Return to Pac-Man is by far the most developed game design concept I have made as of yet. It was originally for college related project. Now it is here and I am working on a new one for the college. Hope you enjoy it.
Set during the same time as Ms. Pac-Man, Return to Pac-Man tells the story of Slice. Slice is quite literally the missing slice of the Pac-Man pizza. The game opens with a brief cutscene depicting a yellow circle rolling along peacefully until an accident causes it to break apart into the standard Pac-Man shape and Slice. The two then become separated and Slice sets his mind to returning to Pac-Man.
Running over the dots, pellets and fruits will still cause them to disappear from the stage, however instead of eating them as Pac-Man does the character of my game, Slice, collects them without using them. This causes no gain for Slice instead acting as a determent, furthering his separation from Pac-Man. The resulting loss is one of friendship, companionship and love as the separation between Pac-Man and Slice grows larger.
The environments of Return to Pac-Man are the mazes from both Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man. Slice progresses through the mazes in pursuit of Pac-Man. However, upon finally reaching Pac-Man Slice will be denied, because of the relationship that formed between Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man during the other game set at the same time. As Slice grows closer to reforming with Pac-Man, Pac-Man is moving farther away from Slice and closer to Ms. Pac-Man.
Playing as Slice provides the player with a new gameplay experience than they are accustomed to with Pac-Man. Because of his unique shape Slice has the ability to push past Ghosts. When coming at them from the front pointed side, Slice can easily slip past them without losing a life. However, from the back rounded end he is just as vulnerable as Pac-Man. This small change reworks the entire gameplay from a chase situation to a much more strategic one. It is possible for Slice to just push past a Ghost and continue on his way, yet that results in the Ghost now being behind him and closer to his weak point. It is this risk vs. reward mechanic added to the gameplay that creates a new challenge for the player.
Thematicly Pac-Man is about gain through consumption, Return to Pac-Man on the other hand, is about loss through collection without use. Hence the growing separation between Pac-Man and Slice. To further the theme of collection without use results in loss, power pellets are reworked to become detrimental to the player. Slice has no way to actually consume them as he lacks a mouth so he collects them with no purpose. Instead of offering a power up and turning the tables on the Ghosts, in Return to Pac-Man the power pellets will slow Slice down as he collects them. Although that doesn’t seem like much it throws off the balance between Slice and Ghosts ever so slightly as to make the game more difficult when under the effect of a power pellet. But, the effect does not last a long time, just enough to change up the pace for the player. To ensure that the player actually goes for the power pellets instead of just avoiding them, like in standard Pac-Man, all dots must be consumed to clear the level.
Both Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man were organized in a three act structure; a level of gameplay would be followed by a brief cutscene also referred to as an intermission and then another level of gameplay. Return to Pac-Man will be organized the same way.
Act I is entitled Separation, consisting of the opening cutscene in which Pac-Man and Slice are separated and then the opening level which is the original maze from Pac-Man.
Act II is entitled The Chase, consisting of a cutscene much like that of the same name from Ms. Pac-Man. Instead of having just Pac-Man chase Ms. Pac-Man across the screen several times Slice is added to the chase following behind Pac-Man. The gameplay level is that of the second maze from Ms. Pac-Man, the light blue one. It provides an increase in difficulty without becoming too difficult.
Act III is entitled Loss, unlike the others it will begin with the gameplay portion. The gameplay level is the forth maze from Ms. Pac-Man, the dark blue one. It is the hardest maze in the game meant to challenge the player. The concluding cutscene begins how the opening cutscene of Ms. Pac-Man ends with Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man facing each other with a shared heart above them. Slice enters and Pac-Man turns to face him. Both move closer to each other, but then stop at an acceptable distance. Nothing appears above them. Then Pac-Man turns and goes back to Ms. Pac-Man. They exit the screen. Slice is left alone in the center of the screen as it begins to fill up with all the unused dots and power pellets that he collected during his journey.
NaGaWriMo 2013 is officially over. It was damn fun and mostly I am proud of the work I did. Thanks goes out to all those who read my posts, who participated themselves and to anyone who enjoys videogames. Play on.
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