Project Scenario 7: Role Playing Game

Problem Statement

Stormy Harbor Studios a small game studio in Rochester which has looked to the help of an outside team to help create their next game. Recently, Stormy Harbor Studios has run into some financial trouble and will likely need to close down if their next game goes poorly. The last three games have been flops and many in the gaming media believe that the executive producer has lost his touch with gamers and is no longer "down with the kids." The studio has set aside $1,000,000 for a final try to right the ship. Word on the street is that the fans would really like Stormy Harbor Studios to put out a small RPG so the word has come down from the top that this is the next project for the studio. The most important thing is that this game is out the door fast; it is likely that the company will only be able to stay afloat for about a year. Because of this, the associate producers have put a firm ship date on the project designed to contain the scope which has had a tendency to change constantly within previous projects.

In order to avoid the project management issues that have plagued past projects, the associate producers have decided to keep the team on a tight leash for this game. They have demanded a proof-of-concept from the teams in order to ensure the project is viable and the creation of a plan that accounts for any problems that the teams might run into.

The requirements for this system are given in the list below as desired features for the overall system. The list is neither exhaustive nor definitive. It is up to your team to develop a list of features that best fit the defined scope of your application.

Requested Features

1. A Roleplaying Game
There needs to be some kind of RPG involved in this project and it is up to the team how they intend to implement this in to their project. The project can not be shipped without it being a game.
2. Save/Load Features
A system for saving and loading the game is a must. There are a number of different trains of thought on this issue as to whether you want save editing to be possible. Whether this is just a text file with the save information loaded in or a full blown serial save system, the team gets to decide.
3. Texture/Model Loading
Depending on whether or not you use 3D or 2D textures you will either need a model loader or sprite loader to make sure the games graphics are loaded. This will also require that you have some way of efficiently loading only parts of the game as loading all the textures in the beginning is terribly inefficient and can also cause game lag.

Potential Features

1. A Class System
Players enjoy the ability to specialize their characters into certain classes as it makes the game more interesting and gives the players agency. The more classes that you have though the more unique skills and abilities you need to create which when unchecked can spiral out of control. The key to a good class system is finding a happy medium of 4-5 unique classes that are very different from one another so as to encourage the player to play differently with each one.
2. Player Progression
One of the ways a player can be given a sense of achievement is by seeing their character get stronger as time goes on. This can be done through a number of ways but the simplest way to do it is with statistics increases to the characters base stats. If the team decides to do a class system, this can also be done by allowing them to pick from more expert classes after a certain amount of time.
3. Inventory System
Allowing players to change the items and weapons they are holding is a good way to introduce new strategies and tactics into the game. The only way this is possible though is with some kind of inventory system. Remember though that every inventory system needs items to populate it.
4. Fast Travel System
Traveling around a large overworld map can be quite draining especially when there are random encounters that stop you at every moment. A fast travel system can alleviate some of this but also requires a lot of background work including loading of areas quickly that would not be autoloaded.