GDD

Game Overview

In ancient Greek mythology, Asterion was the name of a minotaur, a half-man and half-bull, which lived on the island of Crete in the Aegean Sea. This island was ruled by King Minos, who had forced a brilliant architect named Daedalus to create a labyrinth to contain Asterion. The inhabitants of Crete had tributary colonies, one of which was Athens. Once every nine years, the Athenians had to pay tribute to the Minoans on Crete by sending seven young men and seven unwed women to be devoured by Asterion.

This is where players start their adventure. As an Athenian youth that has been sent as sacrifice to Asterion, players must explore the labyrinth, and find mythical artifacts and weapons from ancient Greek mythology. Players can use their findings to help them battle the creatures within the labyrinth and solve the riddles put there by its architect, Daedalus.

The labyrinth’s designer, Daedalus, was forced to place many puzzles throughout the labyrinth meant to thwart those who dared to enter. However, in an attempt to rebel against his Minoan captors, he may have also hidden secrets to help those who would be clever or strong enough to defeat Asterion.

The Minoans have filled the labyrinth with Minoan guards and mythical beasts. The player will be able to fight with the many enemies, and talk to the sometimes-friendly NPC characters they encounter.

Gameplay Concept

Asterion is an attempt to combine the elements of role playing games that provide for a deep and varied experience, with action and rhythm games that involve real-time, skill-based experiences. This section will detail which major concepts are borrowed from each genre and how they are incorporated into Asterion.

Role Playing games:

Collecting a wide variety of items and weapons
Managing inventory
Taking on many different quests
Growth of the player's avatar over time
Navigating a large, open game world (non-linear progression through the world)

Action games:

Using weapons and items to attack enemies in real time
Testing of the player's hand eye coordination and reaction time
Gameplay and story motifs involving combat, blood/gore, violence and death

Genre and Target Audience

Misc ideas (not yet integrated into the doc)

To add to menus:

add buttons to top of menus that are accessible from the HUD, so that you can swap in between without having to go back
add a screen that allows items to be combined
For options menu, toggles for notifications and accelerometer

for combat:

remove turn based, base action more on real time
add quick time-style attacks that come up during combat that function as an attack of opportunity (opponent has made a mistake or the player just landed a well-executed combo) - player must hit all icons or it doesnt hit opponen

for story:

references to the afterlife, your actions in the game determine if you are destined for Elysium, Asphodel, or Tartarus.

Themes:
   insanity, darkness, action, strategy <-- instead of having insanity as part of gameplay, we could substitute fear, and have insanity be a motif in the story -Brad

   does it make sense to have a portable game with such a serious story? something to pick up & play repeatedly
   what kind of gameplay can allow for a mix of Castlevania adventure progression yet FFTA2 longevity / replayablility?
       side quests to serve yourself?
   Keep the focus of the story on Hero, his sanity. (also vs Asterion). Asterion should represent the labyrinth

Areas of the Labyrinth:
The Gates
   (the opening area into which the adventure begins)
   Has a good amount of traps
The Overgrowing Forest
   The outside forest is breaking through the walls, and becoming a labyrinth in itself.
   Anti-emetic items are necessary for areas where toxins will kill you by making you throw up your stomach.
The Center ('Centrum' - sound too much like a product?)
   The center of the labyrinth and home to Asterion. Its walls curve to make a large circular pattern.
Graveyard
   One of the survivors in Grey's company mentions how the labyrinth has its own nature. Creatures in the labyrinth, they have their graveyard.
Western Catacombs
   A strategic battle took place here against Asterion years ago, led by Kiron and his strategic genius in employing his knowledge of Greek fire. The battle was lost, and as a result the flames spread across the catacombs, still burning like lava as water trickles in to feed them.
   Upon first entering, this area serves as a means to acquire fire for smelting weapons, and later the item Kiron's Torch (so that you always have Greek fire).
(an area where you are walking atop the labyrinth walls)

Main Goals:
escape...?
preserve sanity - maybe periods of time passing in the game's story will allow more monologuing about sanity, as well as gameplay changes (item availability, new areas opening)
kill Asterion?- If so, this goal is at first uncertain to Hero, who recognizes that Grey and his company have survived even without killing Asterion. But, he later learns that Grey is making human sacrifices deliberately to appease Asterion*, and decides that Asterion being alive / Grey being insane is a mutual, connected problem. This removes power from Asterion being the monster of the abyss, of insanity, but also allows a direct metaphor into humanity as the similar root

