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BioCalibr is a casual multiplayer FPS with a 2010s cartoon aesthetic, where you play as mercenaries wielding a multitude of aliens within your gun's canister in battle.
Though currently a work in progress, we have plans to release it as a full-fledged game in the future through Steam
WIP TRAILER
PART 1
IDEATION
As a part of my group's senior thesis, the first step my group had to take was ideation. From our group of 7, we were all tasked to come up with 2 ideas and pitch them to each other, keeping in mind we would have around 20 weeks to develop them. Knowing my team leader's experience with multiplayer, I chose to make both my ideas based around that genre, as it was something I had wanted to work on for a while, and the ideas I came up with are as follows.
AMMOPHIBIANS
Mainly inspired by a teammate's comment (shoutout to Dom) about the nostalgia behind Slugterra and an idea to re-invent the cooldown economy system that plagues Hero Shooters, I came up with Ammophibians. A cartoonish-style casual couch-co-op shooter where you would harness different amphibians' abilities through a unique clog-based system
EGO
A bloody and gory multiplayer where you played as marbles called ID, while trying to either shatter other players or knock them out of the arena. The ID would be a psychic organ that someone could summon outside their body to harness psychic energy, roll around the arena, charge dashes, and use special abilities
After we showed and reviewed our 14 ideas, to my delight, my team decided to go with my idea as the basis for our game. So once that was done, we moved on to assigning roles and altering the idea to become something we could all be passionate about. During which, as the person who developed the systems and all our amphibians mechanics, I took the role of the game design lead.
PART 2
REWORK AND ITERATIONS
PRE-PRODUCTION: REWORK
OVERALL VISUAL INSPIRATIONS
GAME INSPIRATIONS
Setting & Base Narrative
The fights and maps take place on another planet, the original home of the aliens. Inspired by the Cold War’s arms race and space race, along with a retro-solarpunk aesthetic.
Terminology
Alien: The small alien guys, and this game's main visual hook. They are loaded into the bio-calibr to shoot their weaponized residue as ammo (projectiles, beams, gunfire, etc), and later, themselves as larger versions of themselves.
Bio-Ammo: The name for the residue ammo fired from the bio-calibr, which comes from the alien currently loaded into it.
Bio-Calibr: The one and only gun used by the special agents during combat to weaponize the aliens, switch between different bio-ammos, and use their slime.
Special Agents: Highly trained mercenaries hired by 1 of four mercenary companies that specialize in the use of bio-calibr warfare. The color on their gear reflects which company they were hired by. Each company has a different goal/montra (used to distinguish allies from foes in a match).
Rayburn Inc: Seeks to leverage the planet’s resources and native alien life for advanced military applications and weapons research.
Nova Inc: Strives to leverage the planet’s resources and native alien life for advanced military applications and weapons research.
Trailblaze Inc: Plans to terraform the planet into a major interstellar trade hub, prioritizing economic growth over ecological concerns.
Pacifica Inc: Intends to quietly obstruct rival efforts, ultimately securing the influence needed to designate the planet as a protected wildlife sanctuary, permanently closed to human access.
ALIEN NAME, COLOR, AND REAL LIFE INSPIRATIONS
Dranewt/Red: Newt
Olmen/Orange: Olm
Cesalien/Yellow: Caesalian
Toadvana/Green: Toad
Crystacean/Cyan: Crab
Koi Eater/Blue: Giant Japanese Salamander
Sea Nebula/Purple: Plagic Sea Cucumber
Axolots/Pink: Axolotl
ALIENS REDESIGN (NO LONGER RESTRICTED TO ONLY AMPHIBIANS)
(NOT OFFICIAL ART BUT MY SKETCHES I USED FOR DESIGN DOC)
MERCENARIES / SPECIAL AGENTS
GAMEPLAY / SYSTEMS / MECHANICS /
10 WEEK PROGRESS
Clog: When using primary fire instead of spending ammo, it gains “clog”. Clog is the debris from the fired residue of the alien currently loaded into the bio-calibr that builds up, jamming the weapon the more you use it.
Clog System: Build clog until the bio-calibr becomes “clogged”. Clog does NOT go down by itself, including when the ammo is switched out, or when you stop using your primary fire. When the bio-calibr becomes “clogged”, all bio-ammo switch to the alt-fire mode, changing it while losing its mobility/utility. When the bio-calibr is clogged, the “burst” (left trigger) becomes available to use.
Primary Fire/PF: The main source of damage AND utility from the right trigger button, which shoots the alien’s weaponized slime from the bio-calibr's barrel, taking shapes inspired by different types of gunfire. Additionally, using PF gains clog for that bio-ammo, although until fully clogged, you do not gain access to its burst.
(Example)
Alt-Fire: When a bio-ammo becomes clogged, the Primary Fire from the right trigger button loses most, if not all, of its utility mechanic. Instead, it is replaced with an alternate primary fire as its new main source of firepower (NOT to be confused with its single-use burst). The primary fire will stay this way until one bio-ammo’s burst is used, resetting the clog to zero. Making the alien you just launched go on a cooldown, while resetting the rest of them to their pre-clogged forms.
Utility Mechanic: A utility-based mechanic based on enhancing movement, defensiveness, or damage tied to the use of the Primary Fire that is mostly, if not entirely, removed when the weapon becomes clogged, switching to its alt-fire.
Burst: A unique ability on the left trigger button of the controller. It allows the player to shoot the alien from the bio-calibr, BUT just like the alt-fire, it can ONLY be used when the ammo is clogged. Additionally, its use causes heavy knockback for the player, resets all clogs, but the alien, which was just launched, will go on a short cooldown.
GAME DESIGN DOCUMENT
Bio_Calibr_GameDesignDocument.pdfPART 3
REWORK AND IDEATION
~~~ More Info Coming Soon ~~~
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