The Conception of the Graveyard

-Brainstorming the Initial Idea-

Take "Legend of the Dungeon" visual feeling, "Shovel Knights" retro art style, and "Papers, Please" economic inspiration then throw in a graveyard. And we have the basis of our team's initial game idea that stuck.

A not too serious game where the zombies need to be put back in their graves. This restless zombies are mischievous fiends, breaking windows, scaring kids, and biting your neighbors. It is your job as the gravedigger to police these zombies, making sure they don't cause a ruckus in town. If the zombies cause any damages in town, the costs are deducted from your paycheck.

-In-game mechanics & systems-

The General List: The Early Stage
Picking up zombies and putting them in holes.
Random spawning zombies in graves.
Camera view and feel is important. (isometric)

Updated List: Currently Known
Attack (Shovel Stun)
Carrying Zombies
Level population w/ assets using randomization
Isometric Camera Viewpoint
Economic (Paycheck) system
Enemy spawning (constant stream) (Varying #)

-Prototyping-

I started with an attempt to produce a digital prototype, but quickly knew that the gameplay still hadn't been solidified. So onward with a paper prototype, rough and quick. Finding the mechanics, scraping the bad ideas, and modifying on the fly to get the core system. Identifying that the "combat" was the core of the gameplay, the team could push forward and ensure that this element was fun.