Character: Grandpa
This is a live document. This page is an attempt to iterate through various gameplay concepts and ideas.
Sep 10, 2018
Name: Grandpa
- the grandfather of Kil and Mil
- owns a two storey house with garden in New York
- used to work in the mines all over the world digging for minerals (based on real life of my own grandfather)
- owns the two masks
May 27, 2019
I really like the idea of grandfather working on remote islands like: Easter Island, Tristan da Cunha, Bermuda, Kiribati, etc. The location needs to be a remote exotic location from where you can extract precious minerals.
My idea is that he discovered some ancient artifacts (eg. tribal masks) that allow you to step into another dimension if you wear them. He discovered them during the supervising of a digging site and smuggled them.
May 27, 2019 (Allie)
Portal idea: grandpa used to have a special kind of desk that he had made from some special kind of wood, a tree that only grows in Western Romania, an area where dinosaurs used to roam in the Cretaceous. The desk is designed to have two vertical sections with doors. Those could be the doors to another realm. The two kids could accidentally open those two doors one day only to be sucked into a time vortex that sends them back to Hațeg Island, an island full of dinosaurs and tropical plants, an area corresponding to a region in modern-day Romania.
The desk vs. The masks
The desk
+ easy to draw and implement
- doesn't make sense
- "desk doors to another realm" is cool because they require a key, and this can be a separate mini quest, but it's too idealistic, that implies that the grandfather traveled the same way? Why would he have that constructed like that?
The masks
- needs 4 drawings for each direction (up, down, left, right)
+ makes sense: once you put the mask, you can see a hidden portal through the crystal eyes
- story doesn't make sense. Do you have to retrieve the mask to go back?
yeah, you make some good points regarding the desk. what about the Hateg Island? how do you feel about that idea? I think it would give a touch of personality to the game.
so the desk is not a good idea. what about this?
one day, while they're playing in the house, the kids - although they know they're not allowed to - open the chest where their grandpa keeps some rocks he had unearthed while working in Hunedoara county (where the Hateg Island was located by scientists). They start playing with the rocks and they arrange them in different patterns. At first, nothing happens. But then they accidentally arrange them in a certain pattern that opens the portal to that ancient world. This might solve the question of how the grandpa ended up in that prehistoric world. He had also accidentally (or not?) arranged the rocks in a certain way.
what do you think?
"Hateg Island" is not a very commercial name as opposed to "Isle of Dinosaurs", although I admit that "Isle of Dinosaurs" is a bit bland and generic, yet good for marketing.
On the topic of "Hateg Island" I want to make a separate research if the Hateg county was really an island during prehistoria. This might throw off some, since the dinosaurs fans are pretty entitled and care about facts.
On the new story:
+ 1 for kids opening a chest
+1 for the rocks
Regarding the rock pattern, this needs to make sense. I can work on a mockup for this but it's hard to visualize what this means. Still the idea is of great value because it could be something along the lines: "the rocks were vibrating like quatrz and created a temporary portal". This can be used as an idea for both entering and exiting the "Isle of Dinosaurs".
I'll order a mockup for "rock pattern". Meanwhile this needs a bit of research on the types of rocks.
Jun 1, 2019
"one day, while they're playing in the house, the kids - although they know they're not allowed to - open the chest where their grandpa keeps some rocks he had unearthed while working in Hunedoara county"
Continuing the idea from @Allie I would like to center the story with the rocks around the following topics:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_oscillator
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hertz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesium
The kids find these crystals which have a certain vibration to them when put in close contact.
It creates a electromagnetic field that bends the time and matter.
The kids step are sucked into it.
They enter the Isle of Dinosaurs unharmed.
They need to collect these crystals in order to replicate the same effect to return back home (hopefully).
They encounter various dinosaurs and bosses on the island.
The last boss they meet who should have the last crystal uncovers a surprising truth: "Your grandfather gave us the crystals to protect this land from being reached as he suffered an alteration due to the hazardous nature of the crystals.
Here there is revealed that their grandfather is half dinosaur half human (maybe half fish as well) and he doesn't have full control over his mind. His though process being altered by the chemical reactions during his travel.
As a final result they have to fight him and obtain the final crystal.
He finally is subdued to give them the crystal. Some emotional conversation should occur. Then they return safely home.
@Allie let me know your thoughts.
There is a big issue here with this script: "Why are the dinosaurs trying to stop the kids when they could just hand the crystals and explain the situation?" Maybe they don't know who they are?