Neogenesis Proposal- from our super-offical DESIGN DOCUMENT

NEOGENESIS
Fantasy/Sci-Fi First-Person Shooter

HIGH CONCEPT
A fantasy/sci-fi shooter set in an alternate history China following a female protagonist whose abilities grow stronger as she harnesses the powers of biotechnology.
GAME OVERVIEW
The story of Neogenesis takes place in a lost kingdom in Ancient China called Shangxi, in the modern day Gansu region, with advanced technology, ruled under a ruthless dictator named Liu Gui. You play as Mei, who has been injected with a Neogenesis serum by her father before he was captured by Liu Gui’s army for disobeying his order to make weapons of war. The Neogenesis serum gave Mei the ability to give life to other living beings- as well as to absorb it to gain life herself.
Mei is raised by her uncle, Chang, in remote Guilin province, but word of her abilities reaches Liu Gui. Mei and her uncle are captured and sent to a military outpost. During their escape, her uncle is poisoned with ricin. As Mei, you must find the antidote, all the while trying to piece together the mystery of what became of her brilliant father, who has been captured and been imprisoned in Liu Gui’s palace. In the process, you will explore farflung and exotic locations and battle many formidable enemies, including the feared Liu Gui himself. With the power over life itself, will you use your powers wisely or give in to the temptation to use it with wrath, vengeance, and for darker purposes?
DESIGN OBJECTIVES
These three items are the foundation the game is built on.
-RICH, IMMERSIVE, OPEN ENVIRONMENTS
The environments in the game should be distinct from each other, be absolutely beautiful, and most importantly be open spaces that the player can explore- with plenty of surprises around every corner.
-PLAYER HAS THE ABILITY TO CHOOSE STYLE OF COMBAT AND PLAY
The player should have the ability to choose between using their Neogenesis ability or melee or ranged weapons- enemies should encourage a variety of gameplay possibilities, and suggest certain possibilities as being more favorable as certain times, but ultimately the way the player chooses to play is key. Similarly, level design should not be strictly linear and should be as open world as feasibly possible within the constraints of the project.

- CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AS CENTRAL FOCUS OF DESIGN
The player should identify with Mei, and there should be enough contextual clues in gameplay and in the environment that tell us who Mei is as a person. The player should feel a connection with the character, and understand her and her motives. Mei must have depth of emotion and seem human.

GAMES TO LOOK AT: Bioshock, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess , Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker, Too Human, the Lara Croft series of games, Half Life 1 &2, Hellgate: London

KEY FEATURES
-A variety of enemies based on ancient Chinese lore but infused with futuristic/steampunk technology
-A number of interesting, diverse environments the player can explore
-NPCs who refer to the player and reference key events
- Neogenesis ability to absorb life or heal
- Melee combat: kicking, punching
-Ranged combat: crossbow, compound bow, hand cannon, matchlock, soul devourer (plasma gun)
- Use of companion NPC “Howin”- a pet Microraptor that can access things out of reach of the player.
- Elements in gameplay, character animations, and in environment that give clues to Mei’s backstory, personality, and other aspects of character development.
- Ability to purchase upgrades to weapons, or make them using Uncle Chang
- Steady level ramping: difficulty proceeds as a steady pace; pacing should not be erratic.
- Puzzle mini-games to extend game play beyond shooting and combat

GAMEPLAY SUMMARY
(This represents an idealized view of what the game could be like; of course, certain features may not be possible given our resources)
A run-and-gun style shooter, you play as Mei running through both interior and exterior maps that reflect a hybridization of ancient Chinese style and a cyberpunk future. You run through the levels, constantly aware of the danger of enemies popping up from allies or even dropping down from above. You need quick reflexes and a calm nerve to put down these fierce adversaries- ranging from mechanical golems to human warriors.
You may combat these adversaries in one of three ways: melee- punching and kicking in a basic martial arts style. This is not a powerful attack, but is useful at close range; ranged weaponry- ranging from crossbows to guns to hand cannons, each weapon has its own unique stats (some are better suited at closer range, some are more powerful, etc etc); and Neogenesis ability- you can absorb your adversary’s life to heal yourself and deal damage to your opponent at a penalty to your energy level.
When using ranged weaponry, you can zoom in for greater accuracy and penetrating power (more damage) in your shots. A crosshair symbol will appear on the screen when you are zoomed in. You may also free-aim your shots, in which case there will be a circle on your screen, representing the range of your shot. This will result in a less accurate, less powerful attack, but you may be able to attack quicker using this shoot-from-the-hip method.
Your energy level effects how powerful your attacks are. At full energy, you deal 100% damage in melee and ranged attacks. At no energy, all attacks are diminished to 25% power, and you will be unable to use your Neogenesis ability until you have regained at least a third of your energy back.
In exterior levels, you may be given the option to ride a horse to cover more ground. You can do this by approaching the horse, and selecting the mount option. A horse allows you to travel 50% faster, but you cannot zoom in while shooting while on horseback, melee, or perform your Neogenesis ability.
There are a number of available pick-ups: bandages for health, spring water and tea for regaining energy, gold amulet charms that boost your Neogenesis ability, and “dragon teeth” that give you increased attack power (10%) for 2 minutes. You can also obtain, from the environment, ammo and other weapons, as well as upgrades for existing weaponry. Certain other miscellaneous in-environment items can also be gathered to create new weaponry.
As you continue through the levels, you will need to keep an eye out for clues necessary to advancing the storyline. There will be puzzles to solve, and in-game contextual clues to the larger story going on. Not everything you need may be in reach, however. You may need to use your trusted companion, Howin, to access things in roof rafters, in trees, or in small otherwise inaccessible areas. You will be prompted by the game when there is something of interest to investigate, with camera pans or a button prompt.
NPCs in the game will also comment on the events in the storyline, and react to you based on this fact.
Every so often, you will receive advice from Uncle Chang as to what your objectives are, or what you may need to know to solve a puzzle or access another part of the level. You will encounter Uncle Chang periodically in the game, at positioned save points, where you will be given the option to either upgrade weapons, purchase bandages, charms, or tea, or create new weaponry from items you have collected.
At the end of each level, you will encounter a boss you need to defeat to complete the objective. These bosses will be more powerful than typical opponents, and will be accompanied by other enemies or usual power and strength. It will take a careful management of health and energy, as well as equipment, to defeat these bosses. They may need to be defeated using some aspect of the environment that will weaken or destroy them.