subliminor docs – game design

NOTE: CURRENTLY THESE CHANNELS ARE ALL POINTING BACK HERE…

• WEBSITE: https://nonlinearexperience.com/ (later: https://subliminor.com)
• GITLAB: https://gitlab.com/bruceherbert/subliminor
• ITCH.IO: https://bruceherbert.itch.io/subliminor
• DISCORD: https://discord.gg/eXYU6tNz

“SUBLIMINOR is a 2D pixel action adventure, with journal/rpg/treasure hunt elements and is a gateway to an expanding selection of minigames/experiences…”

blurb

Longer blurb

SUBLIMINOR is part blog, part journal, part rpg/exploration/treasure hunt – with the main game having sub mini games and experiences. In fact, it is a lot of mini games/experiences that are either somewhat linked, or very much linked. Over time, there will be more added, building richness to the game world. The game world is limited at first, but new adjoining (and not..) areas will open up for additional adventures/game play etc. There is a lot of unfinished business. And thats just fine…

Non-linear progression

Using this as a basis: https://howtomakeanrpg.com/r/a/youre-destined-to-fail.html

Premise

Could I make something like a 2d pixel action adventure (such as Zelda: A Link to the past), but it has journal/rpg/treasure hunt elements and is a gateway to an expanding selection of minigames/experiences.

Overarching unifying logic

Overworld – new entry points added as new tools, mini games and experiences are added

Scope

Roadmap

V1 – core (aiming for Jun 2026 release)

• Overworld Map
• Scene transitions (including one minigame as proof of concept)LI – include visual transitions
• Ligting anf envrironmental atmospherics including time of day amd weather events etc
• Player control, movement and animation
• UI and general game management (load, save, new, etc.), title screen etc.
• Text and messages etc.
• Story/quest system
• One proof of concept ‘tool’

V2 – extending core and mini-games/experiences – later…

Game design

Use your scope and premise to come up with an idea for a game you think you can complete. You don’t need a massive game design doc, things are going to change, you just need enough to start and some idea where you’d like to finish.

exploration

quests

Setting/theme – a fantasy version of Piha set roughly now

level design

input/skill matrix

progression/achievement system – including unifying/organising principles

Mini game/experiemce examples

Exploded diagram

cinemaps

Cutaway diag

Overlays – imagining a place of thing

Theme change

Different modes of represe

Layouts – look at the london book

Where the bits go – the data and

Layers

When building systems stick to these rules
– At all times the game is playable
– New layers build on the previous ones
– It’s expected you’ll iterate on earlier layers are you add new ones
To begin with ask yourself “What’s the most basic thing I can make that people could play?”. And then ask “What’s the next most basic thing?”.

1. Simple Movement and Collision
2. Setting up tile map world
3. Animation
4. Item management/interaction/use
5. Text and messages etc.
6. Story/quest system
7. Scene transitions (including one minigame as proof of concept)
8. UI and general game management (load, save, new, etc.), title screen etc.
9. One proof of concept ‘tool’

Milestones

Milestones are plot out how you’re going to get things finish. You need to take your timeframe and layers and workout when you want each piece complete.

• Milestone 1: movement fully working, however horrible it looks and shitty it feels.
• Milestone 2: Item management – collect and use an item
• Milestone 3: two devices that are interactable. I’ll talk about devices once I’ve got them working.
• Milestone 4: one fully working level that’s fun.
• Milestone 5: a dialogue/text system
• Milestone 6: 

Gonna have to convert all the content from posts to pages so i can arrange it properly. Wish me luck! In the mean time, it might go a little something like this:

• Who we are?
• Mockups/prototypes
• Schema
• Sound and music
• Engaging with place
  • an approach
• Game features
• Overworld map v1
  • B(27) – lighthouse
  • H(13) – cafe
  • M(11) – crumpylike – Wild pork and watercress – a buddy roguelike
• environment
• Authoring guide/Content authoring strategy
  • behaviour loop
  • talking options
  • cutscene space

• Mockups
  • Exemplars – start with alttp as a basis and work from there
  • Make a set of mockup assets to use flr dev and testing
  • Speccies
  • Adapt for mobile etc.
    • 10x of main overworld view
      • Which views?
    • 10x of crumpy like
      • Which views?

Adding and remixing…

Authoring tool

BLURB

U-tone – imagine an interactive journal/scrap book that is based around a 2d pixel game such as Zelda: A link to the past – that represents an ideal assortment of all the good things/places etc. that I love – where you can enter mini games to encounter specific experiences. Multiple perspectives are heartily embraced

It is as much about reminiscing as it is about curiosity being the goal.

Mini-things – could be a dog based endless runner, or shmup, or it could be a chill out zone where you enjoy the ambience – or do an activity such as make a tune – some installations such as setting up way points in the scene, then set the char off to get a particular sound experience. The intention is to keep adding to it over time…

Extended

As I contemplate it, I think ‘just what the hell is it that makes it different?’. Then I think about how it can have additional material, ways of experiencing etc. added to it over time – like a diary/blog etc.

So, there is the notion of a ‘frame story’ and then sub-stories that are all linked. This is a well-known literary device (it was good enough for Ovid, Homer, Chaucer and Tolkien…)

What would this require?

To be online – to have a way of adding assets, and rules/triggers etc. some way of tieing in to sub-stories e.g. once completed the ‘Flying Mollusc’ game, it is recorded in the frame.

The FRAME story – a variation of an ARPG

Access the sub-stories via – some of which are self-contained, some are within the whole

All mini games should have the ability to send out some analytics – e.g. time spent playing, attempts, high score…