Characters:
Hero
Grey - An eagle-like shrewd older man who has survived the labyrinth for years and taken survivors into his company. We later learn he is descending into madness but also making human sacrifices to Asterion by capturing incoming labyrinth prisoners.
Lucius - 'Second in command' in Grey's company, he is a somewhat stupid, younger warrior. He ran from the battle of the W.C, causing its defeat. Grey praised him for his resourcefulness and intelligence to stay alive.
Kiron - An old professor and politician cast into the labyrinth by the succeeding young emperor for 'political indemnity'.
Agatone - An honorable man and ally to Kiron during the Western Catacombs fight, he was the only survivor aside from Lucius. Reuniting with Grey and Lucius afterward, he left to escape Grey's influence and mad attempt to capture him, to be sacrificed to Asterion. He has remained in the Forest in secret, combatting insanity with discipline. (When you first enter the forest you are stalked by a shadowy silhouette - it's Agatone).
Grey's company (7 total) - Each member of the company is kept by Grey for some reason; was sentenced for some reason
   Junus - a young man; theft from the Emperor's palace. Stealing a jug, caught by guard.
   (a blacksmith) - kept for strength; murder
   (an embroider - makes cloth) - kept for clothing / warmth; adultery
   (someone who knows how to cook) - even the simplest pleasures mean everything in the labyrinth; theft
   (an extremely depressed, borderline insane man) - he is desperately trying to remember everything, and does; he is constantly repeating things to himself. Talk to him to hear info about equipment he remembers seeing / hearing about somewhere in the labyrinth (Quests).

Lucius is a name originating from Latin, not Greek. Also there should be a balance between having names that feel greek and names that are not so foreign sounding as to be not pronounceable. Grey is not a name that reflects the epic greek vibe of the game, but an authentic ancient name might cause the Assassin's Creed 2 problem of having every character's name in a different language, thereby causing confusion in the player's mind about which character is which. -Brad

Misc

Each member of the company's reasons for sentence are said one after another, when sitting down together on the second day. When asked why Hero is in the labyrinth, he lies, "Murder." Grey: "..." (inferring he may know he's lying).

magenta flames, like blood

Asterion is huge, 15ft tall.

A cgi scene where the halls of the labyrinth zoom out to become the wrinkles in a brain. <-- See this link about the brain in The Creation of Adam -Brad

areas in the labyrinth are designed to torture a man's soul - tempting destinations are seperated by the walls, even if close [still works with reluctant architect...?] <-- I like this as a level design philosophy, sometimes using the carrot instead of the stick makes the labyrinth interesting -Brad

Key items / gear are found on the bodies of other warriors / people cast into the labyrinth. People were allowed to equip themselves however they liked when sentenced to face the certain doom which is the labyrinth.

*Hero learns that the traps he originally encountered by the Gates were not to fend off creatures, they were set up by Grey and his company to capture incoming prisoners to be sacrificed to Asterion, so that they would be safe. The reason Hero was not captured was because:
   a) Grey's company had just made a sacrifice 2 day earlier, Asterion is appeased & you are alive by blind fortune.**
   b) Your fighting skills were enough to evade the traps.
   c) Grey's company could make use of a soldier.

**In the very beginning CGI, the narrative describes another man having been sentenced to the labyrinth 2 days earlier. "He was already forgotten."

Halfway through the game you come across 2 new characters who are condemned into the maze, a murderer (Ioannes) and a nervous younger man (Apollo). This occurs when you [for some reason] must return to the Gates area. <-- There should not be a human named Apollo, this name conflicts with the god, Apollo -Brad

NPC:
"This place... the corridors are ten paces wide, the walls another ten. 30 feet high the walls are! How could such a place have been built? Did the Gods have a hand in it? I dare not think what lies in the deeper corridors if this place holds their ideas of torture..."

Ultimately Agatone is captured by Grey, and strapped to altar as a human sacrifice to Asterion. Grey is about to inflict a mortal wound on Agatone due to his
hatred toward him, but that's when you arrive to stop Grey. However, it is still too late as Asterion enters, killing Grey and Agatone. Asterion drinks Agatone's blood from his torn-off arm. (like Ninja Scroll) <-- For each major thing that can happen in the story, the player should have some means of influencing the outcome -Brad

(In the end, if Asterion is dead and the hero escaped(?), the labyrinth itself must retain its terror)

"...No man will ever find this passage. My chances were mere fate, the halls of this maze are too dark, too twisted. It matters not whether the monster lives, the labyrinth will continue to claim sanity, claim lives."

NAMES
-----------------------------------------
Aetos - "Eagle"

Leucos [ name is Glory of Heracles]

Agatone

Kiron - wise teacher

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different hand postures
fighting multiple enemies at once?
HUD during combat mode
   not turn based, but speed based? An enemy action bar which replenishes in time until the next ability. Maybe as the fight progresses, the enemy moves faster? Maybe just for some enemies
Do you know how much HP an enemy has? Cast a spell to see how much hp left? No spells in the game?

first-person perspective during points of interest; puzzles, key character convo's

collecting different types of gear from enemies:
   weapons
   armor
   items
       potions
       junk
attributes:
   size
   sharpness
   weight

riddles left behind by Daedalus in the labyrinth

keep corpses of enemies on ground, which decay over time (perhaps different levels of decay affect the environment? - creatures come to eat)
demonstrations of permanence

Things in the Environment / Adventure mode to do/ encounter
the player moving objects
dodging dangerous things
nonlinear progression - forking paths, mazes
enemy encounters
puzzles
examining objects
shrines

Enemies
(giant variations possible)
rats
snakes
insects; centipedes, spiders, scorpions
giant crabs
dogs
boars
bats
hyenas
vultures
bulls

harpies
cyclops'
centaur
griffin
scylla

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One possible way to handle a rock/paper/scissors mechanic:

Let's say one 'element' power is that a weapon blessed becomes more powerful as it experiences battle, but it dies more quickly. This doesn't really make sense in the scheme of a rock/paper/scissors mechanic, because 1 pro is negated by 1 con for a total of 2 attributes.

