why these three titles in particular are the reasons why I want to make a game. There is the obvious line of thinking where “because I love these games, I want to make one just like them,” but there are also the areas that each game could be improved upon. In my opinion of course.
I’ve already gone over the plethora of issues I have with Destiny 2, so I will refrain from regurgitating the same points again. Instead I’d recommend you go read the article from two weeks ago in which I breakdown the issues that have caused me to finally semi-depart from the game.
My issues with Counter-Strike are more complicated than just the gunplay. In fact, I think the gunplay is absolutely great. Exemplary even, since it is probably one of the most balanced games currently available. The way that Valve has approached balancing should be the norm for all games that aspire to be played competitively.
Instead, I wish that the game as a whole was expanded.
Not that I want there to be more guns. Like I said, the balance is great. But Counter-Strike has used the same formula for over two decades. The gameplay is still more-or-less the same as it was back with the launch of CS:GO in 2012. CS2 gave the franchise a much needed addition in the form of dynamic utility, but I wish there was more to do in the game. Currently you live or die by your aim (rightfully), but once you’ve gotten a firm grasp on where to point your mouse, there is nothing else except finding utility lineups and joining a proper team to develop and use strategies. It’s not an issue that is likely to be “fixed” anytime soon, but it’s the main gripe I have with an otherwise unblemished game.
Gunfire Reborn is also a game that I wish had more to do in, specifically in a similar way to Destiny 2. If you haven’t read the article linked above, one of my main gripes with Destiny 2 is that the majority of the game doesn’t have a point beyond “kill hundreds of space enemies.” The game’s raids introduce puzzle mechanics, but those are single-use systems that are largely discarded after they’ve been implemented once.
The same mindless killing exists within Gunfire Reborn, however the game uses a wide variety of enemies and a high degree of player fragility to keep the tension spiked. It’s hard to be bored in Gunfire Reborn since you’re always one slip up away from the run ending.
Instead I want puzzle mechanics, or even just any type of mechanics, implemented in Gunfire Reborn. I want doors that take time to break down. I want bosses that require a buff to damage. I want puzzles that require me to think about the moves I make before just impulsively acting. I want the game to give me challenges that I can’t just bulldoze my way through. The intensity would spike dramatically, and players would be forced to adapt instead of falling back on tried and true strategies. The game expands, but doesn’t power-creep or get tankier.
Coming out of this exploration of why I’m dissatisfied with my current catalogue of games reveals that I want three things. Number one is tight, controlled gunplay. Number two is a wide range of ways to effectively engage in that gunplay. Number three is an arena that presents obstacles that can’t simply be solved by bringing a bigger/better gun. These are the bounds I’m working within.
Intensity, Gunplay, and Sandbox
If the gunplay lies at the heart of the game I wish to make, what surrounds it?
If the game is centered on fulfilling gunplay, then the gunplay should include the full variety of guns available. But not every gun is your classic mid-ranged auto-rifle or close-quarters sub-machine gun. Sniper rifles and shotguns exist at the far ends of the commonly accepted video game gun effectiveness ranges. Meaning that our environments need to account for a wide variety of ranges that could be utilized.
Our first problem arises in what enemies a player faces at those wide variety of ranges. Snipers are theoretically able to pick off enemies at ranges where the player faces no danger, while shotguns put the player in such close quarters that enemies have to be neutered unless the player works with extreme precision. Some games get around this by making the sniper rifle unwieldy and the shotgun shoot feathers, but that doesn’t work for a game the prioritizes a high degree of satisfying gunplay for all of it’s arsenal.
Which brings us to the enemies the player will face, how will they react to the bullets being shot at them? Do they run for cover, or charge the player? It’s likely they’d do both. If a player can sneak up on an enemy position, they might have several seconds to pull off whatever they want. But once the enemy clues in, and defenses are raised, then it turns into a fair fight that the player can’t just waltz through willy-nilly. If we can build out the relationship between the player, their guns, and the enemy’s retaliation, we’ve tackled our first two goals.
The final goal of creating an arena that isn’t solved by repeatedly shooting it, is one that is more of a case of balance than difficulty.
Raids in Destiny 2 are known as the pinnacle of the PvE experience for the requirements it imposes on players. You need to be able to stay alive, perform mechanics, and coordinate with teammates all within a span of around four to five minute increments. Each encounter is designed with those requirements in mind, and I think it’d do me good to adopt those (and slightly tweak them).
Staying alive is the first and foremost objective for a player in any given encounter. You cannot perform mechanics or coordinate with teammates if you are dead. Staying alive is generally tied to the weapons you bring into the encounter, which we already began to structure at the start of this section.
Performing mechanics is where things become tricky. A mechanic is anything that the player does to progress or interact with a level. Opening a door is a mechanic, but so is shooting a gun. When we’re talking about performing mechanics in the context of a Raid, we’re specifically talking about one to three specific steps that are core to the success/failure of an encounter. Examples can range from “standing on a plate until it fully activates” to “collect symbols and deposit them in an obelisk (in the correct order) to start a ten-second damage phase on each available plate.”
Which is why talking about the third requirement of Raids in Destiny 2, coordinating with teammates, is the x-factor that controls whether a mechanic is pushover easy or diabolically difficult. If we look back at our first example, the encounter features multiple plates that are not tied to each other. Meaning that one team could be having a snooze while they seamlessly kill enemies and activate their plate much sooner than the other team that is struggling to stay alive. Whereas in the second example, the team collecting symbols might not have that hard of a time on their own, but their teammates also have to be consistently clearing enemies attacking the obelisk while also keep the boss stunned long enough for the symbols to be deposited. (Shout-out to Vow of the Disciple, I will die before I acknowledge any other raid as being better.)
