RoundAbout

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RoundAbout Or, that racing game with the marbles
and stuff
Chris Claggett David Joyner CS4455
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Basic Overview
RoundAbout is a racing game centered around
racing small, spherical balls, henceforth called
'marbles'. While racing is the focus of the
game, there is a heavy emphasis on strategic
'battling' using items the player picks up on the
track. These items (detailed later in this
presentation) are not offensive items, but rather
strategic items designed to disrupt other
players' progress. An additional emphasis is
placed on using these items for personal
advancement most items can also be used to help
the player themselves.
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Control
Unlike a standard racing game, control will not
be done via 'steering' (controlling the direction
the vehicle's current motion is going) the
marble. Instead, players will control their
marble by applying forces in the four directions
(forward, backward, left and right) using the
arrow keys. Directions will always be taken by
the camera's current position (forward is always
away from the camera, backward toward the camera,
etc.) - there is no 'absolute' direction in the
game.
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Screen
The screen, like many racing games, will be
dominated by the player's view of their marble
and track. The camera will remain pointed in the
direction of the marble's current motion. Other
information will be displayed around the
border Top Right HUD view of the track Top
Center Current speed Top Left Current place
(1st, 2nd, etc.) Middle Left Overall
Rankings Bottom Left Laps Completed/Laps
Required Bottom Middle Current Weapon Bottom
Right Lap Time This information will be
toggleable on and off.
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Screen
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Items
Items will be collected by running through
'arches' on the course different arches will
hold different items (discernible to the player,
unlike Mario Kart). Items will be UPGRADEABLE
running through the same type of archway multiple
times will upgrade your item through to a maximum
of level 3. Different items will have different
effects as they 'level up'. Running through an
archway for a weapon other than the one you
currently hold will replace your current weapon
with that one. There will be 5 weapons in the
game. All items except the Hamster Pellets are
dropped behind the player.
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Items
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Items
Ramps Effect The ramp will launch marbles who
travel up it. This can be used strategically as
either a weapon (launch opponents off the track)
or a shortcut (launch the player themselves to
another part of the course). Upgrades
Upgrading the ramp will upgrade the width and the
height. The ramp may also have an acceleration
effect built into it to emphasize the launching
effect, as well as straighten entering marbles.
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Items
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Items
Hole Effect Holes are simply holes in the
course that will drop any marble that runs over
it through the track. This can be used
strategically as either a weapon (drop opponents
off the stage) or a shortcut (when a track loops
over itself, drop to the lower track). Upgrades
Upgrading the hole will upgrade the size of the
hole. Dropping through the hole will not alter a
marble's current momentum so, if a player
wishes to drop to a lower part of the stage and
also change direction, they will need to control
their speed as such in advance.
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Items
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Items
Oil Slick Effect Oil slicks will be temporarily
disable the controls for any marble rolling over
them, causing them to continue in the same
direction for a period of time. As marbles run
over an oil slick, it will disappear. Upgrades
Upgrading the oil slick will make it last longer.
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Items
Wall Effect Walls are simply walls on the
course that marbles will bounce off of if they
hit. Walls will not be long enough to block the
entire course. Upgrades Upgrading the wall
will upgrade how 'bouncy' the wall is. A level 1
wall will act much like a block of wood and
simply stop a marble that runs directly into it
a level 3 wall, however, will act almost like a
spring and will bounce an intersecting marble in
the complete opposite direction.
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Items
Hamster Pellet Effect Hamster Pellets are the
only non-droppable items in the game. Using a
hamster pellet will provide a momentary jolt in
speed. Running into another marble while at this
increased speed will ricochet them much more
powerfully than a standard collision. Upgrades
Unlike the other items, which have 3 levels, the
Hamster Pellet is simply saved so, running
through consecutive Pellet arches simply adds to
the number of Pellets the player has. Running
through another arch, though, will cause the
player to lose all Pellets.
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Items
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Tracks
Tracks will be suspended in air there will be
no general-surroundings inaccessible terrain
(although, in some cases the appearance of
suspension may vary for example, falling off a
desk). Tracks will have various track-specific
features and themes to them - Gravity/Physics
Changes - Terrain (both for the track and
between track/edge) - Doodads (course
obstacles) - Backgrounds (in the
distance) Tracks will also be themed according to
different atmospheres, such as outer space, snow,
grass or more unusual settings, like a desk or a
kitchen.
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Tracks
Tracks will be organized into three categories
Easy, Moderate and Hard. Play will be run
through the user's choice of either individual
races or Grand Prix-style series of races. A
Grand Prix will consist of 4 randomly selected
races from the chosen category (or a fourth
option, which randomly chooses from all three
categories together). Point will be assigned to
participants based on their placement in each
race, and the player with the most points at the
end will win.
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Marbles
All marbles will not be equal however, they also
will not be described by the standard 'stats'
method of assigning numbers to acceleration,
speed, etc. Instead, a marble's acceleration,
speed and momentum will be determined by the
'material' of the marble. Lighter marbles will
accelerate uphill but have less momentum and be
more affected by collisions heavier marbles will
accelerate faster downhill, but will also be more
affected by rough terrains.
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Multiplayer
Multiplayer will be conducted over network. Up
to 8 players can compete in a single race/Grand
Prix marble colors will be assigned in order of
joining (Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Purple,
Orange, White, Black). Grand Prix scoring will
be dependent on how many players there are 2
players 10, 5 6 players 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 0 3
players 10, 7, 4 7 players 10, 9, 7, 5, 3, 1,
0 4 players 10, 7, 4, 1 8 players 10, 9, 8, 6,
5, 4, 2, 0 5 players 10, 8, 5, 3, 1