The Haunted Hotel
(workname)
Design Document v1.1
Teemu Huhtiniemi
18.4.2010
Producer comments added to page 18.4.2010
- Theme
As the butler in a haunted hotel your job is to keep the ghosty visitors happy!
...
Deep in the backwoods lies a small town of Wyrmavia. Despite their undeniably peculiar customs the folk of Wyrmavia are kind and peace loving people.
Life is good.
However everything is about to change when the local gravedigger finds a strange looking chest buried in dirt. A mere look at the ominous object is enough to send shivers down the gravedigger's spine yet he still can't resist the temptation to take a peek inside. Little does he know that the small chest was in fact a doorway to the Land Of the Dead!
The chest drops down on the ground and an swirling ethereal vortex appears out of thin air!
The townspeople flee as a horde of gruesome spectres leave the vortex and flow to the streets. In a matter of minutes the whole town is completely overrun by ghostly creatures!
Days pass. As people are afraid of leaving their homes Wyrmavia turns into a ghost town - in a truest sense of the word.
However all hope is not yet lost! The local hotel owner - a peculiar man named Bruno McMaggot comes up with an idea.
McMaggot: "Listen Winston, I've been thinking of this whole ghost problem..."
Winston the butler: "Yes sir?"
McMaggot: "I just might have a solution!"
McMaggot: "You do know that the hotel business hasn't exacly been flourishing these days and we are knee deep in debt, right?
Winston the butler: "Yes... I'm afraid we are, sir."
McMaggot: "And because of those ghoulish creatures outside no one dares to enter this town anymore. Which means we might not have any new customers in a long while, right?"
Winston the butler: "I'm afraid so, sir."
McMaggot: "Well I just realized something! I say we offer those ghosty creatures a bed and breakfast! Think about it! They must have been wandering around the land of the dead for a good while now. They must be dead tired, right? Ha ha!"
Somewhat surprisingly McMaggot's plan is a success and the halls of the hotel are quickly populated with all kinds of undead folk. Dreaming of the fame and wealth his undeniably brilliant plan is going to bring along to him, McMaggott grins happily.
McMaggot: "I knew even the undead couldn't resist a free buffet!"
What McMaggot didn't know is that the undead can be quite grumpy and demanding customers. Winston the butler needs to work a lot more than a few extra shifts to keep the new ghosty inhabitants happy.
Luckily he has you to help him!
Pridecer comments: Briefing screen sketch has to be made. How backstory is shown to the player? first story then dialog? animations, transitions, speoken or text? This needs action both from programmer and artist.
- Objective
The player controls Winston, McMaggot's trusted Butler on his mission to keep the ghosty hotel visitors happy. This happens by delivering certain items the ghosts wish for to the appropriate hotel room doors. All of the items must be delivered before time in the on-screen timer (2 mins in the first level) runs out. If all deliveries are made in time the ghosts are happy, the level is cleared and the player is given access to the next level. If time runs out the player fails as ghosts leave the hotel and take over town.
...