Thirst Design Document

Thirst
Design Documentation
Christopher Walden
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Contents
1. GAME CONCEPT 3
1.1. GENRE 3
1.2. PLATFORM 3
1.3. STORYLINE SYNOPSIS 4
2. GAME MECHANICS 5
2.1. CORE GAMEPLAY 5
2.2. CHANGES IN GAMEPLAY 6
2.3. PROTAGONIST 7
2.4. NPC ACTORS 8
2.5 PROGRESSION 27
2.6 MODES OF PLAY 29
2.7 COLLECTIBLES 30
2.8 LIFE MANAGEMENT 32
2.9 NAVIGATION 35
3. TECHNICAL 37
3.1. CONTROLS 37
3.2. STYLE 39
3.3. LEVELS OVERVIEW 41
4. ANALYSIS 43
4.1. ANALYSIS AGAINST THE TEN RULES 43
4.2. ANALYSIS AGAINST CAMPBELL’S HERO’S JOURNEY 46
4.3. COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS 48
5. BIBLIOGRAPHY 52
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1.0 Game Concept
In Thirst, you are an isolated entrepreneur who plans to fight through the vampiric hoards
that have stricken the country, all to rescue your wife. The game will play similar to a cross
between Dead Rising and Resident Evil. ‘I Am Legend’ is also an influential piece.
1.1 Genre
Thirst will be a survival-horror game with minor RPG and adventure game elements. The
enemy system is comparable to that from Dead Rising, while it features a lot of exploring
and collectibles similar to Crackdown.
1.2 Platform
The game will be released on PC, XBOX 360 and Playstation 3, with sufficient time put into
porting to the home consoles and sufficient quality options available to PC users.
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1.3 Storyline Synopsis
Thirteen hooded figures gather around a pedestal, a woman tightly bound upright to it.
Upon her chest is a stone tablet; a circular amulet with intricate symbology upon it. The
thirteen then join hands, raising them towards the sky, creating a circle around the woman,
and begin chanting. The clouds part, the sky darkens and a bright light emanates from the
amulet. The woman, pulled back into consciousness, writhes in pain with the stone locked
firmly to her chest. With a bright flash and explosion, the tablet is blown away from the body
and into the sky in front of her. One of the hooded figures collapses at the sight, striking
panic into the others.
The chanting stops and the hooded people begin to talk amongst themselves. Her
constraints broken, the woman begins to rise into the air while her body morphs, twists into
an unfamiliar being. Arching her body, she lets out another deafening howl. Clawing a hand,
she punches it towards the sky. The moon responds; the surface slowly bleeds into a ruby
red colour that bathes everyone on the planet beneath.
Noticing the amulet is missing the woman lets out a petrifying scream. Boulders form around
her, sealing her away to conserve and build power. The hooded figures run, knowing of their
failure in securing an alliance with the demon.
---
The player awakens in a rundown building to the sound of scratching on the door, the vision
seemingly a dream. This begins Thirst, allowing the player control of the protagonist at this
point.
Plot Twist
The reason the man dreamt of the ritual, could see it vividly and was sleeping in the first
place is due to his involvement. He used his own unconscious wife to execute the ritual,
completely aware that it would fail. He planned to collect the amulet himself to gain the
powers imbued inside it, those that were taken from the vampire that now inhabited his
wife’s body. The hooded figure collapsing at the beginning is actually him, having taken a
piece of the amulet inside his chest after the explosion. This is how he can see the events
from around the area, as well as subsequent cutscenes. The game is actually a story about a
barbaric and greedy human, rather than that of a man out to rescue his beloved wife.
The other twelve figures are also in the game, appearing as the ‘special survivors’, though
this is not made apparent until after the credits. The protagonist himself was not aware of
the identity of the other hooded people, explaining the lack of mentioning the event to
them. If you help them, a special ending per character will be shown at the end of the game,
revealing what happened to them after gaining help from the protagonist.
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2.0 Game Mechanics
2.1 Core Gameplay
The penultimate goal of Thirst is to exorcise the demon that was summoned. She has
become imprisoned due to a botched ritual, though her curse still infects the living through
the power of the red moon. You must reform the amulet that broke upon her revival to open
the tomb, and then kill her to remove the curse. The protagonists reasoning is the death of
his wife, but this is not the case.
There will be six areas to the game, though the first will serve more as the introduction. In
each of the levels you will have to locate a piece of the amulet. You get the ability to move
on to the next area upon collection, but you can stay and explore if you wish. Amulet pieces
are guarded by unique monsters; animals or humans that have been exposed to the amulets
satanic powers. When the protagonist collects these pieces, he will experience changes
himself.
Besides the amulet piece, each area with have plenty of side quests to complete. There will
be amulet grains to collect, which are very small fragments of the amulet that would not
have enough power to warp anyone on contact. These can be amassed to grant further
bonuses, but are not required. You will also be able to find two more types of collectibles;
blueprints and mementos. You can also meet and aid survivors, but they will not
permanently join you. They can, however, provide you with information or collectibles.
Each level will take at least 45 minutes to complete, excluding optional collectibles. The final
level will of course be the longest.
