Proxima

Overview

Title

Proxima, aka Project Proxima

Concept Statement

Proxima reimages the classic roguelike experience combining a unique combination of persistence with familiar procedurally generated discovery.

The game's roguelike elements ensure that no two adventures are alike, each adventure down the trap door in the persistent town is a new dungeon to conquer, with permadeath adding weight to every decision. 

Genre

Proxima aims to combine mechanics taken from roguelike’s, rpg’s and early mmorpgs.

Concept Design

I had real difficulty coming up with an idea I felt was feasible with the time and my skills, but also a fun experience to develop. I considered some ideas of cloning some early arcade games, but all fell into the too hard or not interesting category. 

Instead, I’ve chosen to combine a small number of elements from multiple genres and games. I’m aiming to take the random dungeons (procedurally generated stretch goal) and perma-death mechanics from roguelike’s and combine those with the persistence and character progress common in rpg’s or early mmo’s.  Each dungeon should be clearable in a 10 minute play session. 

I’ve chosen to go with a very retro aesthetic featuring 16x16 sprites for no deeper reason than that is the simplest and quickest way to bring this concept to life while providing all the required elements, it would work just as well with higher quality art or even with an isometric view point. 

Audience

Proxima is designed to target casual audiences who prefer shorter play sessions, while still providing a sense of progression throughout multiple play sessions. Proxima also aims to keep the technical requirements low with retro graphics to ensure the game has the widest possible reach.

Game Treatment and Art

Description / World

The game will consist of two areas, an “overworld” area being a grassy place enclosed with trees, and then the dungeon area accessed by a trigger/portal in the overworld. 

Gameplay

The player controls the Hero in a 2D top down world, game play will be kept limited with movement, and a simple “melee” attack when in range of an enemy, If time allows this may be extended to include some abilities, spells or skills to make combat feel more interactive. The player may run over potions to heal, or time allowing pick them up to use when desired. 

Movement

Four directional move to mouse movement.

Stats

Str: Melle hit damage modifier 

Dex: Melle hit speed modifier 

Int: Health Regen speed modifier 

Enemies

Crab. Evil Wizard. Bat. Ghost, Spider, Rat.

Varied health and damage depending on enemy type.

UI

Menu Screen – New Game, Continue Game, Toggle Music 

New Game – Choose a name and use 3 sliders to allocate stats 

Continue Game – No UI just loads previously played character if exists. 

In Game – Player and target enemy Health bars, Possibly Some frames to show a usable skill or item if added. Display of the players stats and name. 

The following are not required for the core concept but would improve the “fun” level due to adding a further sense of progression. 

Stretch goals

Items
Collectable and Usable Items, i.e. Potion
Equipment
Inventory
Currency
NPC to buy/sell
Skills(Abilities/Spells)
UI
NPC who can train you for currency

Art Style and Effects

Retro 16x16 pixel style, combined with some modern lighting and particle effects.

Concept Art

Images Generated with https://designer.microsoft.com/image-creator

Prompt: “Concept art for a pixel art style 2D top down view roguelike, include a warrior character exploring a dungeon with brick walls”