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Orgmode design doc for a jelly-battle style 2d pvp game

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1* Elevator Pitch
2 Scramble for Scrolls is a 2D, timed, simultaneous-turn PvP multiplayer game in the style
3 of the old flash game classic 'Jelly Battle'. At the historic Library of the Scrolls, a
4 repository for centuries of magical knowledge, a furious storm has caused significant
5 damage to the grounds. Worse still, hundred or maybe even thousands of scrolls, magical
6 implements, and hats have been swept away by the winds! In the hopes of recovering as
7 much of their lost items as possible, the library has offered to pay for every lost item
8 a person can recover. Unfortunately, this may have led to even more chaos. Citizens,
9 ne'er-do-wells, scholars, and wizards have all taken to the streets to take advantage of
10 the situation for power and wealth!
11
12 Take to a series of locations in competition with other scholars, wizards, and more in a
13 competetive synced-turn PvP combat game with some unique twists. Each match takes place
14 during the course of the storm, with strong winds blowing single-use scrolls,
15 power-boosting wizard's hats, magical implements, and some unique dangers onto the
16 playing field. Up to 8 players take their places on the stage, racing from spot to spot
17 in order to snatch up as many of these items as they can, fight off their opponents, and
18 get that bag!
19
20* Systems and Gameplay
21 Each match takes place on a grid-based map somewhere within the area of the storm's
22 path. After taking their starting places, the match begins, and artifacts are spread
23 onto the field as the storm winds hit. In the subsequent turns, players will have two
24 turn phases - /action/, and /movement/. Play continues until there is one or no
25 player(s) remaining, or until the storm passes, at which point a free-for-all occurs.
26 Free for all lasts only a handful of turns until the librarians arrive, at which point
27 no reward is granted for the match.
28
29** Match Progression
30*** Starting Round
31 - Players may take their spot on the stage in a first-takes-the-cake scramble for
32 positions
33 - In this stage, combat may not occur
34 - Once a position has been selected, a player may not move again
35 - If no position is selected before the round timer expires, a random position will be
36 selected
37
38*** Storm Rounds
39 Storm rounds (aka normal rounds) are separated into multiple phases, one
40 environmental and two control.
41
42**** Wind Phase
43 1. Item Scattering
44 a) On the first round, the storm phase will randomly scatter a selection of artifacts
45 across the stage. In subsequent rounds, those artifacts will be pushed across the
46 stage by the wind some distance depending on the intensity of the next round's
47 wind strength and direction, which is indicated by decoration on the stage's
48 borders, or by hovering over an item during a control phase.
49 b) On rounds excluding the first round, artifacts are moved across the stage based on
50 wind strength and direction. New artifacts may be deposited in empty cells along
51 the border from which the wind acted.
52
53 2. The storm continues to pass, and the winds shift and change strength as it does.
54 3. The stage decoration is updated to display the next round's wind strength and
55 direction.
56
57**** Control Phase
58 The control phase is further divided into two sub-phases, /action/ and /movement/.
59
60***** Action sub-phase
61 If the cell the player occupies on this sub-phase contains an artifact, the player
62 automatically picks it up. They are then given the option to choose between a set of
63 possible actions to perform with that artifact.
64
65 a) USE - the player can choose to equip or expend the artifact, reducing its value
66 by 75% but acquiring any stat improvement, or enacting any spell effect that the
67 item confers. If the player uses a scroll, they begin to read its contents and the
68 effect takes place at the end of the action sub-phase.
69 b) KEEP - the player stores the artifact in their inventory, preventing it from
70 being used but retaining the full value of the artifact should the player win the
71 match.
72 c) HOLD - the player does not use the artifact, but retains it in their hands for
73 potential use on the next action sub-phase.
74
75 Once all players have selected their action, or the phase timer has expired, USE
76 actions take effect. For equipable artifacts, this happens immediately. For spell
77 artifacts, the order of actions is determined by the player's /Wit/ stat minus the
78 /complexity/ of the spell. Should two players' actions have the same resulting turn
79 order value, those effects happen simultaneously, potentially resulting in
80 /spell collision/.