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2.2 Changes in Gameplay
2.2.1 Improving
The protagonist becomes stronger after collecting either amulet pieces or set amounts of
amulet grains. Collecting blueprints will allow you access to improved equipment. Stamina
and speed bonuses are awarded based on distance travelled and vampires killed.
2.2.2 Gaining Experience
Experience is gained mainly by slaughtering enemies, be they vampires, animals or

psychopathic humans. Experience is also gained by finding collectibles or completing
particular tasks, to offer the player another reason to go out of their way to complete them.
2.2.3 Levelling Up
After a sufficient amount of experience has been gained, the protagonist will level up. An
increase in level brings a small increase in stats, plus occasionally a new move, weapon idea
or proficiency over a vampire type.
Level 25 is the highest that can be attained in the base game. Further levels may be attained
should downloadable content be utilised, both to bolster the new gameplay such content
would provide, as well as offering players another reason to purchase it.
The amount of experience required to level up increases at each level. For example, it may
require 2000 experience to move from level one to level two, but 3000 to move from level
two to level three. This is to ensure that the player does not level up to quickly, early on in
the game.
Players will be able to reach an average of level fifteen to eighteen on a regular playthrough,
without finding collectibles. Should they be searching for all of the secrets and events, they
should reach level 25 before the final boss fight.
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2.2.4 Evolution
Due to the effects of the red moon, the vampiric hoard will constantly be evolving. In the
early game, they will be simple, mindless vampires. They will have an average running speed
and be easy to kill, with no special abilities past being able to drink blood. As the game
progresses the vampires will become faster, harder to kill, gain abilities such as flight and
start to band in small groups rather than attacking individually. Levelling up, as well as
weapon creation will keep the player able to fight back the increasing threat.
The protagonist himself also evolves throughout the game. The amulet he is collecting
changes his body as he finds more of it, slowly turning him into a vampire, yet with his mind
intact. Increased stamina and new abilities will help his survival.
2.3 Protagonist
Name: Unknown
Age: Unknown, but roughly late thirties.
Occupation: He describes himself as an entrepreneur.
Bio:
His quest becomes apparent when he meets a survivor outside of the place he wakes up in.
After talking to that person, he reveals that he is on a journey to rescue his wife, but he
never mentions to any NPC’s that she is the demon causing the vampire curse. If asked
about the amulet he claims that it is to seal away the demon for good and that he doesn’t
care what happens to himself so long as his wife is safe from harm. He refers to his wife
simply by the name ‘Lucy’ when asked, rarely giving it out without a reason.
He planned from the beginning to take the amulet for his own needs, but the demon that
inhabits his wife had to first awaken the powers within it. The vampire would do this to
boost her own powers. By depriving her of the power in the amulet by subsequently making
it explode with energy, it allowed the protagonist to collect it without the demons
interference. He would then kill the vampire himself so that no one could oppose him.
The twist is revealed at the end of the game when the protagonist uses the vampire powers
he has gained to defeat the demon inhabiting his wife. After the fight, with his wife lying on
the rubble and near death, he ignores her pleas for help and instead walks off. This leaves
enough room for a potential sequel, by allowing the woman to be treated and become the
protagonist herself. In the event of no sequel being made, it can be assumed that she died at
this point.
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2.4 NPC Actors
As the player can only take control of the protagonist, all other characters in the game are
non-playable characters (or NPC for short). This is a comprehensive list of all of the actor
types, with stats and key features where applicable.
2.4.1 Common Survivors
While it isn’t mandatory to aid survivors, doing so may award you with particular benefits
such as items for building new weapons, schematics, mementos or even amulet grains. Here
are a few examples of the more common survivors:
The escaping
You may encounter friendly characters that are trying to escape from the vampiric hoards.
Without your help, they are at risk from being killed and changed to vampires. Escorting
them to their place of refuge will bring an experience bonus, with perhaps further rewards
based on the scenario.
The injured
After fighting with the vampires, some NPC’s may become injured but remain unconverted.
By applying basic first aid on them they can make their own escape, while rewarding you for
it.
The delirious
The shock of the vampire infestation is too much for some people, so they may flee their
refuge in panic. Calming them down and protecting them from enemies may lead to rewards
as well as experience.
The stubborn
Stubborn characters refuse to change their way of life, regardless of the impending doom
imposed by the vampires. Some stores will be barricaded, yet manned, so you can utilise
these to help you on your journey.
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2.4.2 Special Survivors
To bolster the core narrative of Thirst, there will be twelve ‘special’ survivors that offer their
own stories of their lives and past events in the now vampire-ridden place that was once
their home. Helping these people out will give you extra items, extra dialogue and even help
you out in the area you find them in. If you complete their ‘quests’, they will have their own
personalised endings added to the end of the game as an extra bonus. This content will not
be a necessity to the plot, but will come as a reward to the players. If the player meets one
of these characters, yet does not decide to help them, an alternate ending will be played at
the end of the game. These endings will play after both the main ending and the credits, to
distance them from the impact of the main story. These twelve characters are the other
hooded figures seen at the beginning of the game, disregarding the protagonist himself.
Examples of these tasks include:
• Helping to repair a vehicle to allow them to escape,

• Locating family members,
• Salvaging important valuables,
• Checking on the state of something that is too dangerous to get to,
• Convincing them to leave the area.