The total number of attributes associated between the elements needs to be a multiple of 3. It is a triangle after all... but the 3 elements don't actually need to have any kind of direct relationship with each other in and of themselves. If you had 3 attributes, all you'd need to do would be to give each element the chief benefit of 1 of the them. Thus 1 Pro and 2 Cons, or 2 Pros and 1 Con to be more generous. For more than 3 attributes (6, 9, 12...) you'd simply give each element the chief benefit of 1/3 of n attributes; 2 Pros and 4 Cons. <-- These 3 attributes (if we use the fear idea from above) could be damage resistance, potential to deal damage and intimidation. These can be matched up to the 3 gods that bless gear. The stats can have fancy names when you bless them like for example: Your item has been blessed with the Fortitude of Poseidon, the Strength of Zeus or the Terror of Hades (or whatever the coolest names we could think of). -Brad

There doesn’t need to be any gradient scales of power or influence between the weapons, each one simply has one of the 3 attributes as its primary trait.

What all this means in that balancing could be handled on the side of occurrence, perhaps a simple matter of establishing the quantity that each is made necessary. (ex: There could be 3 types of enemies in an area, each vulnerable to 1 of the traits). To retain the idea of balance, ultimately the attributes simply need to be equally valuable for combat. Probably sounds obvious, and it is really, but what it means by extension is that we could devise any 3 general attributes for combat we can imagine.

In a sense, all we'd be doing is making 3 completely separate, but equally necessary attributes, and by calling for them in different ways in the same scenario (combat) we'd keep them together in the player's mindset.

Gameplay and Mechanics

Gameplay

Critical Path

The critical path section will detail the typical path that the player repeats in order to progress through the game. This path is therefore always cyclical in nature and will include all of the mechanics that the player will commonly use.

The critical path is best described using a graphic chart. Each part of the critical path flowchart is numbered and detailed in the following list of states:

Player is in the labyrinth - This is the normal state of the game. It includes any time the player is moving through the game in the normal 'top-down' view.
Examine dead body - This mechanic allows the player to look at the gear that was owned by enemies that were killed. While examining a body the player has the option to either return without taking anything, or to loot gear from the body.
Loot dead body - This mechanic allows the player to take gear from a fallen enemy. The gear that can be taken includes weapons, items, or armor. The player can choose to take as much gear as they can carry and add it to their inventory.
Start combat - This starts the combat cycle. The player can only exit the cycle through winning, losing, or running from combat. Combat can only be started by choosing to enter combat when the player is in state 1.
Attack with weapon - This is how the player does damage to their opponent. After doing this action, the player will either defeat their opponent or will have to defend against an attack (state 9).
Choose weapon - This option allows the player to switch the weapon that they are currently using in combat. After choosing this option the player will always have to defend from an attack (state 9).
Attack with item - This option allows the player to attack their opponent with an item as opposed to a weapon. After choosing this option the player will always have to defend from an attack (state 9).
Run from combat - This option allows the player to leave combat without winning or losing the fight. Choosing this option will take the player back to state 1.
Defend from opponent's attack - In this state, the player must use their shield to defend from their opponent. This is the state where the player takes damage while in combat.
Win combat - The player strikes a killing blow against their opponent. The fight is now over and the player can examine the opponent's body.
Killed in combat - The player lost all their health while defending (state 9). The player must now reload the game in order to return to state 1.
Approach shrine - The player is looking at a shrine they've found. Each shrine does different things, and in this state the player can see which god the shrine belongs to, if it can be used and what they will need to do to use it.
Use shrine -The player is making use of a shrine. This means that the player is upgrading gear, replenishing health, etc. For more info on this process see the 'Interactive World Elements' section.
Examine object -The player has found an object on the ground. In this state, the player can look at the object before they pick it up and try to see if it will actually be of use.
Pick up object - The player has examined an object and decided they want it. In this state, the player can take an object from the ground and add it to their inventory.
View non-interactive object -The player has come across some kind of non-interactive object. This is probably a statue, engraving, tapestry or some similar other item that can yield useful information but is not actually physically used or manipulated. In this state, the player can observe the object to gain an understanding of historical context, information about the labyrinth or hints for quests.
Talk to NPC -The player has found someone they can converse with. In this state the player can see the character they are talking to as well as dialogue options for what to say.
Interactive object -The player has come across an object that they can interact with. When interacting with an object, the players can either use some of their gear with the object or they can manually manipulate it in some way.
Scripted game behavior -This state is something that is abstract. This state represents all of the game behavior that cannot be accounted before because it is not in the game engine. The scripted behaviors can potentially be different for any object, character or scenario.

Level Structure

This section will describe how the structure of the levels will map onto the fractal interest curve discussed in the Story section.

