Game Concept

Elemental Puzzles (Working Title)

As humanity's technology continues to expand, their king has begun to imprison all magicians and anyone who can communicate with spirits, seeing them as a threat to his civilisation. You are a young spirit user who has been imprisoned in a dungeon deep within a snowy mountain as a result of this decree. Try to escape the trap-infested dungeon with the help of your elemental spirit companions: fire, water, earth and air.

Genre: Puzzle, Platformer, Adventure(, Action?)

Concept Creation

Elemental Puzzles is inspired by the Fireboy and Watergirl game series on "Cool Math Games." It has subtracted the need for difficult parkour (and perhaps even jumping in general...) and instead ramped up the frequency of puzzles that must be solved to progress. Unlike its influence, however, Elemental Puzzles is focused on single player. Rather, the player can individually control both the main character and the elemental spirits, much like Sorush in the desert of Sumeru in Genshin Impact.

Elemental Puzzles has distanced itself from the typical level-based system of most platformers as much as possible, and tries to lean into being Open-World. The dungeon is mapped in Floors that continue to decrease in number until reaching the surface at the top, but there is nothing to stop the player from descending back into deeper floors. As such, the player is free to pick and choose any path they can find to the surface, like a single collective maze.

(It is not yet confirmed, but implementing enemy guards is a concept under consideration, whom the player would have to sneak past or fight).

Audience and Competition

Elemental Puzzles targets fans of web platformers such as Fireboy and Watergirl, Truck Loader and Pixel Quest: people who want a distraction or to simply pass the day away on a random website in a browser tab. 

These same games that aid in defining the interests of Elemental Puzzles' target audience also serve as its greatest competition. However, as all of these games are designed to be completable in one sitting, their popularity is more likely to benefit Elemental Puzzles than to hinder its growth. A common habit of this type of player is to go straight to "more like this" upon completing these games, allowing the user to migrate to a new but similar game... such as Elemental Puzzles.

But why should they choose this game? To reuse previous examples: Fireboy and Watergirl has the unique selling point of a '2 player platformer requiring teamwork to solve puzzles.' Truck Loader has a unique selling point of 'the player possessing a magnetic arm to drag objects in the environment around.' Elemental Puzzles' unique selling point is 'the ability to control multiple characters, which are collectively required to solve puzzles.'

Game Treatment and Concept Art

Elemental Puzzles is set in a layered, underground dungeon located deep within mountainous arctic tundra in fantasy-medieval time. The main character is a wrongfully imprisoned human hated by the greater majority of humanity for his affinity with spirits. The objective of the game is to escape the dungeon with the help of those spirits.

Player/Spirit Controls

Move Left:                                        A or Left Arrow

Move Right:                                     D or Right Arrow

(Spirits Only) Move Up:            W or Up Arrow

Move Down / Drop Down:     S or Down Arrow

Recall Spirits/Spirit Ability:   Spacebar

Reset Room:                                   Hold R

Pause Game:                                   P

Switch Character

Main Character:                            Q

Fire Spirit:                                         1

Water Spirit:                                    2

Earth Spirit:                                      3

Wind Spirit:                                      4

Abilities/Mechanics

Main Character can activate pressure plates by standing on them and recall all spirits back to their side.

Spirits can move about freely (fly) and pass through most walls, doors and objects. Some materials cannot be passed through. Each have a unique ability:

Fire Spirit Ability: Emits a pulse with a small range that can melt ice, turning it into water. Water cannot pass through doors, walls or other objects, and will freeze again after not moving for 5 seconds.

Water Spirit Ability: Can manipulate small amounts of water in a range equal to the Fire Spirit's pulse. While the ability is active, the water spirit acts as a water magnet to move it around.

Earth Spirit Ability: Drops a relatively small, round rock that can roll and interact with pressure plates.

Wind Spirit Ability: Emits a burst of air in a small range that pushes objects away.

Concept Art

Fire Spirit Sprite Draft

Game View Draft