Tumbleweed Troubles

Conctrols:

WASD to move

Hold LMB to shoot

Original Game concept:

Title: "Tumbleweed Troubles: The Misadventures of Silly Cowboy Sam"

 Overview:

Concept statement:

In the dust filled, sun-scorched desert of the Wild West, players step into the spurred boots of Silly Cowboy Sam, a legendary gunslinger with a peculiar quirk; he’s convinced that tumbleweed and cacti are his sworn foe.

 In this outrageous shooter players attempt to take down endless waves trying to rid his home of his nemesis.

 

Genre or category of game:

Top-down shooter – Top-down shooters can be an easy game style for the average player to enjoy.

Western – The setting will be a western inspired desert.

Comedy – it is a spoof of the classic serious western genre.

Pick up and play – The game will be a wave-based game with players attempting to survive for as long as possible, there is no story to follow so it is easy for someone to play even one round and stop until the next time they have some free time to quench their thirst for a bit of fun.

 

Concept Creation process:

 I've taken inspiration from some great sources for my game concept. Games like "The Binding of Isaac (6)" and "(4)Enter the Gungeon" have influenced my choice of a top-down shooter style. Their easy-to-pick-up gameplay and non-realistic approach make them enjoyable for casual play.

 Additionally, "The Ridiculous 6 (7)" movie, with its comedic take on the western genre, has also been a big influence on my concept.

 While doing the tutorials in class, the tile system and overall feel of the top-down shooter had a large hand at inspiring this concept, as when going through it I had lots of thoughts of how I could implement what I was learning into my own game.  

Audience and competitive analysis:

 Target customer

The intended audience of this game would be the casual gamers of all ages. The game will be an easy to start game with low level of knowledge needed to start playing.

 Brotato (2): While both games may feature large hordes of enemies, "Tumbleweed Troubles" distinguishes itself with its Wild West setting and comedic approach. Players will enjoy the absurdity of battling against tumbleweeds and cacti, offering a fresh and unconventional take on the genre.

 Go Mecha Ball (5): While "Go Mecha Ball" and "Tumbleweed Troubles" both involve combating waves of enemies, they offer vastly different experiences. "Go Mecha Ball" focuses on fast-paced, futuristic robot combat, whereas "Tumbleweed Troubles" offers a slightly slower-paced comedic spin on the genre. One of the key differences is the setting and will be completely dependent on player preference.

 Vampire Survivors (3): Although both games feature hordes of enemies, "Tumbleweed Troubles" distinguishes itself with its Wild West theme and focus on humour. While "Vampire Survivors" offers a dark and atmospheric experience, "Tumbleweed Troubles" provides light-hearted fun with its quirky premise and comedic elements.

Unique selling points (USPs)

Although they all have completely different styles and game feel “Brotato”, “Go Mecha ball” and “Vampire Survivors” are all quite like the gameplay style tumbleweed troubles will try to implement, with large hordes of enemies at a time. They all have completely different backstories and styles which means “Tumbleweed Troubles” will be able to differentiate itself.

 By combining a mixture of top-down shooter, horde like enemies and a wild west theme tumbleweed trouble will stand out from its competitors as a fresh look on the genres.

Game Treatment

 Setting/Game world:

 Tumbleweed Troubles will be played out in a desert plain on the outskirts of Sam’s hometown. This will be made up with a tile system including a plain desert style background so the player can focus on the gameplay. There will be some obstacles (e.g. rocks with a basic collider and snakes with a tripwire which will deal damage to the player if collided with) to add a bit of difficulty to the game.  There will be a border of the game world like the walls of the tutorial 8-15 game, however, will be made up of rocks.

 

Mechanics overview:

 Tumbleweed troubles will have single player with eight-way movement, with a revolver to shoot. This will be upgradable to a shotgun with a pickup. 

 The goal of the game will be to get the highest score possible by eliminating enemies. The enemies will be randomly spawned. The difficulty will increase over time with more enemies being spawned at an incrementally faster rate.

 The player will have a health bar which will be deteriorated by colliding with the tumbleweeds which will have an array of prefabs with different movement scripts. The cacti will also be spawned in random spots in the map less often and be static with a collider which will damage the player if touched.

 The game will include an experimental combination of self-recorded audio and audio found online. There will be an overall backing track for the game along with audio for things such as gunshots, enemies getting hit and the player getting hit.

Concept Art:

 (sample background created and posted on newgrounds.com by artist: ShippuKirifuda ) (1)

 

 

 (Gameplay of Brotato) (2)

 

References

(1)  ShippuKirifuda. “WIP Top-down Desert.” Newgrounds.com, 10 Aug. 2022, www.newgrounds.com/art/view/shippukirifuda/wip-top-down-desert. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.

(2) Blobfish. “Brotato on Steam.” Store.steampowered.com, 23 June 2023, store.steampowered.com/app/1942280/Brotato/.

 (3) poncle. “Vampire Survivors on Steam.” Store.steampowered.com, 21 Oct. 2022, store.steampowered.com/app/1794680/Vampire_Survivors/. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.

 (4) Dodge Roll. “Enter the Gungeon on Steam.” Steampowered.com, 5 Apr. 2016, store.steampowered.com/app/311690/Enter_the_Gungeon/. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

(5) Whale Peak Games. “Go Mecha Ball on Steam.” Store.steampowered.com, 26 Jan. 2024, store.steampowered.com/app/2008510/Go_Mecha_Ball/. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.

(6) Edmund McMillen, Florian Himsl. “The Binding of Isaac on Steam.” Steampowered.com, 11 Sept. 2011, store.steampowered.com/app/113200/The_Binding_of_Isaac/. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.

(7) Herlihy, Tim, and Adam Sandler. “The Ridiculous 6.” IMDb, 11 Dec. 2015, www.imdb.com/title/tt2479478/. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.