Nevaeh Univell a Decimated Empire
Game Design Document
Version 1.0
Treatment
Nevaeh: Univell a decimated Empire, which will commonly be referred to as NUDE, is the first story in an epic series of steampunk fantasy role-playing games depicting the collapse of an empire, revealing the forces that conjure an evil that will lay to waste everything in its path. The game takes place in the world of Nevaeh. Gameplay involves a process of structured decision-making where players assume the roles of, and develop, characters in a fictional setting. The player will wield heavy weaponry, harness the power of the elements, and summon spirits of Nevaeh to fight back against an evil that threatens all of existence. In this captivating drama players have control over how they interact with the characters and environments surrounding them, which ultimately decides their fate and the outcome of the game. Discovering certain areas for exploration and character relationships depend on the choices made by the player.
Structure
NUDE has an overarching narrative but allows intricacies of the story to be molded by the players’ actions and choices. The goal of the Neveah saga is to vanquish an ancient evil that seeks to lay waste to the world. The character development that the player shares though the exciting moments and the suffering will motivate the player to do what it takes to muster up the strength to carry on and complete the story. The game is set in a parallel universe where Nevaeh has taken a very different course in modernization and political powers than our own.
Background
Nevaeh is inspired both by film and games. It will enthrall its players by presenting them with a fantasy world in the likes of Wolfgang Petersen’s The Never Ending Story and Hironobu Sakaguchi’s Final Fantasy franchise.
The story will engage the player with gameplay that is a bizarre twist between the RPG Final Fantasy franchise and Action RPG Lords of the Fallen. Similar to that of Heavy Rain the player's decisions and actions during the game will affect the narrative. Players will be enamored by the seamless merging of camera mechanics and intense action RPG game play.
Game Play
Game play for NUDE will be between 30 – 100 hours depending on how the player chooses to interact with the story and environment. A first time play through will range as much as 45-55 hours. By playing through, and paying attention to the story, finding all of the hidden treasures and playing all of the mini games, completion can easily exceed 100 hours of game play.
Key Features
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A hybrid of a Steampunk and Medieval fantasy world
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Constantly engaging the player though seamless cut scenes and gameplay
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The player’s gameplay decisions will affect how the narrative is played out
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Player actions can lead to different scenes and endings.
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Complex hybrid Action RPG Combat system
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Includes a large variety of weapon fighting techniques
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Wielding the elements and supernatural skills
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Summoning of god-like beasts
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Storyline gameplay open for world exploration.
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Large Variety of items and gear that influence player stats and abilities
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A variety of side quests to find hidden treasures gain special skills to boost player stats
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Freedom of mixing different classes for both gear and skills.
Platform
NUDE will take full advantage of the PlayStation 4’s
Single-chip custom processor
CPU: x86-64 AMD "Jaguar", 8 cores
GPU: 1.84 TFLOPS, AMD next-generation Radeon based graphics engine
Memory: GDDR5 8GB
Genre
Nevaeh: Univell a Decimated Empire will be designed to seamlessly merge the game play of a western role playing and action role playing games. The player will interact with the game much like an action-role playing game that features a heavy emphasis on combat, without simplifying or removing non-combat attributes and statistics that effect the character's development. Additionally, combat takes place using a real-time system that relies on the player's ability to perform particular actions with speed and accuracy to determine success. The use of magic and summons will require the player to focus on avoiding their enemies’ while conjuring the spell. There will also be a focus on the collection of treasures as the story of NUDE progresses.
The Nevaeh saga will also have a Sandbox RPG or Open World element to the gameplay. The goal is to allow the player a huge amount of freedom to explore the world of Nevaeh as they progress through the story. There will be an impressive amount of secondary content not critical to the game's main storyline and a large world full of fantasy creatures to explore. The vast world of Neveah and the multitude of its treasures will be designed to consistently offer the player goals and long play times as they continue their journey.
How NUDE fits into the current industry
NUDE will stick to the story driven nature of the many RPG’s that players are familiar with. It will push the latest platform technology to the max and deliver a dynamic player experience that RPG fans will love. Playing off the genres tendency to feature medieval type characters and environments NUDE will push this to new levels by incorporating a steampunk appeal.
Unique selling points
“New Game (Plus)" allows a player to restart the game with all of his or her levels, spells, equipment, and money—effectively making your characters unstoppable when you play through a second time.
By utilizing “New Game (Plus)”, Nevaeh: Univell a Decimated Empire can be completely cleared in less than half the time of a normal play through. This will allow players to experience the story in perfect fluidity without needing to put it on hold to level up.