This here is just a little wiki so that I can write my ideas down. This will most likely be terminated as soon as Top Secret starts.
Top Secret Project -> FREE RUNNING game Jump'n'Run
Short Description of the concept
Jump'n'Run is a MMO racing game in 3D showcasing the Free Running sport. Up to 6 players race against each other in an urban enviroment.
What is Free Running?
Free Running is a sport originating out of the Parkour movement. The biggest difference is that while Parkour focuses on efficiency, Free Running is more about aesthetics. As an example you'll never see a Traceur, which is the name for somebody practicing the Parkour sport, do a flip, because this is not efficient when you want to go from A to B in the shortest possible time. In Free Running, Flips are more or less common.
Therefore this game is going to be a Free Running game because it'll enable players to do spectacular moves and even encourage them to do so, by giving them bonuses.
Basic Gameplay Outline
The basic moves of the player character are running, jumping, rolling and climbing. The character can also do sprints by holding down a button which depletes the stamina bar. While sprinting the character is faster and can jump farther. Stamina can be recovered by running (very slow), walking (slow) or standing still(fast). There will be gaps which can only be jumped while sprinting, therefore the players are advised to not waste their stamina, adding some strategy to the game.
While jumping players can do a wide variety of moves, most of which are cosmetic, but some that actually benefit the player if executed right. For example, a character in mid-air could stretch their arms and assume a straight position with the whole body extended. This way, the character could possibly reach a ledge, that's normally too far away. But if such jump was executed in the wrong moment, for example at a rather short gap, the character would land badly and lose some momentum. Other jumps would be several variations of a normal jump, including flips and rotations and jumps using obstacles i.e. wall jump.
The third basic move, rolling, would mostly be used after a jump. When pressing the right button during landing, the character does a forward roll. This way he can save the momentum from a jump and transfer it into running power. Players not doing that roll would possibly have to regain their balance after a jump and therefore not be able to continue immediately with running. The roll could also be used to roll under an obstacle.
The last basic move invovles climbing and associated techniques, like grabbing a ledge and pulling yourself up.
Game modes
Racing
- Standard race/ Team standard race
The basic race mode would involve people racing from A to B on a predefined route.
- Checkpoint race / Team checkpoint race
Several checkpoints are placed on the map. People have to reach every checkpoint in order to finish but they are able to choose the route.
- Free race / Team free race
Just the starting and ending point are defined. Compared to checkpoint races this one gives the players even more freedom when it comes to choosing a route.
Non-racing
Tag
One person is "it" and has to tag the other players. For best experience levels should be somehow limited. Also there should be a time limit.
- Tag
The game continues until the time runs out. The person that has been "it" for the least amount of time wins.
- Assimilation Tag
Anybody tagged becomes assimilated meaning the player becomes "it", but the first tagger stays "it", too. Game can be won by either tagging all the players in which case the player with the most tags becomes the winner, or when the time runs out. In this case every untagged player wins.
