Onag
Jul 20, 2006, 03:23 PM
I found these among some old game idea/design documents and thought at least someone might enjoy them. (one doc in this post, one in the next)
-Nag
<hr/>
<h1>Jazz Jackrabbit 3</h1>
<h2>Original Treatment</h2>
<b>Abstract</b>
Jazz Jackrabbit 3 (Jazz3 or J3) will finally start to realize the full potential of the side-scrolling platformer genre. It will follow in the footsteps of its predecessors, Jazz Jackrabbit (Jazz1 or J1) and Jazz Jackrabbit 2 (Jazz2 or J2) with fast-paced action at its core. However, Jazz3 will draw players deeper into the Jazz universe with an in depth storyline and much further developed characters. The game will be designed to cater to both young and old.
<b>Characters</b><ul>
<li>Jazz Jackrabbit is of course the star of the game. He will return with his signature uppercut and helicopter ears, and will also be equipped with new hand-to-hand combat attacks and defenses.</li>
<li>Spaz Jackrabbit will also come back with his side kick and double jump moves as well new hand-to-hand combat attacks and defenses.</li>
<li>Lori Jackrabbit will be returning with an improved spin kick and helicopter ears. She too will have several hand-to-hand combat attacks and defenses.</li>
<li>Razz Jackrabbit will be introduced as Jazz’s, Spaz’s, and Lori’s cousin. He will have a powerful stomp move, that will harm any nearby grounded characters, and will also have a rocket jump maneuver that will allow him to jump into the air and then travel a great distance to the left or right. He too will be equipped with hand-to-hand combat attacks and defenses.<li>
<li>Damon Shell, Devan’s rebellious son, will hurl himself toward enemies, tucking his head in and dealing damage like any turtle shell. He will also have spring-loaded legs, allowing him to jump great heights, along with the standard hand-to-hand combat attacks and defenses.</li>
</ul>
Every character in the game—including baddies and bosses—will actually be playable, but the storyline only allows those five.
<b>Storyline</b>
Jazz Jackrabbit returns to Castle Carrotus from his and Eva’s first wedding anniversary on the planet Tropicus. Upon their arrival, they are bombarded not by turtles, but by their own loyal subjects! Sensing something is amiss, Jazz quickly fights through his servants—taking care not to harm them—to find that Devan Shell is back and has taken control of planet Carrotus! This time, he’s developed a mind control device and has taken prisoner nearly every Carrotus citizen.
Before he can make his attack, Devan warns that he has placed several well guarded laser cannons throughout the galaxy, all pointing straight at Carrotus. If anything happens to Devan, BOOM! Confident in his cronies, Devan tells Jazz the location of each laser cannon and has challenged him to defeat each guard.
Jazz must locate and destroy each of the laser cannons, defeating any baddies or bosses that get in his way, before he can reclaim Castle Carrots and defeat Devan once and for all.
Throughout the game, Jazz may find and recruit other playable characters. At any time, players will be able to switch to any obtained character. Once a character’s health has been exhausted, they are immediately warped back to mission control and must rest until the completion or cancellation of the current level. Once warped back, another character may be selected to take their place. If all characters have been defeated, the level is canceled and the player must start from the beginning.
Once all laser cannons have been destroyed, Team Jazz returns to Carrotus to find that Devan has pulled out all the stops. He’s packed out Castle Carrotus with his goons to stop Jazz at all costs. He must fight his way through the baddies to finally face Devan himself.
Once defeated, Devan explains that he has rigged the mind control device to self-detonate. Damon tends to his father while the player locates and destroys the device. Upon destroying the device, the portion Devan is wearing malfunctions and explodes. Furious about his father’s death, Damon swears vengeance on Team Jazz and teleports away.
The day is saved and Carrotus is safe once again—for now, anyway.
<b>Gameplay</b>
After the introduction, players will be taken to the level selection area, where they can choose their route. Do they first stop by to recruit Spaz, or do they jump right in and go for the first laser cannon? At any time during a level, the player may switch the character he is controlling.
<b>Enemies</b>
Both baddies and bosses will be controlled by scripted AI. Enemies will be highly intelligent, making decisions based on their current position, condition, and situation. They will also be able to navigate levels more affectively, allowing them to chase after players or take cover when in trouble. No more mindless drones! Enemies in J3 will attempt to preserve their own lives.
<b>Environment</b>
Jazz3 will take place on several different planets, allowing a broad range of rich environments from swamps and lakes to jungles and forests to deserts and wastelands. Tilesets will be much larger than has been possible with J1 and J2, allowing for much more detail and variation within levels.
<b>Internet Play</b>
There will be three types of internet servers: public, private, and closed. Public servers will allow any player to join at any time, much like a typical server in Jazz2. A private server corresponds to a Jazz2 server protected by a password. Only certain players will be permitted to join. A closed server is one where all players join prior to the start of the game. Once all players have joined and settings have been selected, the host begins the game and no new players may join.
<b>Bots</b>
Multiplayer games will be more exciting than Jazz2, as Jazz3 will support scripted bots. The AI will follow general predefined behaviors coupled with scripted strategies to simulate formidable opponents. Bots will learn as they play, making them even more affective against human players. For example, even if a bot was not programmed with the location of a secret power-up, it will automatically learn the location if it sees that all other players know about it, or if it sees a nearby player get it. Players will be able to define the most common routes through levels that the bot uses, as well as general strategies it uses.
<b>Level Editor</b>
Players will be able to create their own levels and episodes with the included editor. Virtually every aspect of the game will be customizable via scripting. The editor will include features for creating any type of level or episode as well as palettes, tilesets, music libraries, ambient sounds, custom events, and much more.