The labyrinth in Asterion is divided into several sections:

Labyrinth Gates - This is the first section that the player enters when coming into the labyrinth. This section is the only entrance/exit to the labyrinth and therefore guarded by Minoan labyrinth guards that keep all the perils of the labyrinth inside the labyrinth walls. This section has many traps to keep those who have entered the labyrinth from coming back to the front gates.
Corridors - This section of the labyrinth stretches throughout the whole structure. It is the series of maze-like hallways and rooms that one thinks of when hearing the word 'labyrinth'. This section is inhabited with all kinda of mythical creatures, puzzles, and items.
Forest - This section is a large area of the labyrinth with no man-made structures. It contains types of beasts/wildlife that are local to this section. This area has less confined spaces, such as rooms or corridors, but instead is a tangled maze of overgrown trees and plants.
Daedalus's quarters - This section was the prison home of the labyrinth's architect, Daedalus, during the construction process. The evidence of his work is scattered around the section, as there are some finished and some unfinished inventions, puzzles and traps left behind. This section's construction was clearly abandoned part way through the process due to the level of danger posed by the creatures that inhabit the area.
Graveyard / Catacombs - This section contains the catacombs where the dead were buried during the construction of the labyrinth. It also is Asterion's chosen grounds for disposing of the remains of his prey. There is evidence of this death and dismemberment on the surface level above the catacombs.
Aqueducts -
The Inner Circle / Asterion's Lair -

Each of these labyrinth sections would be the largest pieces of the fractal curve.

The next piece of the fractal curve involves the sequence of events that happen during each section of the labyrinth:

The player arrives in a new part of the labyrinth
New quests are presented - The first options for quests contained in this section are presented as well as an entire new section full of optional activities. Optional activities include mini-quests from shrines, optional puzzles etc. The player might have the option of choosing from many different things at first. This part of the curve makes sure that upon entering a new area, the player can start to explore, not having to fight for their life or endure any immediate high stress situations, but also not feeling lost or aimless.
Alternating combat and puzzle solving - The player will be tasked with completing several puzzle and combat objectives of increasing difficulty. Each time the player enters a new section, there will be new types of opponents to fight, causing them to learn new strategies or apply new better weapons / items.
Story quests / mini bosses
Encounter with Asterion - At the end of each section, the player will encounter Asterion. This encounter will result in the player being driven out of their current labyrinth section and into the the next, or another section.

Quest Archetypes

This section will look at the archetypes of quests that characters go on in games. For the literary examination of quests, look in the Story section.

In games, quests are the short term goals that the player is given throughout the game. At some level of abstraction all of these goals fit into four major archetypes:

Defeating enemies - This is any task where the player must confront and defeat an enemy, either through combat or other means. This can be very abstract, depending on the type of game, but in Asterion the player will encounter hostile men and beasts in the labyrinth which can be defeated with the weapons and items that the player finds.
Delivering items - This is commonly called a 'FedEx' quest because this archetype resembles a mail delivery. This type involves the player taking an in-game entity from one place and delivering it to another, where there is likely some obstacle between the starting and end points of the quest.
Gathering items - This archetype involves gathering some kind of specific item. Sometimes this means the player must gather enough of some generic item to pass a threshold number that is required to meet the goal. Other times this archetype involves looking for a set of specific game items, where there is only one possible way to collect all of them.
Escorting - This archetype requires that players protect something other than themselves. There are many variations of this idea. The entity which needs to be protected can be anything from another character to an inanimate object. Similarly the threat can come from any number of factors, from enemy combatants to environmental hazards. The key to this archetype is that this entity is doomed without the player's help and the player has the ability to safeguard it.
Exploration - This archetype requires that the player enter into uncharted territory, either to discover a certain amount of new territory or to locate certain place(s) which the player has not found yet.

(more detail on these archetypes available here)

RPG games typically include these types of tasks, but also often will augment them my mixing and matching. Sometimes different types of tasks can be required simultaneously or chained together before the task is considered complete.

Mechanics

Movement

This section will describe the movement through the game world and how the player interacts with the environment.

When moving the character through the labyrinth, the player will see the world from a top-down perspective, where all of the things in the environment are represented by tiles. These tiles are laid out in a grid pattern, where the player's movement involves moving around on this grid to spaces where there are no obstacles in the way. There will be options that will allow the player to choose their means of movement, the two possible options being:

movement by tapping on destination - the player can tap on any visible tile, which causes the character to walk to that space
movement by specifying direction - the player can tap on a directional button, which will cause the character to move one space in that direction

While moving through the labyrinth, the player will be able to tap on different things in order to interact with them. These interactive game elements include:

Interactive World Elements
Shrines
Enemy combatants
Friendly NPC's
Gear

Items and Inventory

The player will come across several different items in the labyrinth. The Greek gods have left traces of their influence in different mythical objects that the player can find. These objects can be anything from special weapons, keys that allow the player into new or secret places in the labyrinth, or items that will imbue the players with special powers.

In Asterion, all items are categorized at various levels of specificity. Items can fall into any combination of these categories:

High level categories:

Divine
Valuable
Mundane

Mid level categories

Consumable (meaning things you can eat or use only once)
Puzzle-related objects (keys, items used to solve specific puzzles)
Stationery (anything paper-based)

Low level categories

Stat-increasing consumables
Stat-redeeming consumables
consumables that damage the consumer
keys
daedalus objects
objects from specific characters
maps

Shrines and Interactive World Elements

This section will cover all of the objects that exist in the world which are static parts of the level that the player can interact with. Many of these types of objects will be shrines to ancient Greek deities. These shrines are a specific subset of all interactive elements that will be discussed first.

