GDD LVL 1 - The Dying Forest

2025-08-31 14:28

STATUS: #child

TAGS: mechanics, gameplay, hazards, level 1

GDD LVL 1

1. Level Overview

Title: World of Feeñ (Working Title)

Genre: Atmospheric survival platformer / narrative runner

Platform: Mobile/Continuous side scoller/Player must dodge hazards

Core Concept: Play as Feeñ, a glowing spirit seed in a drop fleeing a collapsing forest while experiencing fragments of memory and nature’s destruction.

Estimated Playtime: 2-3 minutes

Replayability Features:

  1. Moral / Ethical Choices: Outcomes differ depending on selfish vs. selfless choices

  2. Multiple Endings: Player choices lead to different story outcomes.

Character:

2. Narrative & World

Setting: Mystical forest devastated by deforestation, mining, and natural disasters

Tone: Cinematic, surreal and hectic—shifting between chaos and peace

Storytelling Style: Environmental storytelling, inner monologue in “safe zones,” visual memory flashes

Structure: Cinematic intro → Chaos → Safe memory zones → Escalating dangers → Forest’s edge → Scorched plain (cliffhanger)

Protagonist Backstory: Feeñ is a forest spirit that was dormant in a tree until violently awakened by the destruction of his home. He is thrown into the forest in his rawest energetic form without a body and needs to escape the intense logging that has a war-like character.

Narrative Progression: Wake up in the middle of chaos → Dodging the various obstacles with various abilities  → saving plants or animals from extinction → Escaping the chaos to the edge of the forest

Theme Integration:

3. Gameplay

Core Loop: Dodge hazards → Save endangered species → Enter calm zone → Get story fragment → Escape again→ Escalates/more hazards/gets faster

Player Actions: Hover, dodge, shift between dimensions

Game feel: Fast but still soft-hovering drift. Movements Ease In/Out. Player has to anticipate/get a feel. Feeñ as a cloud hovers and drifts. Feels like flying a plane in a flight simulator game.

Hazards:

  1. Falling trees

  2. Toxins: chemical gas clouds

  3. Burning oil puddles (DoT)

  4. Machines (moving/static saws)

  5. Forest fires/Arson (Flame throwers - bursts of fire that come out between the trees)

Control Scheme: Swiping, holding, tapping, pressure-holding (Feels like pulling and shooting a bow?)

Difficulty Scaling: Linear Scaling Difficulty - increases at a steady, preset rate as the player advances.(add Narrative-Based Scaling in coming levels - difficulty scales based on decisions taken)

Game Over Conditions: Since WOF is a platformer incorporating themes of rebirth, transformation, nature, and spirit, death only reverts the character to a less powerful state.

Transitions from failed mission to transformation must reflect "circular" life.

If the player fails, Feeñ (the cloud) dissipates and "rains" down onto the ground. Feeñ is transported back through the mycelium network to the last checkpoint where a mushroom grows out of the ground and the cloud emerges as spores and reassembles.

The player can fail as often as they want. The need to see the rest of the story drives him to succeed.

Condition Why it fits Feeñ Variation / Narrative Integration
Buried by a falling tree Teaches timing and awareness early Visual foreshadowing helps players learn from it (Audio: Cracking wood/Trees begin to fall slowly)
Sliced by machinery Teaches timing and awareness early Circular saw sound gets louder, they come out of the forest and the mist on mechanic arms that move like spider legs. Some also horizontally. Player has to stop between them.
Burned by fire Teaches timing and awareness early Flame thrower shots: come out of the mist from between the trees in various heights which Feeñ has to hover over. Burning puddles: The flame throwers produce sparks that periodically ignite the oil puddles on the floor. The flames then shoot up very quickly. Player has to quickly "bounce" higher to get over the flame.
☠️ Spirit energy depletion (from overusing shift) Introduces resource management and limitation Forces to stay in Earth Zone/no access to spirit zone. In spirit zone, the hazards are depicted like "shadows". They remove color and life from the spirit zone. Feeñ loses much less energy when flying into the colorless blots than when directly exposed to the hazards in the Earth dimensionThe energy flow (glowing moving particles) through the mycelium stops and the energy booster mushrooms can't be found by player.

Checkpoints/Save System: Automatic save at checkpoints (Flashbacks/Calm Zones)

4. Zones/Levels

Intro: Black screen, chaos sounds, blurry vision, confusion

Safe Zones: Peaceful memory-space (5–10 sec), acts as a checkpoint and storytelling moment

Spirit Zone:

Visual: Glow and psychedelic color effect/double exposure

Slower movement

Plant communication is visible through color and mycelium

See phytoncides as glowing mist

In spirit zone, the hazards are depicted like "shadows" or rather like "phantom energy".

