The Idea:
A marathon racing game, in which the player chooses a runner and course to run. The controls are simple, steering left and right, and setting your speed, making sure you keep enough energy to keep running and not pass out. To get more energy, you can pick up water bottles to give your energy level a boost.
The Controls:
Only four buttons are used to control the character. Two for steering, and two for setting the runner’s speed. The left and right arrow keys control steering the character, and the W and S keys control speed up and speed down (W key increases speed, S key decreases speed). Clicking the W button once raises the runner’s mph one mph, and the same is for the S button but opposite.
Display:
The display will be very clean and easy to understand. In the top left corner is a meter telling the speed (in MPH) of the runner, and below it is the current amount of time the runner has taken to run. In the bottom left corner is the
indicator telling you what place you are currently in. The last meter is in the top right corner which is the energy meter, which will be symbolized as a battery, with different segments (most likely 4 segments). The last part of the display is the players vision, which is at a aerial type view, showing the back of the character, and scrolling with him as he makes it through the course.
Below is a concept art for the display described above:
Speed/MPH Meter:
Min. mph = 0.
Max. mph = 20.
The faster the mph, the faster energy drains.
Energy Bar:
If energy = 0 (empty), runner passes out and game is over.
The energy bar is broken into 4 segments and when each segment drains, your max speed is lowered 2 mph.
The math for this: Max Speed = 20(-2mph x # of lost segments).
An alternate to this would be to make you current speed 2 mph less, making it seem like you are going faster than you really are (because you’re tired).
The math for this: Current Speed = 20(-2mph x # of lost segments).
Place & Time Indicator:
The place indicator tells you what place you currently are in, in the race.
The time indicator tells you how long you have been running. It starts when the race starts and ends when the character crosses the finish line.
**The Code & Math:
** The gameplay of this game is made up of a moving character, scrolling background (for the marathon course), and the 4 controllers. The timer only has to start and stop, and the place indicator has to count how many runners are in
front of you and display that number. The mph bar tells you how many mph you have set your character to run at and how fast you are currently running. The only true math that comes into this game is with the energy bar, which needs to be lowered as the character gets more tired, and changes the max. amout of speed the runner can run.
Feedback Needed:
Any feedback is welcomed and needed. Do you like my idea? Does it need any changes? Thank you for your time and reading my idea.
-Joey, a.k.a. thejoeknows.
