Personas (Fifth Sun)

Fifth Sun...I wonder who would (hopefully) play it.


Amy

Amy is interested in Fifth Sun because it's hard. She's beaten other games (100%ed a couple of the more interesting ones) and needs something new to gnaw on. She's pleased with the NewGame+ feature.

Aesthetic: Challenge.
Plays: Binding of Isaac, Hotline Miami, Diablo.
Wants: Complexity and depth in mechanics. Amy plays for long stretches aiming to master something.
Does not want: Linearity. She doesn't want her hand held.
Play style: Practice, improvise.


Richard

Richard picks up Fifth Sun for the blood. He's eager to grab the weird looking sword and hack some funny-dressed guys to pieces. Richard is initially less interested in Fifth Sun's abilities and more into familiar violence with weapons, but eventually makes use of a couple he finds amusing. He doesn't finish the game, nor any game, and merely plays until he tires or until he must return to work.

Aesthetic: Sense-pleasure, competition, perhaps abnegation.
Plays: Gauntlet, Binding of Isaac, Bloody Streets, Streets of Rage.
Wants: Competition. Richard wants immediate, visceral action and graphic violence. Plays in shorter sessions, but occasionally stays up all night playing.
Does not want: Context, story, over-complexity.
Play style: Improvise.


Eugene

Eugene bought Fifth Sun for the story. He enjoys the historical context, and maybe even did some research to see how accurate the Spanish uniforms and Aztec weapons are. Eugene is playing, not to progress in the game, but to see more of the world and further his understanding of the story. Eugene finishes games, but only for end-game story.

Aesthetic: Narrative.
Plays: Hotline Miami, Binding of Isaac, Path of Exile, Diablo.
Wants: A living, breathing environment, with context and deeper meaning. Eugene is digging for the rich, implicitly told stories, and the conversation that comes with.
Does not want: Eugene isn't looking for excessively pleasing gameplay, but would be bothered by ludonarrative-dissonance.
Play style: Plan/improvise.

Meta - Making Games.

Games are made, and unmade, with dreaming. There must be enough vision and substance to engage, yet the extreme limits of time/money/deadline are like the sun melting the wax wings of over-ambition. So what do we do?

We think about George Washington (or rather, the painting The Athenaeum).

The Athenaeum by Gilbert Stuart

There's a reason this painting is the most famous portrait of Washington, and not a halfhearted attempt forgotten in time. I don't know the reason but here's what we can learn about game design:

1. Identify the Fun. Figure out what is most important. This is a synthesis of what-you-do-best and what-people-like-most. In terms of the painting, this is the face. Were there a better background or shirt texture, no matter how good, the painting would be forgotten because people were looking for Washington's face.

2. Identify the core features in the Fun. What must be there? What isn't essential? What would be nice?

3. Build around the Fun. Just like in the painting, construct the most important elements first. Less essential features then insulate the core. Should time or money give out at some point, only progressively more trivial elements are lost. Most people don't think of the incomplete-ness of the painting, their focus is on the parts that did work.

Combat (Minimum Viable Fifth Sun)

Fifth Sun

Minimum Viable Product

The city of Tenochtitlan is under attack from the Spanish: fight!

Combat

Weapons

• Macuahuitl - a razor lined bat dealing damage in a 120º arc.
  
• Tepoztopilli - a spear which reaches further than the Macuahuitl but to a single point.
  
• Shield - blocks in one of four cardinal directions.
  
• Boleadoras - the bolas can be thrown to incapacitate an enemy for a short period of time.
  
• Atlatl and dart - darts can pierce through multiple enemies, but over a short distance. 
  
• Bow and arrow - arrows travel further than darts, but cannot pass through enemies.
  
• Dagger - the dagger is a unique weapon: it has no level and cannot be improved and deals zero damage to unimpaired enemies. However, should the player find an incapacitated enemy (either caught in boleadoras or hit by specific abilities), the dagger will grant additional blood with the kill (as long as the player is not interrupted through the longer kill animation).
  

Weapon Leveling
Each weapon begins at level 0, and can be improved with each kill. When multiple weapons are used to kill an enemy, the weapon which did the most damage is awarded the kill.

Abilities

The Gods grant you their power, but only if you've spilled enough blood. Each enemy the player kills spills blood, and increases the blood meter. Filling the blood meter grants the player a level and a point, which can be used to unlock abilities.

But levels and unlock points are finite, the player can only attain 35 levels, so one much use their unlocks with care.

• First ability of branch - 1 point
• Second ability of branch - 2 points
• Third ability of branch - 3 point
• Fourth (highest ability and only unlocked after all other abilities of the branch have been unlocked) - 5 points and qualification to be named later

The ability's power is based on player level and as such, abilities do not level. Abilities consume mana, which regenerates after time.

Inventory System 

Weapons and abilities are represented on the equip screen as tiles. The player begins the game with two active slots for tiles, i.e. primary attack and secondary attack, and two inactive slots for further tiles, i.e. primary space and secondary space. Tiles placed in the space slots can be swapped into combat using the quick select buttons. Further space slots are unlocked over the course of the game, allowing players to construct different combinations and permutations to their liking.

GUI

• Health Bar - Displays player health. Health does not regenerate.
• Mana Bar - Displays player mana. Abilities require mana; mana returns after time.
• Blood Meter - Functions as an experience bar. The blood meter shows how close the player is to their next level up, and also their current level.
• Primary and Secondary Weapons - Shows which weapons or abilities are equipped, and if weapons, the level of each weapon.

Enemies

Spanish

• Soldier - The most basic enemy: lightly armored and with simple AI. Soldiers carry swords, crossbows, or pikes, depending on their level. Soldiers attack on sight.
  
• Conquistador - Conquistadors have the heaviest armor and either use a sword or a mace.
  
• Commander - Commanders
  
• Brute
  
• Cortes - Cortes is the main antagonist, and is a recurring boss fight. Cortes has a shield, sword and flintlock pistol.
  

Tlaxcala - an indigenous tribe allied with the Spanish. Tlaxcala are weaker than the Spanish, but faster and harder to hit.

• Scout - carries a dagger.
• Archer - fires a bow.
• Brute - carries a sword.