High-Level Design

General

• Gold = overarching currency for character upgrades
• XP = currency within a game

The game consists of multiple waves that become more difficult as the game progresses. Every 3 waves, the player enters the shop.

Italic = Optional features (depending on available time)

 

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Enemies

Movement / Behavior:

• Run directly towards the player without complex pathfinding.
• In higher waves, the difficulty increases → enemies have more health, are faster, etc.
• Different movement per enemy type.

Attack Types:

• Primarily melee (punching, biting, ramming, etc.)
• Later also ranged (arrows, magic, projectiles)
• Special enemies/bosses with unique attacks:
  • Explosion attacks / area damage
  • Spawning additional enemies around themselves
  • Jump attacks forward
  • Increased attack speed, etc.
• Special enemies/bosses have a unique design for clear distinction.
• Different ranges (e.g., enemies standing at the edge with a “base” around them).

Attributes:

• Varying health points, damage values, attack speeds, movement speeds, and special attacks
• Special enemies/bosses with special abilities like shields or healing other enemies
• Spawn rate varies depending on current enemy count:
  • Few enemies → increased spawn rate
  • Many enemies → reduced spawn rate

Rewards:

• Player receives XP per kill, tougher enemies grant more XP
• Rare special items can drop from tough enemies:
  • Nuke
  • Double points
  • Temporary buffs (e.g., from potions)
• Special items remain on the ground until the end of the wave

 

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Player

Inventory:

• All weapon slots are always available during waves

Level:

• Player always starts at wave 1.
• No overarching leveling between games (except gold for character upgrades)

Base Stats:

• Health: Starting value of 100 HP, can be increased via stats
• Speed and other stats can be improved via XP in the shop or gold in the character main menu
• Stats and upgrades are individual per character

Special Abilities:

• Some characters have special abilities (e.g., healing, explosions, shield)
• Special ability can be used once per round (between shop visits)
• It is recharged after each shop visit

 

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Shop System

How to get new weapons?

• See Purchase Options

How to upgrade stats and weapons?

• See Purchase Options

Access:

• After a successful boss fight, the player automatically enters the shop
• Singleplayer: Shop closes automatically after 1 minute or anytime via button
• Weapon selection: 10 sec time limit, otherwise random selection

Currency:

• Only in-game currency (XP/Gold), no real money
• XP earned through kills and special drops
• Multiplayer: XP is player-specific and non-transferable
• XP is earned per kill, bosses grant gold every 3rd wave

Purchase Options:

• Stats and weapon upgrades are limited
• All characters have access to the same purchases, but specific classes receive specific advantages (e.g., archer +5 range, +10 shot speed)
• After each boss, two menus with 3 items each appear:
  1. Choose new weapon (one must be chosen)
  2. Upgrade stats/weapon (zero or one choice, reroll possible)
  • New weapons are free, upgrades cost XP (increasing cost per level)

 

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Characters

• Different characters with individual strengths/weaknesses
• Some have more health, others more attack power, faster movement, etc.
• Character is selected in the start menu and remains until the end
• At the beginning only one character available, others unlockable with gold
• Gold is earned per game, character upgrades only available after reaching endless mode
• Character stats can be leveled with gold in the menu

 

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Items

Weapons:

• Melee and ranged weapons
• Attributes: Range, attack speed, damage, weight (high weight slows down movement)

 

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Gameplay

Waves:

• After an increasing number of waves, there is a boss fight, then shop
• Wave intensity increases (similar to COD Zombies): more enemies / tougher enemies / more mini-bosses
• Before the shop & after a boss fight, the player gets a new weapon (choose 1 of 3)
• Each wave lasts 30 seconds, then 5 sec break
• HUD shows the current wave

Modes:

• Standard mode: approx. 15 minutes, after that, continue or end game
• Endless mode: infinite waves with increasing difficulty

 

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Controls and Gameplay

Controls:

• Auto-aim & auto-shooting

UI / UX:

• Clear HUD with health, XP, weapon slots, current wave
• Run history on the home screen (stats)

Difficulty Scaling:

• Enemies scale with playtime
• Before the game: map selection → difficulty (Easy, Advanced, Hard)
• Higher difficulty = more gold

Death / Revive:

• Singleplayer: If the player dies, the game is over
• Multiplayer: If a player dies, they are revived at the end of the wave

 

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Multiplayer

• Multiplayer is possible (possibly local via hotspot)
• Up to 4 players
• If a player leaves before endless mode → waves adapt, player receives no gold
• More players = more/tougher enemies
• Players outside of the screen → shown as triangle at the edge (no zoom-out)

 

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Maps

• Maps are not generated live
• Map is chosen at the beginning & remains until the end
• Maps differ by theme, obstacles & difficulty