Godai - Pitch

Godai

Genre: Action Puzzler

Core Game Mechanic: Elements

Pitch

Story:

The game is currently called 'Godai', which stands for Element in Japanese and it is a action-puzzler which has a huge emphasis on knowing one's environment and assessing it. The reason for the Japanese title is due to the fact that I wanted to explore the 'demons' and myths of the culture. A few of them involve elemental factors like lightning and fire, although in the strangest forms such as a demon chicken which wields fire and a snake which controls the rain.

The world is set in a fantasy realm where it is void of human contact and is in a perfect natural order, that is until a certain dark figure rises and stands to mutate and defile everything it touches. The world is beginning to fall into chaos and animals have become monsters, reflecting the worst of their nature into hideous forms. Our story begins with the rise of another creature, one that comes to restore order.

The creature's name, like the title, is Godai and it is essentially a ghost taking its natural form of a misty-gas-like creature with a single glowing orb, which acts as its eye. The Godai however is an ever changing creature and depending on what it touches or where it is, it changes form into something entirely different. Should the Godai come into contact with fire, its form changes into one of a tornado of flame which sucks in anything flammable or should the Godai enter into a place of high humidity, then its form turns into more of a slithering body of water.

Game Mechanic:

This is the game's core mechanic, the ability to change into certain forms using the environment the player is currently within. The form that the Godai takes however is unnatural and needs to be 'fueled' in order to be maintained. A 'Flame' form needs a constant source of fuel such as oil, wood or gas while the earth form needs stone, soft sand or moss. Should the Godai stray too far from fuel or runs out of energy to preserve its form, it returns to its natural gas-like form. The Godai uses his abilities to restore balance by restoring each 'area' of its fundamental element.

Each element has its own unique advantages and disadvantages, along with certain traits which may or may not aid the player in solving puzzles:

The ‘Mist’ form is the Godai’s natural and basic form, turning into this form offers no abilities except for invulnerability. The form however, needs a constant and massive amount of oxygen which cannot be found within small areas such as vents. The form is stuck to a low level to maintain a high level of oxygen while higher altitudes are too risky to move toward. The form allows the player to 'push' objects in a direction by moving through the object, effectively moving it slightly in a direction depending on the speed of the Godai.

The 'Flame' form, The Pyre Storm, naturally burns anything that the player touches but it also gives another passive ability which is the 'suction' power of its twister form. The player could increase this suction strength by increasing the amount of fuel it is using, which would help the player pull toward them an object or enemies. Fire however is also the form which consumes the most fuel and at a faster rate than any of the other forms, especially if it grows to a larger size.

The 'Earth' form, The Stone Tyrant, is naturally incredibly heavy, strong and almost impenetrable but it also grants the player its own 'center of gravity', which allows the player to pull loose stones toward the player and attach onto their body, allowing the Godai to grow incredibly larger and much more powerful. The Godai's appearance and abilities change depending on which form of earth it absorbs. If the Godai absorbs stone, it gains larger 'arms' increasing its destructive abilities but it it absorbs trees, it actually grows taller.

The 'Water' form, The Hydro Serpent, is naturally a flexible form which allows the player to move through gaps which would otherwise be impossible however it also allows the ability to control beings by entering into their system. This allows the player to use that creature’s abilities to their own advantage, such as flight and climbing. The form however is limited to the amount of moisture within the immediate environment and the Godai will lose its form quickly should no source of moisture or water is around it. Controlling a creature drains it of its moisture, leaving nothing but an empty and dry husk.

By utilizing these elements and their strengths, the Godai will be able to overcome both the environmental challenges as well as the enemies which stand in its way.

Example:

The area is deep within the jungles, plenty of fallen trees as evidence of a recent struggle. The exit, which is a tiny hole in the face of the mountain, is covered by thick vines, fire seems the only solution to get past. The area has suffered a recent heavy rain, puddles of water scatter the ground and there is no present fire in the area. There is however a cluster of stones and dirt which has somehow been untouched by the rain.

Solution:

The Godai absorbs the stones, becoming the Stone Tyrant, and then moves toward the scattered trees. Using its slam move, the Stone Tyrant creates sparks which light the tree on fire and starts a steady flame. The Godai then touches the flame and becomes the Pyre Storm, igniting and using the remaining trees as fuel, the Pyre maneuvers past the puddles and toward the vines. Touching the vines, they burst into flames and leaves the hole intact. Returning to one of the puddles, the Godai becomes the Serpent and then seamlessly moves through the exit.

This is just an example of a puzzle involved within the game. I will put up a visual reference of this later on.