Game Design
Overview of game flow, progression systems, and VR-specific design considerations.
Game Loop
HUB WORLD
- Shop: Buy/sell items
- Armory: Equip weapons
- Portals: Select arena
|
v
ARENA
- Wave 1 -> Wave 2 -> ... -> Boss
- Collect: Gold, Experience
|
v
RESULTS
- Score, Rewards
- Save Progress
- Return to Hub
Game States
| State | Description | Transitions To |
|---|---|---|
| StartMenu | Initial menu | Loading, Hub |
| Hub | Player base, shops, portals | Arena, Settings |
| Arena | Active combat | Victory, Defeat, Paused |
| ArenaPaused | Combat suspended | Arena, Hub |
| ArenaVictory | Completed all waves | Results, Hub |
| ArenaDefeat | Player died | Results, Hub |
Progression Systems
Player Level
Experience earned from combat increases player level.
Level thresholds use polynomial scaling:
- Level 1 to 2: 100 XP
- Level 2 to 3: 400 XP
- Level N to N+1: 100 * N² XP
Level rewards:
- Stat bonuses (health, damage)
- Unlock new arenas
- Unlock shop items
Gold Economy
Sources:
- Basic enemy kill: 5-10 gold
- Elite enemy kill: 20-30 gold
- Boss kill: 100+ gold
- Wave completion: 25 gold
- Arena completion: 100-500 gold
Expenses:
- Basic weapon: 100-300 gold
- Rare weapon: 500-1000 gold
- Stat upgrade: 50-200 gold
- Arena unlock: 200-500 gold
Meta Progression
Permanent upgrades that persist across runs:
- Stat multipliers (health, damage, gold gain)
- Weapon unlocks
- Arena unlocks
- Starting loadout options
Arena Design
Wave Structure
Each arena contains multiple waves of enemies, culminating in a boss wave.
Wave configuration:
- Enemy types and counts
- Spawn delays
- Intermission time between waves
Difficulty Scaling
| Arena | Enemies | Health | Recommended Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tutorial | 3-5 | 50% | 1 |
| Easy | 5-8 | 100% | 1-3 |
| Normal | 8-12 | 100% | 4-6 |
| Hard | 12-15 | 125% | 7-10 |
| Nightmare | 15-20 | 150% | 11+ |
Save System
Auto-save Triggers
- Arena completion
- Returning to hub
- Purchasing items
- Application pause
- Timer (every 5 minutes in hub)
Saved Data
- Player level and experience
- Gold and currency
- Purchased upgrades
- Unlocked content
- Arena completion records
- Equipment loadout
- Settings
Performance Targets
| Metric | Target | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Frame Rate | 72 FPS | - |
| Active Enemies | 6 | 8 |
| Draw Calls | 100 | 150 |
| Frame Budget | 11ms | 13.9ms |