Shrines - These elements of Asterion's level allow the player a means of trading goods for abilities or power-ups. In the abstract, shrines work the same way a shopkeeper would work on a more traditional RPG. In other RPG's the shopkeeper is a mechanism where the player can offload their useless or excessive possessions in exchange for things that are actually useful to them. Where in another game, there might be in-game shops that a player would visit (like a merchant, an apothecary or a blacksmith) players in Asterion visit shrines. There are five Greek gods that are featured predominantly in the game, where one god presides over each type of shrine. Each type of shrine can perform a specific function, which will be listed here with a description of function (for a description of the corresponding deity see the 'Characters' section):

Each type of shrine listed here has (in this order) a function, a description, an associated deity, an input, a cost, an output, and a description of how many times the player can use the shrine.

Repairing the strength of gear

This type of shrine can take armor or weapons which are in shoddy condition and fix them.
Hephaestus controls this type of shrine
Input: Two pieces of gear (gear being either weapons, items, or armor). One piece of gear is destroyed while the other is made stronger.
Cost: One of the pieces of gear placed on this shrine is selected as a sacrifice, this piece is then 'spent' as if it were currency in order to improve the other gear
Output: The piece of gear which was not destroyed (which is now repaired by some amount proportional to the value of the gear that was destroyed)
This type of shrine can be re-used

Permanently increasing the maximum strength of gear

This type can also improve the strength of gear beyond the strength of weapons and armor that are made by mortals.
Hephaestus controls this type of shrine
Input: A specific type of trinket or object that is specified at the shrine, and a piece of gear of the player's choosing
Cost: having to go find the object that is described by the shrine.
Output: The piece of gear that the player chose (which now has an increased max strength).
This type of shrine can be used once.

Redeeming health

This type of shrine can refill the player's health back to normal, or in some instances permanently increase the player's health
Apollo controls this type of shrine
Input: Any piece of gear
Cost: The piece of gear that was used as input
Output: The player's health will be redeemed by an amount that is proportional to the value of the gear that was sacrificed
This type of shrine can be re-used

Permanently increasing the maximum health

This type of shrine can refill the player's health back to normal, or in some instances permanently increase the player's health
Apollo controls this type of shrine
Input: A specific type of trinket or object that is specified at the shrine
Cost: having to go find the object that is described by the shrine.
Output: The player's max health will permanently increase by some predetermined amount
This type of shrine can be used once.

Increasing strength in combat

This type of shrine can permanently increase the player's maximum strength in combat.
Ares controls this type of shrine
Input: this type of shrine specifies a certain type and number of enemies that must be slain
Cost: the player must carry out the task of killing certain enemies
Output: the player's max strength in combat is increased
This type of shrine can be used once.

Blessing mundane objects

This type of shrine can take objects which were useless and make them powerful (possibly for use as an item in combat, possibly as part of some kind of Daedalus contraption or some other puzzle)
Poseidon, Zeus and Hades control this type of shrine
Input: Any item
Cost: this type of shrine does not cost anything
Output: If the object is potentially a divine object it will become usable in combat or for puzzles
This type of shrine can be re-used

Guidance through the game's puzzles

This type of shrine can be consulted by the player in order to get more specific guidance on how to proceed through the game.
Athena controls this type of shrine
Input: nothing is required to use this type of shrine
Cost: this type of shrine does not cost anything
Output: Athena will give the player a hint for how to proceed through the labyrinth
This type of shrine can be re-used (hints can be repeated if the player forgets)

Quick traveling

This type of shine can be used to quickly travel large distances that the player has already traversed several times.
Hermes controls this type of shrine
Input: Nothing is required to use this type of shrine (but players can only quick travel to shines that they've already discovered)
Cost: This type of shrine does not cost anything
Output: Hermes transports the player to another Hermes shine
This type of shrine can be re-used

Other Interactive Elements - Interactive elements in Asterion include any other type of interactive item, other than shrines, that the player can use. This section will discuss these game elements in generalities because each item can be approached by the player in the same way, but each will have different properties. Interactions can be different for each object, and are based on the types of thing that a person could do with that type of object. For example, an interactive door object might prompt the user if they want to open the door, while an interactive chest object might prompt the user if they want to look inside the chest. These types of objects can have behaviors that respond to things in the player's inventory. Again for the door example, the door might respond to a specific key item the player might be carrying.

Combat

Overview:

The labyrinth contains a host of people and beasts that players can enter into combat with. While the player is traversing the labyrinth in the normal top-down view, they can enter into combat with an enemy by attacking or by accepting an attack from a hostile non-player character.

Combat is the most frenetic and unpredictable component of the game, which allows for a different style of play from puzzles and exploration. The combat utilizes a series of action-oriented mechanics to give the player a more physical-feeling experience. During these combat sections of gameplay, the player’s perspective will change from top down to an over the shoulder, third-person perspective. This view will show the player’s opponent in front of them, as well as the weapons their avatar is holding.

The player can make use of the items and treasures that they have collected during combat. The multitude of mythical items and artifacts, weaponry and armor, allows players to customize their avatar with very specific combinations of equipment.

