GDD LVL 1 - The Dying Forest

2025-08-31 14:28

STATUS: #adult

TAGS: mechanics, gameplay, hazards, level 1

GDD LVL 1

1. Level Overview

Title: World of Feeñ
Genre: Atmospheric survival platformer / narrative runner
Platform: Mobile/Continuous side scoller/Player must dodge hazards
Core Concept: Play as Feeñ, a glowing spirit fleeing a forest that is being destroyed by logging, mining, and fire.

Estimated Playtime: 2-5 minutes

Replayability Features:

Character:

2. Narrative & World

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

Tone: Cinematic, surreal and hectic—shifting between chaos and peace/Chaos in a naturally peaceful environment

Storytelling Style: Environmental storytelling

Structure: Blurry, hectic intro → Chaos → 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 form of a seed within water that takes the shape of a jellyfish and needs to escape not only the intense logging, but also an ensuing, all-encompassing forest fire. All the action has a war-like character. There are search lights/flashlights blinking between the trees, explosions, shaking ground, falling trees, flashes and fire.

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 → Escape again→ Escalates/more hazards/gets faster

Player Actions: Roll, dodge, jump, Squeeze

Game feel:

Hazards:

  1. Flash lights/Search lights/Electrical Lights (LED)

  2. Falling burning branches (Possibly with the forest fire shader)

  3. Forest fire (Fire Shader)

  4. Ember Rain - Sparks falling from above(Example 1/Example 2)

  5. Burning oil puddles (DoT/Forest fire shader in small)

  6. Toxic swamp/Puddles - chemical bubbles

  7. Toxic pipes - Steam shooting out

Control Scheme: Swiping, holding, tapping, pressure-holding (Feels like pulling and shooting a bow?)/left/right button on the left, and a jump button on the right for the start

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

Game Over Conditions: Loss of all collected seeds/animals/abilities
If the player fails, the water drop loses form and disintegrates into a puddle with the seed lying in it. If touched by fire, Feeñ shrinks and if he evaporates completely, the seed burns. Player restarts at the beginning of the level. The player can fail as often as they want.

Maye: Another way i would think to create a game over condition would be that Feen constantly loses water just by the virtue of being in a burning forest. So he has to constantly collect water drops to keep the seed alive.

Gaseous Hazards will then inflict specific status effects (poison or fire burn represented by a bar) of feen constantly taking more damage. so within that time.. for feen to survive the player needs to collect droplets to increase feens biomass or water mass (Polishing stage)

Condition Why it fits Feeñ Variation / Narrative Integration
Buried by a falling tree Teaches timing and awareness early Feeñ splashes into a puddle, the seed exposed on the ground. Back to start of the level. Visual foreshadowing helps players learn from it (Audio: Cracking wood/Trees begin to fall slowly)
Chemical Clouds/Bubbles Teaches timing and awareness early Toxic clouds rise up from the swamp. Feeñ has to time movement not to be contaminated by them. If contaminated, Feeñ moves slower/lags. Needs to find mushroom and draw mycelium network energy to cleanse. Dims Glow
Burned by fire Teaches timing and awareness early If touched by fire, the water drop becomes smaller/evaporates more with every contact. If a certain limit is reached, the drop disappears and the seed burns/dries out. Burning pits: Sparks periodically ignite the oil puddles/pits on the floor. The flames then shoot up very quickly. Player has to quickly "bounce" higher to get over the flame.
Toxic Swamp Teaches timing and awareness early Slow contamination. If too long in the liquid, Feeñ dies and needs to start at the beginning of the level. Dims Glow - Also includes rising toxic bubbles/clouds
Flashlights/Searchlights Teaches timing and awareness early/Creates sense flight Feeñ has to hide from the search lights/has to avoid electrical light altogether because it damages the seed/creates toxic algae growth in the water drop

Checkpoints/Save System: No saving in the first level.

4. Zones/Levels

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

Earth Zone:
Normal platforming rules

5. Skills & Abilities

Biomass collection:

Water replenishment:
Can draw water from the environment to fill up the drop

Mycelium Network:
Underground and in trees
Surfaces as glowing mushrooms, grants energy boost, need to be found by player

Moral mechanic:
Save endangered species or let them go extinct (seeds and animals incl. insects)

Time Mechanics:
Absorb "memory drops" to rewind time 3 seconds (limited use) and are found shortly before a difficult challenge. Possibly start with a first simpler one.

6. Mechanics

Survival Tools:
None yet

Upgrade or Progression System (?)
None yet

7. Visual & Audio Style

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

Feeñ Design: Glowing Seed Drop

Audio:

Foley (environmental noise) and strategically placed music Dynamic ambiance, Ostinatos for action
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, Fire pits, Toxins (gas/chemicals/visual distortion), Factory with toxic pipes

Natural:
Fire, burning branches, flying sparks, toxic swamp

10. Side Quests & Moral Choices

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:

Alpha: All mechanics and level transition

Beta: Storytelling, voice/text monologues, polishing

Final: Testing, UX/UI, localization

Budget & Funding Strategy (?)

Marketing Plan: Market research, Social Media Strategies

Playtesting & QA Plan (?)

First Level Timeline:

Time Segment Name What Happens Purpose
0:00–00:30 Sensory Overload Screen is black. Chainsaws, explosions/flashes and flash lights between the trees, blinking vision. Bright light, blurry chaos. The world shakes Establish tone. Emotional hook. Audio-driven world intro.
00:30–1:30 Instinctive Escape Player gains limited control. Trees fall. Fire ignites. Must dodge with only movement forward rolling and jumping. Intuitive controls. Urgency. First interaction.
1:30–2:30 Seeds, inventory, ability Finding first seeds, finding memory drops, unlocking ability to rewind 3 seconds before bigger challenge (falling burning branch) Introduction of Inventory, moral choice, memory drop ability.
2:30–3:00 The toxic swamp Arriving at toxic swamp, chased by the fire, sparks/burning leaves/branches, falling trees. Toxic gas clouds/bubbles rise up. Must move quickly with additional obstacle. Clouds move slowly, fire quickly, and player needs to act at the right moment. Introduce Toxic gas clouds. Challenge increases.
3:00–3:30 Mycelium Surge Mushrooms appear. Mycelium gives energy boost if touched. Show healing/support mechanic. Introduce moral choice indirectly.
3:30–4:00 Passing the pipes/Factory Arriving at factory. Toxic steam shoots out of the pipes. More seeds/animals to save and risk being reached by the fire, get nervous and roll into steam Introduce altered gas obstacle
4:00–4:30 Environmental Chaos Now the whole forest burns, flame throwers shoot and burning trees fall. Intensity rises. Showcase storm mechanics. Build tension.
4:30-5:00 Cliffhanger Exit Feeñ overlooks scorched plain from a branch of a big tree on forest edge and sees the game destination: City Eternal. Sun rises Emotional impact. Hint at scale of destruction, Hint to destination

REFERENCES

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