Completing their quests earn larger rewards that those offered by common survivors,
although they are also more involved. There will always be at least one in any given area,
though these are pre-defined and not randomised to make it easier for players replaying the
game to locate the remainder of them.
The player may also be able to guess the relation of the special survivors by their naming.
While they won’t appear in this particular order, it can be noticed with knowledge of the
pronunciation of Japanese numbers, as well as a fair amount of thought. The names are as
follows:
Special Survivor Name Number Description

Danni Ni (Two) A young and rebellious woman.
Sandra San (Three) A strange and old lady.
Simon Si (Four) A teenager amused by his own company.
Gordon Go (Five) A middle-aged father in debt.
Richard (Rock) Roku (Six) Knows another Richard, calls himself Rock.
Nathanael Nana (Seven) A talkative but friendly young adult.
Hachi Hachi (Eight) An old Japanese immigrant.
Kurt Ku (Nine) An old man disinterested in the world.
Justin Ju (Ten) A man with big plans for the future.
Richard Ju-Ich (Eleven) A wannabe leader with no ability.
Tiffani Ju-Ni (Twelve) A beautiful but shy woman.
Susan Ju-San (Thirteen) An argumentative middle-aged woman.
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2.4.3 Antagonist
Description
The main antagonist is a powerful demon that has been brought to Earth by thirteen strange
and cloaked humans. While information about the vampire itself is scarce, it has taken
residence in the body of a woman. The demon turns the moon a blood-red colour, slowly
warping anyone who stays exposed to its light for too long.
Distinctive features: Long, blonde hair. Still wearing the shawl that was placed over her for
the duration of the ritual, which is of a floral patterned design. She has glowing dark eyes
and can fly without the use of wings, though she can in fact make her wings appear for a
boost in manoeuvrability.
Attack Power: Rated ten out of ten, which is noticeably stronger than regular enemies. She
serves as the final ‘boss’ and the last encounter before the ending and credits.
Toughness: Rated eight out of ten, due to her body not yet developing fully, due to the
amulet shattering.
Speed: Rated ten out of ten, as her instincts are sharpened to insane levels. She must be
countered with vampiric abilities just to keep on a level playing field.
Special Abilities:
• Superior blood: If you get the opportunity to drink her blood, the superiority of her
blood will increase the amount of health you gain, yet cripple you for a short period
due to your body attempting to cope with it.
• Extreme Speed: While she is fast regularly, she can freely hide and reveal her wings
for short bursts of speed to maximise her chances of a killing strike.
• Call to Arms: She can utter a high pitched shriek to draw other vampires into the
battle.
Weaknesses:
• Defence: The perfected body was not completed due to the early removal of the
amulet you will be carrying at this point. Using it to boost your own vampiric abilities
will be the key to winning such a battle.
• Inability to Drink Blood: Her blood is of a much higher class and purity of those that
derive from common folk. She can still pierce the necks of those who oppose her in
order to injure them, but she cannot regain health and sustain herself with such
impure blood. Attacks that cause bleeding are thus effective.
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2.4.4 Basic Enemy Details and Stats
Basic Vampire
Description
What can be considered a basic vampire is a human that has only recently been turned. They
still appear human in appearance, though they adopt a slow confused stagger similar to
what you would see with a stereotypical zombie. This is due to the internal struggle the body
is having over the vampire blood trying to gain control. However, they do have vampire
instincts, so getting too close to one will cause it to run or even lunge to catch its prey.
Distinctive features: While they can be indistinguishable from regular human beings besides
any wounds they may have procured in their initial transformation, their drunk-like stagger
is the biggest give away. Contrary to stereotypical zombie actions, they will chase anything
alive and hiss loudly to attract other vampires.
Attack Power: One out of ten, due to the how easy it is to avoid them, as well as having only
one attack.
Toughness: One out of ten, as they retain general human weaknesses. Strikes to the vitals
are ideal to dispose of one, with wounds obtained by the original vampire attack only
making it easier for you.
Speed: One out of ten when you are out of their range, four out of ten when you get too
close. Ranged weaponry is the best way to despatch them.
Special Abilities:
• Drink Blood: These vampires are always looking to drink more blood to speed up
their transformation process. Doing so will slightly toughen the host, making it harder
to kill.
Weaknesses:
• Fragile Body: These vampires’ weaknesses include those that humans face, as well as
their own. Shots to vitals like the brain or the heart will kill them, as well as daylight
and other anti-vampire equipment.
• Sunlight
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Crawler
Description
Crawling vampires have evolved from the regular type of vampires, having visibly paler skin
and ‘jellied’ eyes, as well as a large tongue to use in tracking down prey. They secrete a gum-
like substance from their pores which also allows them to crawl along most surfaces, upside-
down or otherwise. They often hide in buildings so that they can drop down on unsuspecting
prey.
Distinctive features: Pale skin, green secretions, swollen tongue, jellied-looking eyes, ability
to crawl along walls and ceilings to catch prey.
Attack Power: Three out of ten, though this is largely due to them catching prey off guard
and aiming straight for vitals. They can be considered weaker than basic vampires if faced
head on.
Toughness: One out of ten, as their speed and other mutations have weakened it
thoroughly. They need constant access to blood to continue to function, though they will eat
their own kind should it come down to survival.