<small>Copyright © 2003, Brandon Gano
Jazz Jackrabbit is a trademark of Epic Games.</small>
-Nag
<hr/>
<h1>Jazz Jackrabbit 3</h1>
<h2>Original Treatment</h2>
<b>Abstract</b>
Jazz Jackrabbit 3 (Jazz3 or J3) will finally start to realize the full potential of the side-scrolling platformer genre. It will follow in the footsteps of its predecessors, Jazz Jackrabbit (Jazz1 or J1) and Jazz Jackrabbit 2 (Jazz2 or J2) with fast-paced action at its core. However, Jazz3 will draw players deeper into the Jazz universe with an in depth storyline and much further developed characters. The game will be designed to cater to both young and old.
<b>Characters</b><ul>
<li>Jazz Jackrabbit is of course the star of the game. He will return with his signature uppercut and helicopter ears, and will also be equipped with new hand-to-hand combat attacks and defenses.</li>
<li>Spaz Jackrabbit will also come back with his side kick and double jump moves as well new hand-to-hand combat attacks and defenses.</li>
<li>Lori Jackrabbit will be returning with an improved spin kick and helicopter ears. She too will have several hand-to-hand combat attacks and defenses.</li>
<li>Razz Jackrabbit will be introduced as Jazz’s, Spaz’s, and Lori’s cousin. He will have a powerful stomp move, that will harm any nearby grounded characters, and will also have a rocket jump maneuver that will allow him to jump into the air and then travel a great distance to the left or right. He too will be equipped with hand-to-hand combat attacks and defenses.<li>
<li>Damon Shell, Devan’s rebellious son, will hurl himself toward enemies, tucking his head in and dealing damage like any turtle shell. He will also have spring-loaded legs, allowing him to jump great heights, along with the standard hand-to-hand combat attacks and defenses.</li>
</ul>
Every character in the game—including baddies and bosses—will actually be playable, but the storyline only allows those five.
<b>Storyline</b>
Jazz Jackrabbit returns to Castle Carrotus from his and Eva’s first wedding anniversary on the planet Tropicus. Upon their arrival, they are bombarded not by turtles, but by their own loyal subjects! Sensing something is amiss, Jazz quickly fights through his servants—taking care not to harm them—to find that Devan Shell is back and has taken control of planet Carrotus! This time, he’s developed a mind control device and has taken prisoner nearly every Carrotus citizen.
Before he can make his attack, Devan warns that he has placed several well guarded laser cannons throughout the galaxy, all pointing straight at Carrotus. If anything happens to Devan, BOOM! Confident in his cronies, Devan tells Jazz the location of each laser cannon and has challenged him to defeat each guard.
Jazz must locate and destroy each of the laser cannons, defeating any baddies or bosses that get in his way, before he can reclaim Castle Carrots and defeat Devan once and for all.
Throughout the game, Jazz may find and recruit other playable characters. At any time, players will be able to switch to any obtained character. Once a character’s health has been exhausted, they are immediately warped back to mission control and must rest until the completion or cancellation of the current level. Once warped back, another character may be selected to take their place. If all characters have been defeated, the level is canceled and the player must start from the beginning.
Once all laser cannons have been destroyed, Team Jazz returns to Carrotus to find that Devan has pulled out all the stops. He’s packed out Castle Carrotus with his goons to stop Jazz at all costs. He must fight his way through the baddies to finally face Devan himself.
Once defeated, Devan explains that he has rigged the mind control device to self-detonate. Damon tends to his father while the player locates and destroys the device. Upon destroying the device, the portion Devan is wearing malfunctions and explodes. Furious about his father’s death, Damon swears vengeance on Team Jazz and teleports away.
The day is saved and Carrotus is safe once again—for now, anyway.
<b>Gameplay</b>
After the introduction, players will be taken to the level selection area, where they can choose their route. Do they first stop by to recruit Spaz, or do they jump right in and go for the first laser cannon? At any time during a level, the player may switch the character he is controlling.
<b>Enemies</b>
Both baddies and bosses will be controlled by scripted AI. Enemies will be highly intelligent, making decisions based on their current position, condition, and situation. They will also be able to navigate levels more affectively, allowing them to chase after players or take cover when in trouble. No more mindless drones! Enemies in J3 will attempt to preserve their own lives.
<b>Environment</b>
Jazz3 will take place on several different planets, allowing a broad range of rich environments from swamps and lakes to jungles and forests to deserts and wastelands. Tilesets will be much larger than has been possible with J1 and J2, allowing for much more detail and variation within levels.
<b>Internet Play</b>
There will be three types of internet servers: public, private, and closed. Public servers will allow any player to join at any time, much like a typical server in Jazz2. A private server corresponds to a Jazz2 server protected by a password. Only certain players will be permitted to join. A closed server is one where all players join prior to the start of the game. Once all players have joined and settings have been selected, the host begins the game and no new players may join.
<b>Bots</b>
Multiplayer games will be more exciting than Jazz2, as Jazz3 will support scripted bots. The AI will follow general predefined behaviors coupled with scripted strategies to simulate formidable opponents. Bots will learn as they play, making them even more affective against human players. For example, even if a bot was not programmed with the location of a secret power-up, it will automatically learn the location if it sees that all other players know about it, or if it sees a nearby player get it. Players will be able to define the most common routes through levels that the bot uses, as well as general strategies it uses.
<b>Level Editor</b>
Players will be able to create their own levels and episodes with the included editor. Virtually every aspect of the game will be customizable via scripting. The editor will include features for creating any type of level or episode as well as palettes, tilesets, music libraries, ambient sounds, custom events, and much more.
<small>Copyright © 2003, Brandon Gano
Jazz Jackrabbit is a trademark of Epic Games.</small>