James Gumboc VFS Portfolio

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GDD: Rap Battle!

Synopsis:

Rap Battle at a base concept is the mix between the rhythm game and RPG genres. Watch yourself be transported into a world where music is not only a part of everyday life, but is also used as your main primary weapon. Travel this fantasy world and make your way back home by defeating those who stop in your path with back and forth verses and rhymes. Thus, a Rap Battle is formed.

Gameplay:

This game is a single player 2D top down turn based RPG with gameplay inspirations from Undertale and old Pokemon games. The map of the game and the main setting is built to be circular with the end game location being at the center of the map. With that in mind, the main RPG aspect of the game will give you numerous options to choose your own path. Giving players the ability to experience the game in different ways for each playthrough despite the direction of the game leading you to the big central location. Players will have the opportunity to talk to NPC, buy items and buy cosmetics. They will also have the chance to make connections with the characters they meet in numerous side quests.

Another RPG aspect is the combat system. This is where the rhythm game aspect comes into play. As this is turn based, you’ll have the option to fight, use items, or flee. The main combat system is divided into two aspects, simple combat and boss fights:

- Simple Combat: This rhythm combat system is reserved for the regular enemies you can find all over the world. It is a single lane type of rhythm game where you wait for the beat to hit the center as they are coming from the sides. The accuracy of your input will determine how much damage you do. This will be indicated by the animation above the input. The enemy will then attack on their turn. This will repeat until you or the enemy is defeated.

- Boss Fights: Boss fights are a lot more complex due to them being bosses. Instead of the one lane format, your attacks will be a 4 lane rhythm game format similar to Guitar Hero. The beats will fall from above and you will have to hit them when they reach the threshold. When bosses take their turn to attack, you will be given the opportunity to dodge their attacks using the prior single lane format. Hitting a perfect during this defensive phase will allow you to parry and redirect the boss attacks back to your opponents.

Controls:

In terms of the RPG aspect of the game, WASD will be the base controls with something like E or Enter being inputs.

With the rhythm game element, base controls will be ASKL.

You will be able to change all your keybinds. This game isn’t meant for controller input.

Player Goals:

Adventure: Enjoy the world! Experience what Harmony (fantasy world setting) has to offer. Find and meet people on the way as music connects you to everyone around you.

Find a way back home: Your main motivation is to get back home to the real world. This incentivises the player to explore and find that route back home. Which will lead to the final city at the center of the map.

Setting:

This game will have two different settings, the first is simply the real world during the 1990s-2000s era. A period of time where rap and pop was (and still is) becoming the dominant genres of music at the time. This will lead into a more fantastical setting with the world known as Harmony. Based on the heavy theme of music, this fantasy world will have many regions that correlate around a theme or genre of music. For example, an arid desert setting could be used to represent themes of the Wild West and Country with the main population centers of that area representing distinct Latin music. Maybe the great castles of the north could represent music that has a very Gothic or Classical theme. Even something as obscure as a Disco Island is possible in the world of Harmony. All of this leads up to the central big city known as Fortissimo, which will be the player’s main end goal. Fortissimo itself is a mega metropolis. Every genre in Harmony coexists there. Like its namesake, everything there is grand.

Story:

You start in the real world. Your player is a simple aspiring artist from the streets. Participating in underground meet ups where you just go out and jam. Until one fateful day, you’re suddenly sucked into a portal that transports you into a different world. A world where music is not only fun, but deadly: Harmony. From there your main objective is to head back home. From there the player is free to explore the world. However, many people will try to stop you. Whether it’s because they’re scared of your type of music, unfamiliar with outsiders, or maybe perhaps a motivation to kill you to hide a big conspiracy, you’ll have to defeat them all to return home.

Character Concepts:

Player:

One specific genre not representative in the fantasy setting is the genre of Rap and Pop. That’s where the player comes in! The reason why these genres are left out of Harmony is both from a gameplay and story perspective. In terms of gameplay, the idea of the game and combat is the concept of a rap battle. This is how the player fights back using their music. From a story and music production standpoint, Rap and pop tend to sample clips from a lot of older work. Remixing them into something new. While these two genres aren’t the only ones that sample other work, they are the most prominent. So with that in mind, the player is someone who brings a new genre to this fantasy world by using the types of music already present and remixing them as original work in order to rap battle their way back home.

The player will get to choose their gender (male, female) at the start, and from there the default appearance will take a lot of inspiration from the real life artists from the time it’s set in the real world. The player will then be given cosmetic options from hair, clothes, hats, etc. to look the way they want to. The player will also be given their trusty mic. The only other object you brought with you as you were transported to Harmony.

Antagonist 1 - The Bounty Hunter:

The Bounty Hunter is an antagonist that reoccurs much in the game. While he’s generally a nice dude, he has a certain code associated with his job and he must abide by it. Thus that is why he’s after you, the player. Someone has hired him to take you out and that sets his path against yours. In terms of appearance, this man has tanned skin and a goatee. Dressed in a dark brown coat and a cowboy hat. With him is his trusty banjo, his main weapon. His main theme is Wild West/Country.

Antagonist 2 - The Conductor:

The Conductor is the second antagonist. She specializes in orchestral music. With her baton, she crushes those beneath them with the might and grandios of a full orchestra. Her role will initially be a thorn on your side. Though as you progress, she will gradually get warmer towards you and help you on your way.

Battle System Concept Art: Simple Combat