Speed: Three out of ten as a maximum when discovered and giving chase. They tend to be
slower in order to creep up without making any noise.
Special Abilities:
• Wall Crawling: They can stick to any surface at any angle, meaning you must listen
carefully and check everywhere before proceeding in enclosed areas.
• Secretion: When sleeping or waiting to strike, they will ooze a green, gum-like
substance. Walking through this can slow you down, giving them apt opportunity to
strike.
Weaknesses:
• Extremely Fragile Body: These vampires cannot handle much damage at all, being
too newly developed to fully sustain large amounts of trauma. Hitting them with a
large object or shooting them in the chest area is usually enough to kill them.
• Sunlight
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Flying Vampire
Description
Flying vampires have mutated from the standard vampires dramatically, losing most of the
recognisable human features besides the body shape. Pale skin with slitted, shark-like holes
to function for eyes and noses are a stark contrast to what they once were. Of course, the
biggest difference is the wings, each of them sporting a retractable yet massive set of wings.
Distinctive features: One set of large, rubber like wings. They have pale white skin with
slitted areas that hide the sensory organs.
Attack Power: Five out of ten due to the damage they can create from their fangs and claws.
They can also drop out of the sky individually or in small groups to bewilder their prey.
Toughness: Three out of ten due to the toughening of the skin and bones. They are still
particularly vulnerable in sunlight.
Speed: Four out of ten when concerning their running or gliding speed, but faster when
flying or dropping.
Special Abilities:
to kill.
• Flight: These vampires can fly so long as they are not in direct contact with sunlight.
By attacking the wings, you can cripple them enough to prevent flight.
Weaknesses:
• Sunlight
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Shielded Vampire
Description
In order to combat the sun’s rays, the winged vampires learn to use their own wings as a
shield, allowing them to walk through sunlit areas. They do lose the ability of flight, but an
added threat of vampire activity during the day is only beneficial to their kind.
Distinctive features: Their sets of wings have fused into a shield-like item that covers their
back from the sun’s rays. Besides this, they look like regular winged vampires.
Attack Power: Five out of ten due to the damage they can create from their fangs and claws.
Toughness: Four out of ten due to the toughening of the skin and bones. They are still
vulnerable to sunlight from the front.
Speed: Four out of ten when concerning their running speed.
Special Abilities:
to kill.
• Hardened Body: While the wings toughened into a sun-proof shield, the body itself
also toughened to compensate for the lack of aerial benefits.
Weaknesses:
• Sunlight: While they are shielded from the back, they will still suffer heavy damage
from sunlight to their fronts, or by simply destroying their shields.
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Flying-shielded Vampire
Description
The natural course of evolution for the vampires when their wings were so desperately used
to form a protection from the sun was to grow another set of wings. These wings are
tougher than the originals, offering the durability of the shields while keeping both a shield
and a set of wings active simultaneously.
Distinctive features: Both shields and wings are visible. If the shield is destroyed during the
day, the vampire will use its wings to create a new one while losing flight. If the wings are
destroyed during the night, the vampire will use the shield to create a restored pair of wings.
Attack Power: Six out of ten due to the increased damage they gained from their fangs and
claws while mutating. They can yet again drop out of the sky individually or in small groups
to attack their prey.
Toughness: Five out of ten due to the further toughening of the skin and bones. They are still
particularly vulnerable in sunlight, but the ability to use either a shield or set of wings as the
other in a dire situation makes them harder to deal with.
Speed: Five out of ten when concerning their running or gliding speed, but faster when flying
or dropping. The speed will climb to around seven out of ten when their blood drinking
ability activates.
Special Abilities:
to kill. If this vampire drinks human blood during the night, they will be able to use
their shields as a second pair of wings, simultaneously with the first pair. This
increases their speed significantly.
Weaknesses:
• Sunlight (from the front)
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Shadowlurker
Description
Having lingered in the light from the red moon too long, the vampires that were once
crawlers have evolved into a much more terrifying species. The gum-like secretions have
hardened, creating jagged and robust armour, as well as the ability to move between nearby
shadows. When the shadowlurker materialises itself in a new shadow, a sharp hissing noise,
similar to a burst of steam can be heard. This is one of the few warnings you get with
shadowlurkers.
Distinctive features: Jagged and haphazard crystalline armour. Arms have evolved into two
large scythe-like weapons for cleaving the heads of those they creep up on.
Attack Power: Seven out of ten due to the ferocity of their attacks, as well as the use of their
scythe-like weapons.
Toughness: Seven out of ten due to the armour, which leaves them largely unharmed by
non-piercing weaponry.
Speed: Two out of ten. They are slow to move between shadows and cannot move in the
open at night. They can use shadows created by artificial lights, however.
Special Abilities:
• Shadow Movement: Shadowlurkers can move to a nearby shadow from the one they
are currently in. This allows them to get behind their prey.
Weaknesses:
• Shadows: While they can move between shadows, they are completely limited to
them. Catching them in a shadow and hitting them with sunlight, or destroying the
light source making the shadow they are in will be enough to kill them.
• Sunlight
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Mutt
Description
An ordinary dog that has ingested infected blood or meat and now carries the vampire
genes. They often appear in packs and are exceedingly fast, sniffing out those that are still
living and causing a lot of the non-moon related transformations themselves.
