3 Degrees

1. Genre and Features

• Genre: 2D Narrative Survival

• Core Features:

  • Climate Change Reality: Immerse players in a meticulously crafted world grappling with the full consequences of climate change, presenting unique environmental challenges.

  • Survival Simulation: Players must actively manage essential needs: securing clean water, finding sustainable food sources, and constructing and maintaining safe shelter against harsh and unpredictable conditions.

  • Disaster Prediction and Preparation: An advanced technology system provides forecasts for impending natural disasters, requiring players to strategically plan for evacuation or resource stockpiling to survive these critical events.

  • Narrative Focus: A compelling storyline will unfold, exploring the human impact of climate change and the experiences of climate refugees, fostering empathy and understanding.

  • Exploration and Discovery: Players will navigate a dynamic world, uncovering resources, encountering other survivors (potentially), and learning more about the altered environment.

  • Choice and Consequence: Meaningful decisions regarding resource management, shelter construction, and interaction with the environment will directly impact the player's survival and the unfolding narrative.

2. Inspirations

• Plasticity: Inspired by its setting in a climate change-affected world, but aiming for a more grounded and challenging survival experience rather than a puzzle-solving focus.

• Project Zomboid: Drawing inspiration from its deep survival mechanics, including the importance of resource management, shelter maintenance, and the impact of character traits on the gameplay experience within a hostile environment.

3. Differentiation

• Unpredictable Environment as a Core Mechanic: Unlike the static threats of zombies, 3 Degrees leverages the dynamic and unpredictable nature of a climate-changed environment as a central gameplay challenge. This includes fluctuating weather patterns, resource scarcity influenced by environmental shifts, and the constant threat of natural disasters.

• Emphasis on Exploration of the Unknown: Players will be pushed to venture into unfamiliar territories to secure vital resources, facing the inherent risks and uncertainties of a world drastically altered by climate change. The consequences of daily choices on long-term survival will be a key element.

• Narrative Exploration of Climate Change Realities: 3 Degrees distinguishes itself by its explicit focus on the human stories and societal implications of climate change. The narrative aims to provide players with a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by climate refugees and the potential realities of a world profoundly impacted by environmental shifts.

4. Tools

• Game Engine: Game Maker Studio2

• Art Creation: Paint 3D, Piskel, Photopea

• Art and Music Assets: Open-source assets with proper attribution.

5. Primary Player Verbs

• Choose: Make critical decisions regarding resource allocation, shelter construction, exploration routes, and responses to environmental events.

• Explore: Traverse the game world to discover resources, potential shelter locations, and unravel the narrative.

• Collect: Gather essential resources such as water, food, and materials necessary for survival and crafting.

6. Player Goals

• Short-Term Goal: Secure enough potable water to survive the immediate next day.

• Medium-Term Goal: Establish a reliable and self-sustaining source of food (e.g., a small garden, trapping system).

• Long-Term Goal: Accumulate sufficient supplies and fortify a shelter to withstand a major hurricane, or gather the necessary resources for a potential long-distance migration to a safer zone.

7. Player Experience

• Empathy: Players will hopefully develop a sense of empathy for individuals and communities currently and potentially affected by the realities of climate change through the challenges they face in the game.

• Tenacious: The harsh and unforgiving environment should inspire players to persevere and strive for survival against overwhelming odds, fostering a sense of resilience.

• Existential Dread: The unpredictable nature of the environment and the player's limited control over large-scale events should create a sense of unease and uncertainty, reflecting the precariousness of life in this new reality.

8. Novelty and Interest (Rules of Play Schemas)

• Play Schema: 3 Degrees aligns with the Play schema by creating a social experience (albeit with the environment as the primary antagonist) that evokes a feeling of being out of control. Players are constantly reacting to unpredictable environmental events and have limited direct influence over these forces, leading to emergent gameplay and a sense of vulnerability.

• Culture Schema: The game strongly resonates with the Culture schema through its setting in a post-climate change world. It directly comments on the potential future shaped by current environmental trends, allowing players to engage with a scenario that has significant real-world context and relevance. The game explores the tangible consequences of human actions on the environment and the resulting societal shifts.

9. Content Requirements

• Start Screen:

  • Art (Title screen, background)

  • Button (Start Game, Options, etc.)

• Cut Scene Introduction:

  • Art (Illustrations depicting the world's state)

  • Script for transitions (Text and potentially voice-over)

• Character Controls:

  • Art (Player sprite)

  • Animations (Movement, interactions)

  • Player Control script (Movement, interaction logic)

• Environment:

  • Art (Tilesets, backgrounds, environmental features)

  • Map design (Layout of the game world)

  • Environment objects to interact with (Resource nodes, shelter locations)

  • Disaster effects (Visual and potentially gameplay changes during events)

  • Day/Night Cycle (Visual and gameplay implications)

  • Time System (Tracking in-game time)

• UI:

  • Player health display

  • Supplies system:

    • Tracking the amount of supplies (Water, food, materials)

    • Displaying current amounts

    • Interaction prompts for collecting supplies

• Music:

  • Background music (Ambient tracks to set the tone)

• SFX/VFX:

  • Sound effects for collecting items

  • Visual and auditory feedback for reaching goals

10. Development Timeline (Estimated)

• Overall: 48 Hours

  • Art (10 Hours):

    • Creating, Sourcing, and Implementing:

      • Character Art

      • Environment Art

      • UI Assets

  • Design (10 Hours):

    • Designing the survival mechanics

    • Designing World timeline

    • Designing Map

    • Designing UX flow

  • Programming (20 Hours):

    • Player controls

    • Environment/Weather System

    • UI interactions

    • Collection system

  • Music (3 Hours):

    • Sourcing and Implementing background music and specific SFX

  • Testing (5 Hours):

    • Writing test cases

    • Executing test cases

11. Scope Reduction Strategy

If development falls behind schedule, the following scope reduction strategies will be considered:

• Simplifying Disaster Mechanics: Reducing the complexity and visual intensity of natural disaster events.

• Limiting Resource Variety: Decreasing the number of different types of water and food sources and the methods for obtaining them (e.g., focusing on one primary method for each).

• Reducing Narrative Complexity: Streamlining the storyline and minimizing the number of narrative events or character interactions.

• Smaller Map Size: Limiting the explorable area of the game world.

• Postponing Non-Essential Features: Deferring the implementation of secondary mechanics or features that do not directly impact the core survival loop and narrative.