Combat mechanics:

Combat in Asterion is turn based and involves two opponents trading attacks in real time. At the beginning of combat, the player will be looking at an interface showing an over the shoulder view of them facing their opponent. This interface will list all of the possible actions they can take. These actions include:

Choose Attack
Switch Weapon
Use Item
Exit Combat

For each turn, the player will be allowed to select and execute one of these options, and then will have to defend from attacks from their opponent. Each of these menu options will be described in more detail in the following sections.

Choose Attack -- This option will allow the player to initiate an attack against their opponent. When this option is chosen, it is assumed that the player is making an attack using the weapon and shield that they currently have selected (otherwise the player would need to switch weapons with the 'Switch Weapon' option). After choosing this option, the interface will list all of the attacks that the player's character knows how to execute using the current weapon. At this point the player can still choose to go back and select a different option, but if they choose an attack they will start a mini-game that executes the chosen attack. These mini-games consist of icons popping up on the screen that the player will have to react to.

Attack icons - The number of icons that appear on the screen can range from one to three icons simultaneously. Each icon shows a command that the player must complete in order to execute a successful attack. This action might be a gestural input or a movement of the device itself (this part will take advantage of any/all input mechanisms for whichever set of hardware the game is running on, in this case it is assumed to be an iPhone). The more icons that the player successfully completes the more damage the player's attack will cause to the opponent. Each icon will go through 3 phases:

appear on screen
show a progress bar that fills up over time
disappear (either because of success or failure)

The player must perform the action shown on the attack icon to 'complete' the icon. When an icon is completed, if there are any remaining icons that are required for the current attack, the next icon will be shown in its place. The actions required by these icons can include any of the following (at least for iPhone, if the game is implemented on other hardware this would need to be changed):

Tapping
Swiping (this includes in different directions)
Shaking the device
Rotating the device

After all of the attack icons are completed, either by successfully completing them or failing to do so on time (or some combination of both), the player's performance is aggregated and the appropriate amount of damage is dealt to the opponent.

Switch Weapon - This option will allow the player to change which weapon they are using during combat. After selecting 'switch weapon' the interface will change to a list of all of the weapons that the player is carrying. The player will be allowed to switch to any of the weapons that they have at the expense of being able make an attack on their turn. This means that in order to switch weapons the enemy will be able to attack twice in a row (this will hopefully stop the player from switching around their weapon like crazy, and make the choice of weapon into a meaningful decision).

Use Item - This option will allow the player to use an object other than a weapon that might aid them during combat. After selecting 'use item' the interface will change to a list of all of the items that the player is carrying. As with the 'switch weapon' option, this option will cause the player to forfeit their attack for that turn. This is again to force the player to make a meaningful decision during combat. The items that the player can use with this option can aid combat in any number of ways. For example, if the item is something that is imbued with a divine power or created by Daedalus, it might give the player an increase in strength or health or some other advantage. In another example, the item might be something entirely mundane, in which case it can still probably be used by throwing it.

Exit Combat - This option is the player's means of escape from a battle that they think they cannot win. The player will always be presented with the option of running away in order to regain the health or resources that they might need in order to try the battle again. This option will end the current battle immediately and take the player back to the top-down perspective. All events that happened during the combat will persist, including damage to the player or enemies. Enemies that were not killed in combat cannot be in any way defeated by using this option, but can only be avoided.

The next critical part of combat in Asterion is what happens when an opponent attacks the player. When the player's attack is over the user interface changes, showing a defense bar in one corner of the screen.

The defense bar - This bar is a visual representation of the player's shield and also the timing of the enemy's attack. The defense bar contains a shield icon which acts as a button.

Shield Button - The player can use this button to execute a shield block. This shield block move is the player's only defense against incoming enemy attacks and is judged qualitatively based on how accurate the player's timing is. In more detail, this means that the enemy executes an attack aimed at the player which has a certain timing. The player then needs to press the defense bar at the same time that the enemy's attack is executed to retain as much health as possible. The player loses health by amounts that are proportional to how inaccurate their timing is on the shield block.

Timing Bar - The other part of the defense bar (other than the shield block button) is a timing bar. This bar is a one-dimensional graph that shows how far the enemy's weapon is away from the player. This can be thought of as a spectrum, where the enemy's weapon lies on one end of the spectrum before the attack, and on the opposite end when making the attack. As the enemy prepares and executes the attack, the position shown on the timing bar will slide towards the player's shield button. This gives the player a means of visual feedback as to when the opponent will strike and allows them a little time to react. Each attack that an enemy can make will correspond to a type of movement along the timing bar. Some movements could start slow and then speed up, and vice versa, or alternatively the movements could shift back and forth on the bar before actually hitting the player's shield. These movements are meant to mirror the unpredictable nature of the enemy's attack, and depending on the difficulty of the opponent, can be very fast or slow. The enemy character will be visible throughout this whole process and might show a new frame of animation upon starting each attack, which could also be another visual indicator to the player of what to expect.

This back and forth attacking between the player and the opponent continues until either the player chooses to exit combat, or the player or enemy is killed in combat.

Enemy Behaviors

In the labyrinth:

...