Distinctive features: Vampiric dogs cannot be still, but will instead frenzy towards any
source of fresh meat.
Attack Power: Five out of ten, though while there are plenty of abominations that are
stronger, dogs will always strike in packs.
Toughness: One out of ten as the vampire genes essentially keep the dog alive while it is
infected.
Speed: Six out of ten, though there will usually be a slight warning when the pack begins to
bark on approach.
Special Abilities:
• Protection from sunlight
Weaknesses:
• Fragile Body
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Pregnant Mutt
These are female dogs that have reproduced asexually, with the vampire genes interfering.
They usually appear in packs of regular dogs, being protected by them regardless of them
not fathering offspring.
Distinctive features: They are much larger and slower than regular dogs.
Attack Power: One out of ten, as they will only retaliate when provoked.
Toughness: One out of ten as the vampire genes essentially keep the dog alive while it is
infected.
Speed: Two out of ten, as they strain to carry their vampiric young.
Special Abilities:
• Protection from sunlight
Weaknesses:
• Fragile Body
Pup
Pups are the offspring of pregnant vampiric dogs. They resemble vampires a lot more closely
than those that are just converted, sporting a small pair of wings and a more vicious set of
teeth.
Distinctive features: Puppy sized, though with extremely large and protruding teeth and a
set of vampire wings.
Attack Power: Six out of ten, plus they may attack in packs.
Toughness: Two out of ten as while they have improved defences over regular dogs, they
are still fairly subpar due to mass births.
Speed: Four out of ten, which can be reduced by damaging their wings to prevent flight.
Special Abilities:
• Flight
Weaknesses:
• Fragile Body
• Sunlight
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Vampire Bat
Description
They are identical in look to regular bats, though they can also infect their prey. They will
also hunt in very large packs, but only during the night.
Distinctive features: Nothing unique, as they look like regular bats.
Attack Power: One out of ten. They exist more to transmit the disease rather than to
accelerate it.
Toughness: One out of ten, due to their small complexion and weak build.
Speed: Six out of ten, as well as being able to creep up in large swarms.
Special Abilities:
• Drink Blood: Vampire bats are always looking to drink more blood to spread the
vampire genes.
Weaknesses:
• Fragile Body: Their small and weak complexion means they cannot suffer a huge
beating, though they are also hard to hit because of this,
• Sunlight
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Psychopath
Description
Psychopaths are uninfected human beings that are mentally disturbed, be this before or
after the vampire invasion. They have no problem killing a fellow human, so reasoning is out
of the question.
Distinctive features: While they may look similar to ‘friendly’ characters, they are the only
human type that will turn violent on you immediately.
Attack Power: Varies depending on the weapon being used.
Toughness: One out of ten, though this can be boosted with armour.
Speed: On average, about two out of ten. This can be a little higher of lower based on fitness
and complexion.
Special Abilities:
• None
Weaknesses:
• Fragile Body: Human weaknesses such as vital organs are the best way to dispatch
such enemies.
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2.4.5 ‘Boss’ Enemy Details and Stats
‘Gigantropod’ - Slug (Location 1)
Description
In the starting area of the game, you will encounter a large slug enemy as the first boss. A
piece of the amulet landed near this slug, with the energy from within it flowing to the slug.
The slug grew in response, becoming carnivorous and growing large fangs, as well as
hardening a lot of its body. Even though it is still fairly slow, it causes tremors whenever it
moves. It attacks by either slamming its body into enemies or using its fangs.
Distinctive features: Large body, large fangs and craggy like formations on its body.
Attack Power: Five out of ten.
Toughness: Five out of ten, though this is reduced to two out of ten in vulnerable areas like
the eyes and underside.
Speed: One out of ten, as it rarely moves. If it does, it doesn’t move far and not fast at all.
Special Abilities:
• Tremor: Knocks back enemies and allies within a radius from the point of impact. It
will usually attack with its tail, but on low health may resort to using its head and
midsection.
Weaknesses:
• Soft Flesh: While a lot of the body is hardened and tough, the eyes and underside
remain soft to allow movement and sight. These are its large weaknesses.
‘Vagabundus’ Human (Location 2)
Description
A homeless man found one of the pieces of amulet, keeping it with him. He has since
mutated significantly, his body oozing a pungent yellow substance and tendrils protruding
from large areas of his body. He is exceedingly fast and uses the tendrils to attack and move,
his arms and legs hanging lifeless.
Distinctive features: A man who appears almost with a gloss due to the yellow substance,
with several tendrils protruding from his skin. Body looks dead and inhabited.
Attack Power: Five out of ten, though it can vary due to the length in which the tendril is
being whipped back.
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Toughness: Three out of ten, as the yellow substance can function as a basic armour.
Speed: Up to six out of ten. This considers both running speed, as well as swinging speed.
Special Abilities:
• Tendrils: He can attack at range by extending his tendrils and using them as whips.
• Sap: He may try to spit the yellow substance at you, which will obscure your vision
for a short period of time.
Weaknesses:
such enemies.
‘Corvunevamorn’ (Location 3a)
Description
A large, nearly human-size crow that has grown to account for the size of its new prey:
humans. Its claws have grown considerably, with long razor-sharp nails to tear apart those
below it. The top layer of its feathers has hardened, almost becoming metallic, in an attempt
to ward off the harsh sun.
