Jordan Brown - Game Design Documentation Samples

What is Clarity?

Clarity is a currency/point system attached to each Mech in HoF. It exists only in combat where the player interacts with it by taking default actions and using Activated Abilities. Each Mech that the player controls in combat has their own Clarity value that's independent of all other Mechs.

What does Clarity do?

The Player generates Clarity by taking the default actions available to each Mech (Sprint, Defend, and Ballistic and Laser Attack). A Mech's Clarity is reduced when the Player selects an Activated Ability that costs Clarity. All Activated Abilities have a Clarity cost associated with them. An Activated Ability can only be used if the Mech has a Clarity value equal to or greater than the Ability's Clarity cost. When the Player uses a Mech's Activated Ability, and it has an adequate amount of Clarity, the Clarity cost of the ability is subtracted from the Mech's Clarity value.

Functions Within The Design

• Introduce a constraint onto the player that limits their capacity to use Activated Abilities
• Hopefully creates a dynamic where the Player feels like they must be strategic in the actions they take to generate Clarity to use specific Activated Abilities
• Add an element of temporality to combat where constraints shift over time as the Player’s Mechs gain Clarity every turn, enabling the creation of emergent strategies
• Create stronger synergies between Mechs and Pilots through how each mech generates Clarity through default actions

What Are Cores?

The amount of Clarity a Mech gains when it takes a default action is determined by the type of Core it contains. In HoF’s universe, all mechs have a core that can be thought of as a type of power generator. Following are two methods our Cores will use to determine how much Clarity their Mech gains through default actions:

• Type 1: The amount of Clarity a Mech gains through actions is not determined by which action they take. Each action provided a set amount of Clarity based on how many actions they have already taken. For example, a mech with an MSJ Core will always gain 5 Clarity for its first move, 10 for its second, 20 for its third, 25 for its fourth, 25 for its fifth, and 15 for its sixth. This method is similar to a bell curve.
• Type 2: Each kind of Core gains Clarity from default actions a little differently. One Core might gain more Clarity from taking Move and Defend actions, while another will gain more from attacking.

Crystalline and Depleted

When a Mech’s Clarity reaches its maximum (for now, this is always 100), it becomes Crystalline. While a Mech is Crystalline, its stats are buffed using multipliers determined by the Mech’s core. Crystalline ends two ways: the player lowers their Clarity to below 100 by using an Activated Ability, or they are forcefully removed from Clarity after a number of turns randomly determined by the Mech’s core. If a Mech is forcefully removed from Clarity, it becomes Depleted. When a mech is Depleted, its stats are debuffed using multipliers, likely the inverse of the Core’s Crystalline stat buffs. After some turns have passed, a Mech is no longer Depleted, and the debuffs are removed.

Notes on Crystalline and Depleted: