The following document contains the revised designs of ‘Sonar Escape’. After considering the valuable feedback received in our creative pitch and design presentation, we present our final design in this document.

Team

Each person who is labelled ‘Developer’ or ‘Artist’ will be assisting a lead in their field.

Game Description

An underwater exploration game in the depths of the Indian Ocean where the goal is to find the lost treasure of Flor de la Mar, a 16^th-century Portuguese ship that had been shipwrecked. Play as Chloe, a treasure finder who has taken up the challenge to find the most valuable item of the treasure, the Florentine Diamond. All she has is her submarine, two sonars with different frequencies and her courage to take onto this difficult task.

Mechanics

The heart of this game lies in exploring our level. Apart from basic movement mechanics of the submarine, the unique mechanic we offer are two sonars:

• Low Frequency Sonar: Used to aid the exploration of the player. This sonar has a longer range but fails to give player precise information. Instead, if the player hits the sonar in a ‘location of interest’ (more on that in our level design), the location will start glowing. This will indicate to the player that the particular is an area worth exploring.
• High Frequency Sonar: The high frequency sonar has very poor range but gives the player precise information. Once the player is in a ‘location of interest’, they can use the high frequency sonar in that area and if it hits a point near an ‘item of interest’ (more on that in our level design), that item will emit a 3D directional audio which will guide the player to its exact location.

Dynamics

Usually, games try to create a feeling of reward to the player by ‘defeating’ or ‘overcoming’ a difficult task. But in Sonar Escape, the player will feel rewarded by exploration itself. As the player progresses, they find useful ‘items of interest’ that help them progress.

Aesthetics

It should be clear that we are making an underwater exploration game and thus we are trying to design an ocean. We are going for a realistic ocean with ‘fantastical locations and items of interest’. What that means is even though the ocean might look realistic, it will have some locations that are ‘magical’. The best way to understand this is to think of the Uncharted Games. The settings in Uncharted indeed are realistic forests and mountains but they contain things that defy the laws of physics.

Character Design

The player plays as a submarine. The player will be only controlling and using this submarine to explore the map and interact with various points of interest. Here are some initial designs:

Movement

Here are some basic bindings:

Other Level Assets

We will just list the other important assets and their brief descriptions. The purpose of each item can be found in our Gameplay section:

• Florentine Diamond – Our main treasure that we are looking for. 
• Aurora's Vault - The locked box containing the diamond

• Luminary Key (1) – The first half of the key that opens Aurora’s Vault.
• Luminary Key (2) – The second half of the key that opens Aurora’s Vault.
• Sonar Transducer – Used to upgrade the Sonar which will produce ultrasonic sound. This will be used to ‘drive away the sharks that are surrounding the treasure box.

NPCs

We don’t plan on having that many NPCs. The animals and fish will just be serving an aesthetic purpose. That being said, sharks will be surrounding Aurora’s Vault, when the player first reaches it.

Level Design

The Entire Level will serve as one big puzzle. The idea is that the player will have to explore the entire map to finish the game. What this means is that even if the player finds the treasure in one minute by taking a lucky turn, it won’t matter as the player will need to visit all the ‘location of interests’ and collect all ‘items of interests’ to collect the treasure.

Let’s finally discuss what these locations and items of ‘interest’ are.

Locations of Interest

1. Sunburst Trench – An area in the center of the map where Aurura’s Vault will be sitting on the ocean floor. When the player first visits this area, it will be surrounded by sharks.
   1. Low Frequency Sonar Interaction: If the player launches uses the low frequency sonar and it hits this area, the surrounding flora and fauna will start glowing ‘Golden’ - indicating this might be an area that is worth exploring.
2. Marine Grotto (Cave 1) – A cave on the left side of the map that will contain Luminary Key (1).
   1.  Low Frequency Sonar Interaction: If the player launches uses the low frequency sonar and it hits this area, the surrounding flora and fauna will start glowing ‘Blue’ - indicating this might be an area that is worth exploring.

3. Suryalok Caverns (Cave 2) – A cave on the right side of the map that will contain Luminary Key (2).

- Low Frequency Sonar Interaction: If the player launches uses the low frequency sonar and it hits this area, the surrounding flora and fauna  will start glowing ‘Green’- indicating this might be an area that is worth exploring.

4. Shipwreck of Flor de la Mar – A shipwreck on the bottom of the map that will contain the Sonar Transducer. No Low frequency sonar interaction as the shipwreck should clearly indicate it is something worth exploring.

Here is a gif explaining what emitting the low frequency hits a ‘location of interest’ (before and after):

Music and Sound Design

The sound effects in Sonar Escape immerse players in the aquatic wonder of the Indian Ocean. The mystical sonar emits ethereal pulses that change in frequency and intensity, providing crucial visual and auditory cues to unveil hidden artefacts. As players navigate through the depths, the ambient sounds of underwater currents, and the haunting echoes of the underwater creatures create an atmospheric symphony, enhancing the sense of mystery and urgency in Chloe’s quest. A blend of orchestral arrangements and electronic elements captures the grandeur of the vast oceanic landscapes of the Indian Ocean. As players delve deeper into the unknown, the music seamlessly shifts between serene melodies that mirror the beauty of undiscovered realms and tense, pulsating rhythms that heighten the suspense during pivotal moments in Chloe’s quest for the artefacts.

Gameplay

The Gameplay starts by the player entering the top of the map (refer to the level design for reference). Then, the player is free to explore however they want and start by using the low frequency sonar to check if they find a ‘location of interest’. The order of the discovery of these locations and collections of irrelevant item is irrelevant, they can explore and collect in any order they want. But as mentioned above, all locations must be visited once. So the best way to understand the gameplay is not a sequential flow chart but rather a diverging graph like this:

It should be clear that each of the three parts is required to be collected before the treasure is accessible. But in an idea world, this would be the sequence of how the game ‘should’ be played as:

Once again this sequence would be in an idea world but the player can choose to explore and collect things in any order they wish to.

But the question arises, how will the player know what to do with the items it collects. OR rather, how will we guide the player. Since we only have 5 minutes, we need to have a lot of scaffolding. This will be done in forms of dialogues that the user can hear of Mr. Simon, Chole’s Grandfather who is guiding her from the surface. Here is what we mean:

Game Over

The player will be reset to the last checkpoint if he is unable to complete the timed tasks. The three timed tasks we have is:

1.        Going into Marine Grotto and coming back out in 30 seconds.

2.        Going into Suryalok Caverns and coming back out in 30 seconds.

3.        Collecting the treasures and exiting in 30 seconds.

Development Timeline

This is in respect to the appropriate deadlines of the course.