Aztec Book References

Above are two more images from the book "The Aztecs" by Eduardo Matos Moctezuma. The top image is a small Aztec shrine. Terra cotta, It stands 12.5 inches in height. Since i origianlly had the idea of the Guardian possibly being summoned from a shrine I will reference this image along side some others for that design when concepting. The second object is an art piece of a Jaguar Warrior standing 31 inches in height.

Aztec References and Jaguar Warriors

Above are images for reference from the book "The Aztecs" by Eduardo Matos Moctezuma. These images show some of the different art the Aztecs had as well as a small insight on their culture and architecture. Also above are images on Jaguar warriors, a famous type of elite military unit from the Aztec background. They believed that the strength and agility from the animal would come to them from wearing this armour. For the player's character in my game Im planning on it being an Aztec male and as such are looking at different styles of clothing and background to take reference on designing him.

Possible Guardian Design (Finished)

This is the finished version of a design for the Guardian, the next design i will create will be a less humanoid and more spiritual character from what im currently thinking. Possibly made out of aztec architecture.

Step 3 Mechanic

 

This is Step 3 of each action the player can undertake with the companion mechanic. Within this illustration I have shown that the player can click and drag with the middle mouse button in a circular motion and the guardian will protect the player whilst the player attempts to solve a puzzle. This is only activated at certain events in the game (the player will be told). During this action the player will have a time limit on solving the puzzle, the time limit comes from the total time that the guardian can hold off the enemies.

Possible Guardian Design (Unfinished)

Basic Block Colour

 My current idea for the Guardian is that the player's character discovers a never before seen shrine. The Guardian is summoned from this shrine offering the protection to the player's character.

When it comes to the Guardians design I currently have quite a few different ideas on what it should look like and be however I believe it should have the appearance of not looking like it is from the Aztec background being quite mysterious and usual, standing out from the other Aztec qualities in the world.

A Moodboard

Since im doing a game idea with an Aztec theme ive obviously been researching into the background of the Aztec culture and architecture for my project. Ive taken a book from the local libary on Aztec Culture and have been reading up on this as well as that I decided to create a moodboard filled with Aztec references to get myself jumpstarted to delve deeper into the research.

An Introduction and a Mechanic

Major Project Idea

Theme
An Aztec fantasy themed game,
The game will have an isometric diablo-style camera much like many games from the dungeon crawler genre.

Main Gameplay Elements - Combat, Puzzle-Solving, Strategy

Unique Mechanic
The unique mechanic within the game will be the ability to command an A.I. controlled guardian (that follows the player) to attack and defend from enemies as well as assist with puzzle solving


The players character is limited in combat where as the guardian is much more capable therefore the player must rely heavily on the guardians protection through issuing orders for example commanding the guardian to defend a direction from enemies whilst the player is protected from that direction he/she may then fight enemies from another direction or attempt to solve a puzzle.

    As more enemies come from multiple directions the player must manage commands for the guardian switching directions to attack based on which side is the most dangerous where as the player's character would finish off the few enemies that managed to break through the defensive line.

    Another example of this mechanic could be that there are enemies coming from the flank of the player and so the player commands the guardian to hold the line whilst the player attempts to solve a puzzle to open a door to gain access to the next area. Because of this the player then has a time limit to solve the puzzle before the enemies overwhelm the guardian and breakthrough.

As the game progresses the guardian may unlock skills to be used in combat such as the ability to break down into 3 versions of itself protecting multiple directions however the guardian is weaker in this state as opposed to when its 1 whole. Another skill could be the ability to do an area of effect attack (aoe) to multiple enemies at once with increased damage.

Beginning of a Blog

So this blog is to monitor my final major project through the last year of university, im currently doing a degree in (BA) Creative Computer Games Design and have to design a unique game with at least a working level, character and mechanic.
Through this blog i will showcase work in development, game design ideas and general thoughts.