Earth Zone:

Normal platforming rules

Heavier, faster, hazard-heavy

Time Mechanics:

Spirit zone has slower movement than earth zone

Different gravity feel

5. Skills & Abilities

Spirit Shift / Zone Shift:

Shift between Earth Zone and Spirit Zone

Uses energy bar—when depleted, player returns to Earth Zone

Used to dodge obstacles or escape danger

Mycelium Network:

Trails Feeñ’s movement underground

Surfaces as glowing mushrooms, grants energy boost, need to be found by player

Moral mechanic:

  1. Share energy with fleeing animals or save it for yourself (by touching it, getting close to it)

Rebirth (?):

Upon “death,” Feeñ transforms into a weaker or contextually hindered form

Could be introduced as a Level 2 mechanic

Time Mechanics:

6. Mechanics

Survival Tools:

Force field for flood defense

Energy/Stamina bar (for shifting or force field)

Upgrade or Progression System (?)

7. Visual & Audio Style

Art Style: Misty, soft-edge layered parallax, vibrant bioluminescence

Feeñ Design: Constantly morphing glowing cloud

Audio:

Dynamic ambiance (calm → chaos → calm)

Subtle music that reflects time of day or zone

Text-based Monologue

UI/UX Design (?)

Color Palette & Mood Boards (?)

8. Technical/Development

Engine: Unity (suggested)

Format: 2D with dynamic layering

Performance Targets (?)

Localization Plans (?)

Input & Accessibility Features (?)

9. Environment & Obstacles

Human-made:

Oil puddles (slip, DoT if burning)

Circular saws, workers, machines, flame throwers

Natural:

Falling trees

Toxins (gas/chemicals/visual distortion)

fire

Spirit Zone Dangers: Getting in contact with the grey, colorless blotches

10. Side Quests & Moral Choices

Spirit Animal Quests:

Optional encounters

Tasks like saving endangered species or rescuing seeds

Mycelium Sharing Dilemma:

Share energy with fleeing animals or keep it for survival

11. Development Needs

Programmer: Core mechanics, zone shifting, hazards, AI

Artist: Visual transitions, glowing effects, destruction layering

Sound Designer: Dynamic chaos/calm transitions, environmental design

Team Roles & Assignments (?)

12. Production Plan

Prototype: Zone shift, possession, safe zone loop

Alpha: All mechanics and level transitions

Beta: Storytelling, voice/text monologues, polishing

Final: Testing, UX/UI, localization

Budget & Funding Strategy (?)

Marketing Plan (?)

Playtesting & QA Plan (?)

First Level Timeline:

Time Segment Name What Happens Purpose
0:00–1:00 Sensory Overload Screen is black. Chainsaws, explosions/flashes between the trees, blinking vision. Bright light, blurry chaos. The world shakes Establish tone. Emotional hook. Audio-driven world intro.
1:00–2:00 Instinctive Escape Player gains limited control. Trees fall. Circular saws come out of the mist. Must dodge with only movement and hovering up and down. Intuitive controls. Urgency. First interaction.
2:00–2:30 Moment of Calm Flash—everything serene. A memory-like space appears. Sound fades. Narrative starts ("What happened? This was my forest! How did it come to this?") First narrative beat. Introduce “safe zones.”
2:30–3:30 Second Wave Back to action. The saws become flame throwers. Individual trees burn. Player must dodge flames. Introduce erosion & hover mechanic. Challenge increases slightly.
3:30–4:00 Spirit Shift Unlocked Player gains energy bar + Shift ability. Shift to Spirit Zone to avoid hazards. Introduce core mechanic. New sense of space.
4:00–4:30 Mycelium Surge Mushrooms appear. Mycelium gives energy boost if touched. Show healing/support mechanic. Introduce moral choice indirectly.
4:30–5:30 Moral decision Player can decide do leave or rescue endangered species Introduce moral decisions
5:30–6:30 Environmental Chaos Now the whole forest burns, flame throwers shoot and burning trees fall. Intensity rises. Showcase storm mechanics. Build tension.
6:30-7:00 Cliffhanger Exit Feeñ sees scorched plain from forest edge. Cut to black or narrative monologue. Emotional impact. Hint at scale of destruction.

REFERENCES

1. The Dying Forest,
1. The Dying Forest Story