GDD

Title: This is Restful

Genre: Puzzle/Adventure

Target Audience: 10+

Concept

The player is trapped in the dream world and must complete a series of jumping puzzles to escape. 

Game Flow

The player must hop to different platforms to get statues in the right position. After the statues move to the target platforms the player will be teleported to the next level. The levels will get progressively more difficult, with added traps and obstacles. 

Look/Feel

The game will be pixelated like the video games of the past. There will be lots of purple and blue usage for the dreamworld. 

Story + Setting

You are going on an adventure and come across a strange building with a door that's shaped like a bed. When you enter the building, you start to feel very tired. You try to fight it, but sleep beckons to you. When you wake up, you find yourself in a strange room.  After a few seconds you realize that the room is very similar to the one you were in.  You try to leave but it looks like the door you came from has disappeared. In fact, there are no doors or windows in the entire room! You lean on one of the walls trying to figure out who to get yourself out of this nightmare that you have found yourself in. 

Just then bright light starts enveloping you.  As you cover your eyes a loud angelic voice speaks to you. "Welcome to the Dreamgeon, this is a dungeon filled with traps and other obstacles. Hidden in this place you will find the Dreamband. It will give you more control over the dreamworld you have found yourself in and allow you to escape." After this speech, a door appears ahead of you. With only one option to choose from, you head for the door.

Game Conflict

You found yourself in a dreamy dungeon, you have a choice to make. You can either follow what the mysterious voice in your dream told you to do, for a chance to get your hands on the Dreamband.  Or you can forever be stuck in this nightmare. Should you choose to traverse through the dungeon, you will have to watch out for traps as you solve puzzles.

Game Mechanics

Every Level:

Statues - The statues each start on a random platform. They move when the player moves. One of them will move in the same direction as the player and the other will move in the opposite direction. They can jump onto the player resulting in the player's death. After which the player must start the level from the beginning.

Platforms - The player and the statues will jump across the platforms.

Target Platforms - The statues must land on these platforms to progress the game.

Hazards 

fire bar - these will spin around, sometimes over platforms. If the player jumps on the flames or if the flames touch the player, they will get burned and jump to a random platform. The Statues will not move when this happens.

Ice Platforms - Depending on the direction that the player jumps from. When the player lands, they will slide to the opposite side of the platform and immediately jump to the next platform.  The statues will move accordingly when this happens. 

Rotating Platforms - These platforms will rotate, potentially causing the player to jump to a platform that they didn't want to. 

Lasers - These can fire over multiple platforms in a straight line. They can be turned off and on by the switches/buttons. When a player touches one, the player dies and has to start the level over again.

Switches/Buttons - These will turn certain hazards off and on when you jump on them.

Character Controls

The player can move in the 4 cardinal directions on a 2d plane. When they press an arrow key the player character will automatically jump across to the platform directly ahead of the side that the player is jumping from.  The player cannot jump diagonally. If a switch is on a platform, it will become activated or deactivated once the player lands on the platform. Once the player interacts with the switch, they can't interact with the switch again until they leave the platform. If there isn't another platform to jump to, the player won't jump.

Gameplay Experience

    The game doesn't have an intricate story; the synopsis of the game will probably be told in the text at the beginning of the game.  Similar to games like the original Legend of Zelda, the story will be told in a small passage that scrolls out of the screen. At the end of the final puzzle, the player will find the Dream Band. Upon picking the item up, the game will end right after the player reads a final small set of text boxes.  Text boxes will usually be seen after and before a level. The text is mostly used to teach the player the mechanics of the game. The game will feel more like an obstacle course as the game progresses because there will be more obstacles as you get further into the dungeon.