In combat:

In Asterion, enemies will have several behaviors, all of which consist of a handful of component frames of animations. This is meant to simplify both the concept of movement and combat for the player, but also the complexity of art / assets needed to create all of the enemies and the player character. This section will detail the typical types of attacks that the player and enemies will be able to use.

Enemy Archetypes

In Asterion, the player will come across many types of mythical enemies. This section will outline the categories that the player will encounter in the abstract (not the actual specifics of each enemy).

Enemy Types:

small animals (rats, snakes, bugs, bats)
large animals (dogs, boars, hyenas, large variations of small animals)
mythical beasts (harpies, cyclops, centaur, griffin, scylla)
humans (labyrinth guards, other misc characters / labyrinth straglers)

Character Growth

This section will cover topics concerning elements of the player's character that can be improved over the course of the game, including what those improvements are, how they work, what they do, and how the player attains them.

Health - over the course of the game the player can encounter Apollo shrines where they can complete a quest in exchange for an increase for their max health. After getting health increases from several shrines, players find that they can take much more damage in combat without dying.
Strength - similar to the Apollo shrines, players can visit Ares shrines several times over the course of the game. These shrines will permanently increase the amount of damage the player does when hitting an opponent in combat. After visiting several of these shrines the players will find that they can much more easily defeat powerful enemies.
Inventory / Gear - Players can slowly increase the usefulness and effectiveness of their gear through careful inventory management, so that after several upgrades to a piece of armor or weapon it is better than any gear they would find.

Game World

Asterion borrows its setting, characters and story from ancient Greek mythology. In this section, the details of that mythology and how the mythology is adapted to fit the game are detailed in several different sections. These sections include the levels (the physical layout and scenery of the labyrinth), the characters (beasts, gods and other human figures that are described in the mythos), and story (the events of the ancient world, as well as the narrative structure of some classic stories).

Quests

Characters

In Asterion, there are two major types of characters, being characters that are divine and characters that are mortal. The story and mechanics of Asterion will reflect the difference between these different character types through the telling of the game's narrative and some of the game mechanics that the player uses. The game will contain a large cast of characters (or references to characters) as discussed in the story section. The following is a summary of some of the gods and mortal characters that are described in Greek mythology that are applicable to the game.

(A good resource on how to avoid cliche link1 link2)

Mortals

Mortals - This category includes everyone who is not a god, both men and mythical beasts. The characters in this category will be characters that are referenced in the labyrinth, or characters that the player can actually meet while traveling through the labyrinth.

Minos -The king of the Crete, Minos caused the creation of the minotaur by incurring the wrath of Poseidon. Poseidon sent a giant white bull from the sea to Crete and Minos chose not to sacrifice the bull to Poseidon.
Pasiphae - Poseidon caused Pasiphae to fall in love with the white bull after Minos failed to sacrifice it. The minotaur was born as the child of Pasiphae and the bull.
Aegeus -The father of Theseus, Aegeus was the king of Athens who was forced to send his citizens to be devoured by the minotaur.
Daedalus -The brilliant architect held captive by king Minos, Daedalus created the labyrinth against his will to contain Asterion.
The oracle of Delphi -The oracle is consulted by many leaders throughout Greek mythology. It was the oracle's advice that urged Minos to construct the labyrinth near Minos's palace.
Asterion -The bastard offspring of the bull and Pasiphae, Asterion is a beast of violent nature that lurks in the labyrinth.
Androgeus -The son of king Minos, Androgeus traveled to Athens to compete in the Panathenaic Games and was killed while participating. This act caused king Minos to threaten war against Athens unless the Athenians paid tribute.

Gods

Gods - This is not an exhaustive list of Greek gods by any means. However, requiring the player to recognize and understand the idiosyncrasies of each of several gods of Olympus is beyond the scope of what is necessary for the game. Instead the player will deal with five of the most iconic and well-known gods. This will simplify the cognitive burden on the player, and make each god seem like a meaningful entity. Each god will be paired with a specific aspect of the game, where the player can indirectly change the balance of the game by offering tribute to different gods. For a more detailed description of how the player interacts with gods in gameplay, see the Interactive World Elements section.

(this needs to be updated with correct powerups)

Zeus -The king of the gods, usually symbolized by thunderbolts. Zeus's power on Olympus is echoed in his tendency to increase the fortitude of the player (increasing the player's health).
Poseidon -The god of the ocean and earthquakes. He is normally symbolized by the trident. Poseidon can imbue certain items with divine power, which makes them useful for solving puzzles.
Ares -The god of war and bloodshed. He is normally symbolized by a vulture or a spear. Ares can bestow more physical strength on the player, allowing for more offensive strength when attacking enemies in combat.
Hephaestus - The god of technology and metallurgy. He is normally symbolized by a hammer and anvil. Hephaestus can repair and improve the player's armor.
Athena -The goddess of wisdom, strategy, and reason. She is normally symbolized by an owl. Athena can give the player critical hints on how to proceed through the labyrinth and teach the player new skills.

Summaries of other characters

The following are a series of stories from the mythology that would be useful for adding flavor text (in no particular order):

Pygmalion and Galatea - Pygmalion was a sculptor in Cyprus who carved a statue of a beautiful woman, he asked Aphrodite to make her real. Aphrodite sent cupid who turned the statue into a real woman (Galatea) who married Pygmalion.