Balancing mechanics and coordination is the special sauce that makes Raids in Destiny 2 so rewarding to play in. I want to carry forward that balancing concept into the game I make.
A Draft of the Design Doc
Whew, that was a lot to cover. But I hope that it demonstrates my reasoning for the choices I make and the game I want to build. Like I had mentioned in last week’s article, creating a game design document is not easy, especially when you haven’t made one before.
Without further ado, let’s get into outlining the actual document. (I won’t do a full doc, but I’d like to fill out the key components of one to get a good vibe check.)
Hook/Packaging
Title/Tagline:
Red Wastes: Uncover the Wastelands
Summary:
Red Wastes is first person player-versus-environment shooter for the PC that utilizes the Unreal Engine to put the player in the role of a Wastelander, a bounty hunter-like mercenary paid to watch over desolate mining rigs that dot the Martian surface. When a routine maintenance check reveals alien activity, one Wastelander must uncover an ancient, re-awoken conflict threatening to tear the planet apart.
Inspirations:
Heavily inspired by the gameplay of Destiny 2, notably the wide variety of weaponry and the puzzle-like Raid mechanics.
Draws on the semi-open world layouts of Halo Infinite, Shadow of the Colossus, and the Borderlands franchise.
Adapts a fully-customizable weapon and equipment design system like in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.
Pulls concepts and ideas from the western movie genre, notably works like A Fistful of Dollars, Rango, and Django: Unchained.
Key Features:
7 weapon archetypes to customize, 3 ammunition types, and a pool of 16 perks to customize the weapon functionality.
2 enemy factions to combat and outwit. 2-5 enemy types per faction that each utilize a distinct attack and movement pattern.
2 levels to explore, with a dozen encounters to overcome as you delve deeper into the environment.
Target Audience:
With a focus on surviving and killing enemies while completing puzzles, this game is geared towards semi-serious gamers looking for an intensive PvE experience.
Gameplay & Mechanics
Core Gameplay Loop:
The player controls a Wastelander who utilizes a collection of 3 customizable guns to destroy the aliens that want to destroy the surrounding environments. Through deciding how to engage the aliens and how to most effectively complete the encounter, the player must complete a list of objectives in order to progress the game.
Gunplay/Kitplay:
Weaponry
The player utilizes a collection of guns to kill the enemy aliens with. Each weapon is customizable, starting with a weapon frame (auto-rifle, sniper rifle, machine gun, etc.) and further customizing with a rate-of-fire (fast, slow, medium), a stat boost (stability, reload speed, range), and two weapon perks.
Weapon perks contain a primary trait and a secondary trait. The primary traits set each perk apart from each other, while the secondary trait allows a unique interaction between both perks. Only when the secondary traits align do they activate.
Kits
The player has an additional set of equipment that compliments the weapons used. Each piece of equipment allows the player to better understand the environment they are, the enemies they face, and the encounters they must solve.
Exploration:
No Linear Path
Players must pick the means of entering an encounter. At least 2 means of entrance should be obvious to the player, while other should be possible if they equip a specific piece of equipment or weapon customization.
Encounters can be completed in whatever order. Instead of completing one to lead to another, each encounter can be picked and chosen based on the player’s assessment and preferences.
Objective:
Checklist
Encounters should have completion criteria associated with them. Whether physical or environmental, the player should be given a clear objective to complete, likely in the form of a succinct checklist that either appears on screen or is accessible by a button press.
Encounters should be flexible enough to allow players ingenuity while still following a set objective. Instead of actions required to complete an encounter, conditions should be set in a yes/no fashion to determine encounter completion.
Aesthetics
Theme:
Gritty, decrepit diesel-punk.
This is a sci-fi game set in the somewhat near future. Nothing is shiny and polished, and the equipment is certainly not up to standard.
Colonized Martian Wasteland:
Landscape
Rugged, Martian terrain. Rocky deserts, gaping canyons, wide meteor craters.
Mining Outposts
Aged, worn, familiar. The equipment has seen better days, and suffers greatly from the frequent dust storms, sparse repairs, and newly occurring seismic activity on the red planet.
DIY Weaponry/Equipment:
Guns and Kit Items
Modded vintage items. Take the equivalent items of today, and slap some sci-fi greebles and rods to them. Make them plastic and metal monstrosities, but let each item have a distinct outline and look.
Ravaging, Rugged Aliens:
Spartan Warriors
Battle-breed killing machines. Each creature in this faction was made to eviscerate their enemies at any range. Their attacks include thrown objects, projectiles, and blunt melee strikes depending on which variation you face.
Human-like appearances. Until they start getting enraged, these creatures behave as humans would, civil and tame.
Omnipotent AI-Like Planetary Overseer:
Cold, Unfeeling Machinery
Giger. Giger alllllll the way. This creature should have an omnipotent hivemind structure, spawning perfect creatures from a central repository. As such, the offspring look like a Xenomorph made cozy with the Terminator.
Silence, until action. These creatures do not make any unnecessary moves or action. They are slow, but calculating, and will seize any opportunity they take to inflict any form of pain on those they deem their opponents.
Outro
And there we have it. 24 editions of research, investigation, and aspirations rolled up into one draft document. This won’t be the final version I roll into production, but it’s the beginning of a game I’ve wanted to make for a long time now. As for the further specifications, I’ll have to figure those out along the way. If you, dear reader, have any suggestions or modifications you’d like to make, please leave them in the comments.
Otherwise, that is it for MipMap #025. I hope you enjoyed reading this edition, and hopefully we’ll see you next week.
Until then, stay aspirational!
- Adam