Forky's Pallet Panic Game Design Document

Game Design Document for Forky's Pallet Panic

Title: Forky's Pallet Panic

Developers: Ikhan Games

Date: June 30th, 2024

Table of Contents

1. Game Overview

A take on block puzzles where the player shuffles cargo around a loading dock for several premade levels. The levels come in different styles; time trials, score runs, and pure puzzles.

Casual gamers, slide puzzle, and general puzzle enthusiasts.

PC

2. Gameplay

Basic Gameplay: Players control a cartoonish forklift in a series of puzzle challenges. The main mechanism is to scoop up pallets and move them around the level. Crates can be stacked and various mechanisms of levels like loading zones, color-coded shelves, and conveyors.

Menus are navigable with basic mouse interactions. WASD or arrow keys control the forklift's movements while the spacebar controls the height of the forks and any cargo they're holding.

• Time Trial: Complete a set goal in the shortest time.


• Score Runs: Load the most cargo in a set period of time.


• Pure Puzzles: Move the cargo to the designated area in the lowest number of moves.

• Main Menu: Options for Play, Settings, and Exit.


• Level Select Menu: Displays the unlocked levels, highest score achieved.


• Levels: Minimal UI for tracking time, score, and/or pallets remaining.

3. Story and Characters

Each level has a brief mini-narrative setup over the warehouse intercom but for the most part, this is a puzzle game, not narrative required.

• Forky: The player character that is used to reposition pallets.


• Foreman: The voice behind the warehouse intercom, the foreman provides context on each level.

4. World and Level Design

The entire game takes place on the warehouse floor, while the layout changes between levels. Cargo is brought in or already present on the floor.

• Loading Zones: Painted areas on the warehouse floor where pallets must be placed.


• Unloading Zones: Painted areas on the warehouse floor where pallets are initially set.


• Delivery station: Conveyors that move pallets in and/or out of the warehouse.


• Shelves: Color-coded cargo shelves with several levels.

5. Art and Aesthetics

A simple vector graphic style for all the menus and various sprites. Because there are a limited number of animations, I should be able to manage alone without an external artist. The game area is top-down with allowances for differentiating height levels of objects, particularly pallets.

• Forky: An average counterbalance forklift, simplified in terms of detail and animation.


• Foreman: Defined primarily through dialog boxes and the intercom placed in the corner of every level.


• Pallets: A variety of wood crates and pallets with various skins.


• Shelves: Color-coded, multi-level shelves for storing pallets.


• Conveyors: Mechanical conveyor belts that connect to a wall outlet and divide levels.

6. Audio

A set of industrial noises mixed together into an instrument arrangement for a few different tracks. I'm hoping to dig into audio enough to do something more elaborate with the time trial levels.

• Forky: A low engine noise and a set of mechanical noises linked to the lift mechanism.


• Foreman: A mix of loudspeaker noises mixed to resemble speech.


• Conveyor: Since the conveyors will activate on an interval, a conveyor sound effect will play each time.

Not Applicable

7. Technical Specifications

Unity

• PC:
  
  
  
  • Minimum: T.B.D
  
  
  • Recommended: T.B.D
  
  
  
  

The coding of the conveyors, probably not a full-blown challenge but should be interesting nonetheless. The vector graphics will be a new foray for me personally.

8. Production Plan

• Pre-Production: _ weeks (Concept, design, planning)


• Production: _ weeks (Development, asset creation)


• Testing: _ weeks (QA, bug fixing, polishing)


• Launch: _ weeks (Release prep, release)

• Estimated total: $0.00 (T.B.D)


• Sources: Self-funded.

Solo Development

9. Marketing Plan

Casual gamers with interests in puzzle and time challenges from the arcade era.

T.B.D