Orpheus - Orpheus was the son of a Thracian king, Oeagrus, and a muse, Calliope. Apollo gave him a lyre and taught him how to play it. He was the Argonaut who helped Jason escape the sirens (using his lyre). Orpheus nearly saved his dead wife from the underworld after convincing Hades and Persiphone with his music to let her live again. After forsaking the gods, he was killed by followers of Dionysus.

Eros - The son of Ares and Aphrodite, Eros is more commonly known by his latin name 'Cupid'. Eros was ordered by jealous Aphrodite to make a mortal woman, Psyche, fall in love with the ugliest creature on earth. He instead accidentally scratched himself with the tip of his arrow and fell in love with Psyche.

Daphne - Eros gained revenge against Apollo for insulting him by striking him with an arrow that caused him to fall in love with nymph, Daphne. He also struck Daphne with an arrow causing her to despise Apollo. After being chased by Apollo, Daphne asked river god, Peneus, to turn her into a tree. Apollo vowed to tend to the tree.

Chaos - The beginning of the universe as it is known in greek mythology, Gaia and several others were born from the chaos.

Narrative (Classical vs. Game)

Story Structure:

This section will attempt to bring together two different ideologies, one being the style of narrative from classical literature (some of the first stories to ever be formally recorded in writing) and the other being interactive narrative for games, which is a relatively new concept. The goal of this comparison is to try to get the best of both worlds, offering an interactive narrative that has the style of a classical story.

In narrative for games, there is a narrative structure which is more loosely defined than other media because of the interactive (and therefore unpredictable) nature of games. The best measure of structure which is found in such an open ended medium is the intensity of the player's game experience. The intensity of the narrative encompasses all elements of the player's game experience (tensions between characters in the story, difficulty of enemies, tempo of music etc.). As the player progresses through the narrative, they experience varying intensity, which results in a more intense-feeling roller-coaster experience. This concept is discussed in more depth at this article. This concept is also discussed by Jesse Schell in his book, The Art of Game Design. Schell makes notes that interest curves are fractals, meaning that the interest curve of the game as a whole has a similar shape as the interest curve for each section of the game, which has a similar curve for each level, which has a similar curve as each action the player takes towards completing each level etc. This means that no matter how big or small any given element of the game is, the player's interaction with it will follow a similar pattern.

In this document game narrative will be combined with some of the classical narrative techniques. The stories examined for this purpose are Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. The useful things that Asterion can take away from these works are stylistic motifs. These include starting the story in medias res (in the middle of the story), having a parallel between the conflicts in heaven and on earth, large cast of varied characters, and temporal changes during narrative (flashbacks and foreshadowing).

Another literary tool for examining the original story of the minotaur is the hero's journey as described by Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. The hero's journey is a plot structure that is loosely followed by many of the most famous stories, including the story of Theseus and the minotaur. Campbell even cites this myth as a good example of the hero's journey in some of his descriptions. For example, for the hero's call to adventure, Campbell says, "The hero can go forth of his own volition to accomplish the adventure, as did Theseus when he arrived in his father's city, Athens, and heard the horrible history of the Minotaur".

User Interface

Control Mappings

Menus

Asterion will contain several menus that allow the user to interface with the game. These menus will help the player control their interactions with the game world, keep track of the state of their avatar, and the state of the game.

The following is a list of all menu screens:

Main Menu
Options
Save Game
Load Game
HUD
Player status
Item Inventory
Weapons and Armor
Map
Pause

This section will describe all the menu screens in detail (which options they have and what the player can use them for):

Main Menu - This menu is the first thing that the player sees when starting the game. The player can choose from the following options:

New Game - starts a new game from the beginning
Load Game - takes the player to the load game menu
Options - takes the player to the options screen

Options - This menu allows the user to adjust game settings. This includes sound/music volume, controls settings.

Save Game - This menu allows the user to save their game (giving a name for the save to differentiate it from other saves).

Load Game - This menu allows the user to load a game from a list of saves. This will include the most recent auto-save as well as any saves the player has manually created.

HUD - This is the menu that is displayed across the bottom of the screen during gameplay. This screen includes buttons which will take the user to the Player Status, Item Inventory, Weapons and Armor, Map and Pause screens.

Player status - This screen allows the user to check the status of their character. This includes which weapon and armor the character is currently wearing, as well as the conditions of these items. This screen will also show the player's health, and any other relevant stats.

Item Inventory - This screen displays a list of all of the items that the player is carrying. It also displays a description of what each item is when the user selects the item. The user can choose to use or drop an item that is selected using this screen.

Weapons and Armor - This screen displays a list of all of the weapons and armor that the player is carrying. It will also allow the player to select specific items and view a description for each one. The player can see the condition of each piece of armor or weapon and will allow the player to drop the item.

Map - This screen will show a representation of all of the places the player has seen so far in the labyrinth. The player will be able to look over their map to help stay oriented, and plan their next movements.

Pause - This screen is accessible from the HUD and pauses the game. While on this screen the player has the option to go to the Save Game, Load Game and Options screens.