Distinctive features: A large crow with a silver/grey sheen to its top layer of feathers. It has
oversized claws and razor sharp nails.
Attack Power: Six out of ten, as its aerial attacks and speed also compliment this.
Toughness: Four out of ten due to its iron-like top side, though it is weaker on the underside.
Speed: Five out of ten, but can increase in speed when diving to attack.
Special Abilities:
• Feather Drop: When flapping its wings in midair, there is a chance that its feathers
will come loose and float below. However, while the regular feathers can obscure the
crow itself, the metallic feathers fall to the ground at high impact.
• Long Reach: Its long claws allow it to attack at a fair distance.
Weaknesses:
• Fragile Body: Fleshy areas such as the crows underside and eyes are prime targets
when trying to take it down.
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‘Aurockk’ Bull (Location 3b)
Description
This bull came in contact with a piece of the amulet, mutating alike the other boss monsters.
While it hasn’t particularly grown in size, areas like its horns and hooves have strengthened
particularly well. It has also become much faster, an area it excelled at even before the
mutation.
Distinctive features: Huge stone-like horns and hooves, with an almost tremor-inducing
force created when it runs.
Attack Power: Six out of ten, as its horn attacks and trampling are particularly damaging.
Toughness: Four out of ten due to its similar vulnerabilities to regular bulls.
Speed: Six out of ten, due to its ability to take advantage of stringing charges together to
confuse the player.
Special Abilities:
• None
Weaknesses:
• Fragile Body: Its weaker points are generally tougher than most enemies, but it
suffers from blows to its legs.
‘Ferafelis’ Cat (Location 4a)
Description
The ferafelis was an ordinary domesticated cat that has since mutated via a piece of the
amulet. Instead of growing large, it instead grew into a cat more similar to a puma, only
faster, stronger and far more vicious. The bone structure mutated quicker than the body of
the cat itself, causing bones to protrude as a makeshift defence.
Distinctive features: Similar in appearance to a jungle cat, only more ferocious, nimble and
riddled in jagged and splintered protruding bones.
Attack Power: Seven out of ten, as its strength and ferocity can tear through unprepared
players.
Toughness: Six out of ten as it is hard to hit due its speed, as well as gaining a makeshift
protection from the protruding bones.
23
Speed: Seven out of ten, due to its general running speed and fast reflexes.
Special Abilities:
• None
Weaknesses:
• None
‘Gulantus’ Human (Location 4b)
Description
Gulantus is an obese human that was struck on the head by a piece of the amulet. While the
impact would otherwise have killed him, the powers from the stone itself caused him to
remain in limbo, only retaining the ability to speak. The amulet itself controls his bodily
actions, meaning that he will become hostile towards you against his own will.
Distinctive features: An unkempt and blood sodden obese man with a strange growth at the
back of his head, caused by the impact of the amulet.
Attack Power: Nine out of ten, due to possessing ridiculous amounts of strength. He will
often throw objects, or failing that, ram the player into objects.
Toughness: Four out of ten, due to being a large target and possessing a fleshy human body.
Speed: Four out of ten as his own weight works against him. The mutations controlling his
body provide an unnatural speed boost he otherwise wouldn’t have had.
Special Abilities:
• Extreme Strength: Can lift and throw large items and provide deadly crushing blows.
Weaknesses:
such enemies.
24
‘Amanita Helloides' Mushroom (Location 4c)
Description
This boss is a deadly Death Cap mushroom that has come into contact with the amulet and
grown to a huge size, through the centre of a building. Poisonous spores hang in the air
around it, while smaller mutated mushrooms grow around its base.
Distinctive features: A large, spore covered mushroom that has taken root through a large
school building.
Attack Power: Zero out of ten, as the mushroom itself never attacks. It uses the spores to
slowly drain your health and the smaller mushrooms to tie up your feet and slow you down,
so other vampires can attack while you are vulnerable.
Toughness: Eight out of ten, as it will take little damage without utilising sunlight and other
environmental features on top of a full on attack.
Speed: Zero out of ten, as the mushroom itself never moves.
Special Abilities:
• Poisonous Spores: Slowly drain the health of the protagonist while inside clouds of
them. They are indicated by clouds of purple particles.
• Germination: Creates fast growing mushrooms that slow your movement. They are
indicated by clouds of green particles.
Weaknesses:
• Sunlight
‘Polycephalus’ Dog (Location 5)
Description
The polycephalus is an extremely large dog with seemingly no differences to a domesticated

pet besides this. However, it is extremely vicious and attacks anything that it finds
threatening. The skin is very thick due to its size, so shots to sensitive areas like the eyes are
the best way to take it down. However, Polycephalus becomes angrier as it takes more
damage, showing this by growing another head. These heads don’t necessarily grow from
the neck either, but any place that enables it to take down its foe.
Distinctive features: A large black and vicious dog that grows extra heads in self defence.
Attack Power: Five out of ten to begin with, escalating with amount of heads it grows.
Polycephalus will grow to a total of nine heads before it will die.
25
Toughness: Nine out of ten, due to the lack of vulnerable areas.
Speed: Two out of ten, as it doesn’t need to move much to be in range to attack.