81
82***** Movement sub-phase
83 Once the action sub-phase has completed, players must choose to either move to a new
84 cell, or defend the cell on which they are standing.
85
86 a) MOVE - depending on the /speed/ stat, the player may move up to floor(speed/2)
87 cells, which occurs during the next /wind/ phase.
88 b) DEFEND - the player does not move to a new cell, gaining a temporary +1 bonus to
89 their /strength/ stat during the proceeding wind phase. This bonus can exceed the
90 natural maximum of the stat.
91
92**** Player face-offs
93 Player face-offs occur during the /wind/ phase when two or more players attempt to
94 occupy the same cell. During a face-off, each player's strength stat is compared
95 against the cumulative value of the other players'. If no player is able to exceed
96 the cumulative strength of all other players involved in the face-off, everyone is
97 knocked back up to two cells. If one player is able to exceed the value, they
98 knock their opponent(s) back, and remain on the new cell.
99
100*** Free for All
101 Should more than one player remain standing once the storm has passed, a scramble to
102 be the last person standing before the librarians arrive takes place. There will be 5
103 rounds of play, with the librarians arriving after the resolution of the final round's
104 combat. Should more than one player still be standing, all winnings are forfeit.
105
106 - During free for all rounds, any held artifacts can be equipped or used from the
107 player's inventory. The same loss-of-value rules as normal play will apply.
108 - No new artifacts will be scattered onto the stage, but any still leftover from the
109 last storm round will remain on their cells until picked up.
110
111** Character
112 Each player character starts a match with the same stats, which are only temporarily
113 boosted by equipped artifacts and spell effects during the course of a match.
114 Characters may be customized with purely cosmetic clothing items purchasable with
115 winnings from previous matches.
116
117*** Stats
118 - Strength
119 - Default: 1
120 - Natural Max: 10
121 - Effect: strength impacts the damage delt during a face-off should two or more
122 players move to the same cell during a wind phase.
123
124 - Wit
125 - Default: 1
126 - Natural Max: 10
127 - Effect: wit determines the turn-order execution of artifact spells in conjunction
128 with that spell's /complexity/.
129
130 - Speed
131 - Default: 2
132 - Natural Max: 14
133 - Effect: speed determines the distance a player can move each /movement/ sub-phase
134
135 - Power
136 - Default: 1
137 - Natural Max: 11
138 - Effect: power increases the potency of spells (namely, damage) by a percentage
139 over the base potency for each point above one.
140
141 - HP
142 - Default: 25
143 - Natural Max: 25
144 - Effect: the total hit points a player has available. Reaching zero results in a
145 K.O., and all held artifacts being marked as /damaged/.
146
147 - Barrier
148 - Default: 1
149 - Natural Max: 11
150 - Effect: barrier reduces incoming damage by a percentage per level above one.
151
152** Scrolls
153 The primary artifact type scattered by the storm is the /scroll/. Scrolls are a
154 magic-imbued, one-time-use magical artifact that allows the user to cast powerful magic
155 without any resource costs. Because they must be imbued with magic, upon use they are
156 rendered inert, reducing their value as the scroll's contents will need to be copied to
157 a new magic-imbued parchement.
158
159*** Fireball :artifact:scroll:damage:
160 Type: damage
161 Description: Conjure a fireball, which travels to a targetted cell up to
162 floor(4 + (4*PowerFactor)) cells away
163 Hit Mode: particle
164 Complexity: 5
165 Damage: 5 + (5 * PowerFactor)
166
167*** Prisma Beam :artifact:scroll:damage:
168 Type: damage
169 Description: Channel light energy into a powerful beam, firing in a straight line.
170 Cells in the center of the beam are hit for full damage, cells on either
171 side of the beam are hit for 30% of the total damage.
172 Hit Mode: scan
173 Complexity: 8
174 Damage: 6 + (12 * PowerFactor)
175
176*** Aether Blast :artifact:scroll:damage:
177 Type: damage
178 Description: Harness raw aetheric energy, causing an explosion effecting all adjacent
179 cells for full damage, and cells adjacent to those are half the damage.
180 Hit Mode: scan
181 Complexity: 6
182 Damage: 3 + (5 * PowerFactor)
183
184*** Ice Lance :artifact:scroll:damage:
185 Type: damage
186 Description: Conjure a spear of ice which travels to a targetted cell up to
187 floor(4 + 2*PowerFactor)) cells away, dealing damage to the first player
188 hit and freezing them in place, preventing movement.
189 Hit Mode: particle
190 Complexity: 5
191 Damage: 6 + (3 * PowerFactor)
192
193*** Soul Drain :artifact:scroll:damage:
194 Type: damage
195 Description: Harness necromantic dark arts to steal the energy of life itself,
196 creating a aether-miasmic cloud around the player. For each enemy hit,
197 the player gains 1 stack of shielding.
198 Hit Mode: scan
199 Complexity: 6
200 Damage: 2 + (6 * PowerFactor)
201 Shielding: 20
202 Stacks: 1/enemy effected
203
204*** Protect :artifact:scroll:shield:
205 Type: shield
206 Description: Channel the power of magic to create a shield around you, negating damage
207 and spell effects for one turn.
208 Hit Mode: n/a
209 Complexity: 4
210 Shielding: 100
211
212*** Invigoration :artifact:scroll:buff:
213 Type: buff
214 Description: Magically enhance your strength until the end of the match.
215 Complexity: 2
216 Stat Target: Strength
217 Stat Boost: 1
218
219*** Harness Wind :artifact:scroll:buff:
220 Type: buff
221 Description: Harness the energy of the wind, granting extra speed
222 Complexity: 2
223 Stat Target: Speed
224 Stat Boost: WindStrength
225
226*** Aetheric Infusion :artifact:scroll:buff:
227 Type: buff
228 Description: Connects your body to the aether for a time, granting extra power
229 Complexity: 2
230 Stat Target: Power
231 Stat Boost: 1
232
233*** Earthen Skin :artifact:scroll:buff:
234 Type: buff
235 Description: Infuse your body with the earthen elements, granting damage reduction
236 Complexity: 2
237 Stat Target: barrier
238 Stat Boost: 1
239
240*** Aetheric Rage :artifact:scroll:buff:
241 Type: buff
242 Description: overload your body with aetheric energy, granting a temporary large
243 enhancement to power.
244 Complexity: 4
245 Stat Target: Power
246 Stat Boost: 3
247 Stat Boost Timer: 2
248
249*** Mend :artifact:scroll:heal:
250 Type: heal
251 Description: Repair your physical form by weaving new tissue from aetheric fibers
252 Complexity: 3
253 Healing: 4 + floor(6 * PowerFactor)
254
255** Hats
256 Wizard hats also took to the skies with the scrolls. Unfortunately, since wizards
257 refuse to do things simply, upon equipping a hat it binds to the wearer, requiring
258 a complicated procedure to make it usable by someone else.
259
260*** Gemio's Hat of Knowledge :artifact:hat:uncommon:
261 Description: Always looking to one-up his fellow wizards, Gemio crafted this hat to
262 give him that extra little edge in wits over his peers.
263 Stat Target: Wit
264 Stat Boost: 2
265
266*** Shuria's Hat of Lifting :artifact:hat:uncommon:
267 Description: More interested in adventuring and adrenaline than studying over tomes,
268 Shuria created this hat to give her that extra little edge in strength.
269 Stat Target: Strength
270 Stat Boost: 2
271
272*** Hat of the Nameless Old One :artifact:hat:rare:
273 Description: A terrifyingly potent artifact, crafted by a wizard of immense power
274 aeons ago.
275 Stat Target: all
276 Stat Boost: 2
277
278*** Standard Student's Hat :artifact:hat:common:
279 Description: A standard worn by students at wizarding schools, designed to help
280 improve studying.
281 Stat Target: Wit
282 Stat Boost: 1
283
284*** Avanya's Coal Walker Hat :artifact:hat:common:
285 Desccription: A hat commonly worn by members of the temple of Avanya, to aid in
286 enduring potentially painful meditative rituals.
287 Stat Target: Barrier
288 Stat Boost: 1
289