The Game Design Document [.pdf]

player how to bring up different crops and wants to challenge them. The objective is to beat
Stan's previous record in the country fair by producing bigger, better, juicier, etc. produce.
To do that, you must make your crop grow perfectly, reducing factors such as birds (who
may eat the crop), pollution (which makes it worth less, less tasty and such), and water
(crops won't grow well with too much or too little water). A goal is set, the previous record,
with the stakes being seeds for of Stan's other crops. In order to progress through the
game, the player must be a better farmer than Stan and acquire his crops. The player's own
records will stand in order for them to set and break their own former scores. The difficulty
level determines how hard it is to bring the factors into balance and also how high the
previous record is.
Delivery System
The game will be programmed in Python using the PyGame package. The game will be
exclusively distributed over the internet with optional bundle to install Python and Pygame if
the user does not have the interpreter.
Interface
Interaction with the game is meant to be simple. A isometric view of the world will show
the farming area, simplified and scaled down in order to fit on one screen with no scrolling
or other movement needed to see any part of your plot. Plants, trees, birds, pests, etc can
all be seen in this main view. The main view will also display how well the environmental
factors are doing: Too many pests will result in bugs appearing, too many birds and they
will start to land on your crop.
The player will be able to more accurately see each individual environmental factor in a
bar along the left. A simple plus/minus/star system will represent how well the factor is
being handled: Pluses mean you need more of that factor, minuses mean you need less,
and up to three stars indicate how close to balanced the factor is. A tool bin next to the
gauge allows the selection of tools to handle that environmental factor. For example, if
there are too many pests, the player can click one of tool bin icons and activate a crop
duster, which they can then direct with their mouse in order to cover the entire field. Money
is, instead of a limited in-out factor in most games, a simple build up "power" factor to
prevent the player from being able to just continually keep spraying pesticides and using
irrigation, for example.
Current crop yield and quality (score per yield) will be displayed as further gauges along
the bottom left. The player starts off with no yield, a low quality crop, and a bit of money,
which they must use to get their seedling crops above the ground. The player must continue
to keep the crops in balance and quality high until harvest time, at which point the final
score is taken and determined whether it beats last year's record.
A secondary view will be of the nearby Town, in which players can help direct the politics
and economics behind their farm. For example, they can at certain times request
government money, which will allow the money factor to recharge faster, or lobby to keep
major road projects away from the farm. These concepts will be briefly explained by a
narrator explaining the importance and will require little player involvement (simply