Special Abilities:
• Head Growing: Will mutate and grow a total of nine heads in all manner of places
over its body in a desperate attempt to save itself.
Weaknesses:
• None
‘Vespulanga’ Wasps (Location 6)
Description
The final piece of the amulet landed in a wasp hive, mutating not a single wasp but the
entire colony. Each wasp has grown to about the size of a clenched fist, with appropriate
stingers and poisons to compliment the growth. The wasps are extremely organised, but
taking out the queen will cause the drones to disperse.
Distinctive features: Swarms of fist-sized wasps with long syringe-like needle stingers. They
also accompanied by a deafening noise.
Attack Power: Varies depending on the amount of wasps swarming you, scaling anywhere
from one to ten.
Toughness: One out of ten, as a single shot will kill a wasp. However, there is an entire
swarm of wasps, as well as the queen being able to take plenty of hits.
Speed: Nine out of ten as the wasps are light and streamlined enough to sore through the
air.
Special Abilities:
• Poison: Slowly damages the player if they are stung by the needle like wasp stingers.
Weaknesses:
• Fragile Body: One-shot kills for the drone wasps, so spread weapons are ideal.
26
2.5 Progression
2.5.1 Level Progression

The player will venture to six different locations on a single playthrough. Level 3 and level 4
can have the protagonist arrive in different locations based on their previous actions, which
serves as a large reason to play through Thirst again. Level 4 is unique in that it contains
three possible locations, although one location will always be impossible to reach based on
the player’s location in level 3. For example, reaching the first of the two paths in level 3 will
make it impossible for you to arrive at the third area in level 4.
27
2.5.2 Character Progression
Attacks
While the protagonist begins the journey as a regular human being, continuous contact with
the amulet will cause him to mutate. This changes will be scripted to the points when more
pieces of the amulet are collected, which will be after the boss fights. The regular attacks
are:
• Punch: A standard strike that can be used with other punches and kicks.
• Kick: A heavier strike that can be used with other punches and kicks.
• Weapon: The ability to utilise weaponry found or created via blueprints.
These can be expanded throughout the course of the game to include the following:
• Drink blood: Inflicts minor damage on the enemy.

• Claws: A strong attack that replaces punches and kicks temporarily for parts of the
game.
• Wings: A weak attack, though it can push large groups of enemies away from you.
Abilities
The mutations will also cause the body to develop special abilities that will help when
working through the game. Some of the more advanced abilities won’t appear until nearer
the end of the game, as a way of countering the stronger enemies. The abilities are:
• Drink Blood: Able to drink the blood of other vampires to gain a small health boost.
• Climbing: Can climb up most surfaces with the use of claws.
• Flight: Can fly around during the night. It is also possible to fly during the day, though
the wings are weak to sunlight and will hurt you. After a good amount of damage,
they will disintegrate and can only be restored by resting, drinking the blood of a
human or with the regeneration ability.
• Regeneration: Health will regenerate to about half of its maximum slowly after
reaching critical status. It also benefits flying in the sunlight.
• Smell Blood: It’s possible to pinpoint the humans that are uninfected, for better or
worse.
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2.6 Modes of Play
Thirst has several different modes of play available from the main menu. These consist of the
following:
New Game
This option allows you to start a new game, regardless of existing save data. The game will
allow you to make as many saves as you like, providing that there is sufficient space on the
hard drive itself.
Continue
Continue allows you to select an existing save file and resume play. This will not be available
on the main menu until the game has been saved at least once during the regular game.
Survival
Similar to ‘horde’ mode style games that titles such as Gears of War and Halo are famous
for, it will comprise of one to four human players fending off an onslaught of enemies. Score
is tracked via kill count and method of killing to add some variance to the game type.
Survival can be played locally or online, though other players online will require a copy of the
game.
Multiplayer
Common game types such as death match, team death match and king of the hill will be
present and playable using the online service. Some exclusive modes that involve players
using the vampires, protecting humans or causing general destruction will also be included.
These modes are unavailable in local multiplayer.
Theatre
The theatre is a place where the cutscenes, endings and important narrative from the main
game can be re-watched. Once they have all been unlocked, they should be able to give an
abridged recount of the games events.
Options
The options allow you to alter things like sound volume, subtitles and brightness/contrast.
More specific options to remove gore or invert the y axis will also be included.
29
2.7 Collectibles
This is a comprehensive list of every collectible in the game, where to find them and what
they do. They are split into different sections depending on usage.
Amulet Fragments
These are required to progress the story. You will be expected to travel away from your base
camp to locate them. They will be guarded by unique monsters, humans and/or animals
transformed with satanic energy.
1) Piece #1
2) Piece #2
3) Piece #3
4) Gem #1
5) Gem #2
6) Gem #3
Amulet Grains
Each area besides the final level will have at least 50 of these. They will have a purple glow
to them and will be fairly hard to spot during the day. They are easier to spot at night, but it
will be more dangerous to collect them. Every 25 collected will offer a small stat bonus.
Mementos
A memento is simply an item of significance. You may find a photo in a ruined house or a
ring that has since killed its vampiric owner due to its silver contents. Mementos are items
that remind the protagonist about his past, a small story to tell upon collection. They do not
offer skill or stat bonuses, but some may be linked with blueprints.
