Difficulty

Alice Asylum will have selectable difficulty settings, but we will balance the normal setting to what is listed below.

Goals

• Limited frustration for Player
• Impossible to fail at completing the game
• Challenge reward for broad range of Player core-types

Fails

• Perceived as too EASY or too HARD
• Perceived as too heavy handed (too much hand-holding)
• Perceived as too oblique (not enough hand-holding)

Audience Assumptions

• Gender: 50/50 male-female
• Attraction: Wonderland, Alice, art, story, sequel, exploration, puzzles, combat
• NOT: Us (the developers)

Design Assumptions

• Gameplay is EASY
• Achievements are HARD
• Secrets are MEDIUM-HARD
• Alternate paths are MEDIUM-HARD

Risk Areas

Puzzles

Challenge: Player is unable to progress because Puzzle cannot be solved.
Solutions for Minimizing Risk

• Design
  • Keep Puzzles Simple
  • Progressive difficulty within puzzles types to train User
  • Make the Goal Obvious
  • Present in “puzzle box” format. One way in, one way out.
• Testing/Tuning
• Progressive Help Dialog from Cheshire Cat

Combat

Challenge: Player is unable to overcome enemy NPCs and cannot progress.
Solutions for Minimizing Risk

• Design of Combat situations (balancing)
• Design of Combat controls (ease of use, intuitive)
• Testing/Tuning
• Cat Nip – Cheshire Cat clears combat areas

Exploration

Challenge: Player is lost, unable to find next goal, cannot progress.
Solutions for Minimizing Risk

• State Goals clearly (update always, display clearly, repeat on-screen/diary)
• Offer constant guide to primary objective
• Panning camera towards correct direction, in-level highlighting (POI)
• Cheshire Cat hints, guidance

Platform Action

Challenge: Player is physically unable to complete sequence of platform gameplay.
Solutions for Minimizing Risk

• Design
• Testing/Tuning
• Cat Nip – Cheshire Cat shows user how to platform past a particular section

CHESHIRE CAT SYSTEM

The Cheshire Cat plays a critical role in providing help when requested. Help varies based on the situation in which it is activated. AT ALL TIMES when Player summons Cheshire Cat, the current Primary Objective will refresh onscreen.
Context dependent responses include:

• Puzzles
  • Request 1: oblique suggestion for solution (non helpful, entertaining)
  • Request 2: direct suggestion for solution (helpful, but Player still has to think)
  • Request 3: step-by-step solution (complete solution, Player doesn’t think)
• Combat
  • Request 1: oblique critique of combat style (non helpful, entertaining)
  • Request 2: direct suggestion for improvement (helpful, but Player still has to fight)
  • Request 3: delivery of help item (Cat Nip) (semi-complete solution, assisted fight)
• Exploration
  • Request 1: oblique suggestion re: current narrative (non helpful, entertaining)
  • Request 2: direct suggestion to review objective (helpful, but indirect)
  • Request 3: physically turns camera towards correct direction, animates “this way” (direct)
• Platform
  • Request 1: oblique suggestion (non helpful, entertaining)
  • Request 2: direct suggestion for improvement (helpful, but indirect)
  • Request 3: delivery of help item (Cat Nip) (semi-complete, guided platforming)

After a few seconds if the player doesn't press the help again, the cat disappears. If the user presses help again it will play the second hint, if he presses again, then it will play the 3rd hint.

Cheshire Cat cannot be called during:

• While Alice is locked on engaging in combat
• When Alice is jumping or falling
• Cinematic Mode is ON
• Alice is dead

If there are no specific hints for the Cheshire Cat to give for a specific place the current primary objective will be displayed on-screen and at random times he will offer up irrelevant information through audio.

Visual

During parts of the game; at puzzles, larger combat areas, vistas, the Cheshire Cat will appear at spawn points and offer up his hints. He will turn to face Alice depending on when she calls him and where the spawn point is. For the Cheshire Cat to appear Alice must be still/idle.

When the Cheshire Cat appears user can press the lock-on mode for PoI so that the camera focuses on him. While Alice is platforming/moving through an area the Cheshire Cat will not appear, instead he will offer up his hint simply through VO and the primary objective will be displayed within the HUD.

Controls

When the Player presses the Cheshire Cat Button while Idle, the Cheshire Cat will appear to the nearest spawn point and will play the first hint.

If the player presses the Cheshire Cat Button again the Cheshire Cat will play the next hint. After playing through every hint the Cheshire Cat will then play the final “ultimate” hint.

While the Cheshire Cat is giving his hint Player can press the relevant trigger to activate lock-on mode for a PoI.

If the Player is platforming/moving through the level, the Cheshire Cat Button will still give them a hint but the Cheshire Cat will not appear.

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