Here is an overview over the original game design and ideas that the group has made.

Summary:

The game will in summary be a puzzler where you play as a dragon whose goal is to kidnap the princess. Each map will be a 3D level with different abilities and objects the dragon can interact with in order to complete the level.

The Dragon:

The main ability of the dragon is to be able to change sizes and abilities based on the amount of gold in its inventory. Here is the original concept for the dragon design:

The dragon has 3 distinct sizes, perhaps the 3d model can be scaled up until it reaches the next shape and then swap to the next size. Each size has different qualities and abilities as illustrated below. If the game is able to implement a proper story, a fourth final dragon design may be developed for the finale.

	Small	Medium	Large	Final Form (Finale)
Glide	Yes	No	No	Yes
Double Jump	No	Yes	No	Yes
Scare Guards Away	No	No	Yes	Yes
Push Crates/Carts	No	Yes	Yes	No
Bush Interaction	Stationary Hide	Can Move and Hide in Bush	Can Wear Bush as a Hat, Does Nothing	No
Pressure Plate Interaction	Activate Weight 1	Activate Weight 2	Activate Weight 3	No

Each Dragon size will in addition to this have different movement abilities. The smallest dragon cannot jump very high, but is able to glide for long distances:

The medium dragon can double jump:

And lastly, the biggest dragon has little need for mobility and is a poor jumper:

Obstacles:

Guards:

One of the main obstacles will be the guards. They can be stationary or move around the map, and if they discover the dragon, the dragon will be pushed back making it impossible to pass through. The dragon can sneak past, timing it, or using a bush. Or the dragon can scare it away if it's the large version. The field of view of the Guard will be illustrated on the ground in front of it as a light, and if it pivots and turns its head, the area of its field of view is marked in a lighter yellow:

Bushes:

Bushes can be used to sneak or hide from guards. The small dragon can hide in it. The medium dragon can pick it up and walk with it. if it is standing still the guard won't see it. Similar to how barrels work in other games. And the biggest dragon can pick it up, but it does nothing.

Crates / Carts:

Crates and carts can be pushed and dragged by the medium and largest dragon. This can make it possible to reach ledges or so, or open areas of the map. The cart can contain gold and can be used as a way to transport gold to other parts of the map you can only get to as the smallest dragon.

Getting Gold:

In the advent that more gold is required to beat the level, the dragon can fish out coins from the nearby fountain. The yellow specs in the fountain will indicate that there is gold to harvest from it.

Pressure Plates:

Pressure plates activate other parts of the map. For instance, they can move tracks that the carts travel on, lower bridges, or open doors. To activate the plates there needs to be a certain amount of weight on it. This weight can be a crate. the dragon itself, or the gold it leaves behind. The pressure plate has an indicator for what weight it requires to operate, and also an indicator to show how much is currently on the scale:

Additional Objects:

Ideas for additional objects.

• There is a short wall or fence that the smallest dragon cannot jump it.
• There is a "Mouse Hole" in a wall the smallest dragon can use.
• There are rails for the cart that can be operated by pressure plates
• There are draw bridges that can be operated by the pressure plates.

Example Level:

Here is a rough sketch of an example level. The dragon enters on the left. This room has many solutions and ways to handle the room. We will look at some of them here. Here is the base room. There is a path immediately leading to a guard, with a bush in front of it. The guard pivots on the spot. There is also a short wall blocking access to the pressure plate in the bottom left. Following the path, there is a climbable fountain with gold coins in it There are enough gold coins to make the dragon grow one size. After the fountain, there is a guard who is standing still. Behind the guard is a drawbridge that is raised-

Proposed solution. Small dragon:

The dragon starts by hiding in the bush, then immediately goes to the fountain. grabbing all the coins to grow a size. Then going to the pressure plate, it leaves the gold there becoming small again. The drawbridge is now down, so the dragon can climb the fountain and then glide to the exit, over the other guard's head.

Proposed solution. Medium dragon:

The dragon starts by jumping the short wall and going to the pressure plate. It activates it by leaving gold and can now finish the same way as the small dragon. Or it can pick up the gold from the fountain, turning big, and scaring the guard in front of the bridge away, before activating the plate and leaving the room as medium-sized.

Proposed solution. Large dragon:

The dragon starts by scaring the first guard away and then goes to the fountain (optional) to get more gold. Then it scares the second guard away and activates the pressure plate by leaving some gold behind and leaves as a big dragon.

Hud design:

Having the penny on the icon shine and glimmer. If this coin is pressed, the room is reset and the dragon is placed at the start of the room. Additionally, the bar shows the amount of gold that the dragon has in its inventory. The prongs show the different amounts needed to grow to the next size.

For interacting there should be a simple pop-up with the options. For example, the bush should let the small dragon enter and exit.

Aditional Game Design Ideas:

• Slideshow intro or story sections depending on time.
• collectibles in the maps for the more difficult solutions.
• The collectibles could be letters from the princess for more story relevance.
• The end of the game can feature a big scary version of the dragon, it can run through some of the first levels breaking everything, ending up at the princess's location.
• Title screen with the wishing well.
• End screen with the dragon guarding the princess in a tower.