Blueprints
There will be around 20 blueprints to complete. Each consists of four parts that are acquired
by different means. For example at the beginning you will be forced to find an alternative
power supply for your car. You may receive a piece upon locating solar panels, a welder etc.
They do not have to be tied to physically collecting the items though, as you could also
receive a blueprint piece for viewing a solar panel on a building from a hill, and another for
actually acquiring it. To create a basic stake, you could receive a blueprint piece by talking
about vampire movies with an NPC. You will gain the item in question after completing its
blueprint; you do not have to build them. Items like the car and the stake are key items so
they will be tied to the story. Others will be optional and require exploring to gain better
weaponry and items.
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Research
After multiple encounters with certain genus of vampire, you will begin to learn from them.
The same way a snake handler becomes better with experience, you will gain bonuses from
killing multiple vampires. For example you could kill about 200 of the basic vampires to
increase your damage against them (or decrease their defence), or even provide better
protection when receiving attacks. It will be on an individual enemy basis.
Pick-Ups
Besides weaponry there will also be medicine you can carry to numb pain or increase blood
regeneration. Other items like blood packs will also fall into this category.
Weapons
These are the various weapons available in the game:
Pistol High power, low capacity guns. There are three variants of this
gun.
Machine Gun Low power, high capacity guns. There are three variants of this
gun.
Sniper Rifle High power, single shot guns. There are three variants of this gun.
Assault Rifle Medium power, medium capacity guns that fire in bursts. There
are three variants of this gun.
RPG A high power, low capacity grenade launcher.
Crossbow A high power, low range, low capacity crossbow.
Grenade A highly explosive grenade.
Flashbang Grenade A modified flashbang capable of burning vampires.
Stake A fast melee weapon.
Small Melee Weapon Small items found around the game that can be used as a melee
weapon. These include branches and knives.
Medium Melee Weapon Medium items found around the game that can be used as a
melee weapon. These include baseball bats and metal poles.
Large Melee Weapon Large items found around the game that can be used as a melee
weapon. These include crates and debris.
Inventory Items
These are the various inventory items available in the game:
Food (S) Recovers a small amount of health and a small amount of stamina.
Food (M) Recovers a small amount of health and a medium amount of stamina.
Food (L) Recovers a small amount of health and a large amount of stamina.
Blood Pack Recovers a medium amount of health.
Quest Item Temporary items used in side quests.
Money Currency to buy items with.
Ammo Various ammunition for various guns.
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2.8 Life Management
Damage
Damage can be procured in many ways, most predominantly via attacks from the many
different genus of vampire. However, other things can damage you, including large falls and
fire. Damage cannot be completely prevented, but can be reduced by upgrading armour or
blocking for example.
Health is represented on the HUD by a health bar, animated to look a bar of blood. This will
fall upon taking damage and rise when healing. If the bar empties, you will either die or
become a mindless vampire (depending on the cause of death), receiving a game over.
How to Heal
There are a few ways that you can heal yourself, and these comprise of the following:
• Eating: While it won’t help a large amount, consuming food helps you to regenerate
your stamina as well as small portions of health.
• Using a Blood Pack: The primary method of healing in the early game, besides
resting.
• Drinking Blood: When this ability is unlocked, you can drink blood to recover your
own health.
• Regeneration: When this ability is unlocked you will very slowly regenerate health in
darkness. It does not work while in sunlight.
• Resting: At certain areas you can rest properly without worrying about vampires
reaching you. Such places allow you to heal up fully without the need of outside
equipment.
Stamina
Stamina is another bar that is seen under the health bar. It represents how tired the player
is, and as it decreases, the player’s actions become more sluggish. Resting and eating are
good ways to combat this. The actions do not become sluggish too quickly though, allowing
the chance to resolve the issue becomes it becomes a larger problem.
32
HUD (Heads-up Display)
[1]
(The Dead Rising 2 image in the background is just to allow the HUD elements to be seen
and understood better)
The heads-up display is fairly simplistic, mainly so that it doesn’t distract the player from the
action on screen. The top left features three different statistics. The number shown in the
circle is the player’s current level, which can be increased by helping NPC’s and killing
enemies. The large red bar is essentially a health meter, represented by a long tube of blood.
The lower it gets, the more danger you are in when enemies attack you. Having a low blood
meter will also make the player dizzy, so it’s worth stopping to restore it if possible. The blue
bar is a stamina meter, which slowly drops if the player is straining his body. This will restore
naturally when walking and not engaged in combat, but also by eating or sleeping.
The large circle on the right is the mini-map, which displays an overhead view of the local
area as well of points of interest. Custom waypoints can be placed on this map via the menu.
The last box, next to the mini-map displays the current weapon the antagonist has equipped,
and can be switched via a button press.
33
[1] Brown (2010) Dead Rising 2 – Game Review [Online]
Available at: http://zombiesandtoys.blogspot.com/2010/10/dead-rising-2-game-review.html
[Accessed 30 April 2011]
When the player pauses Thirst, it brings up the in-game menu screen. By tapping either the
d-pad or the analogue sticks in one of the four directions, the associated menu will slide
onto the screen in place of the four way menu. The menu hovers over the paused game,
allowing the player to swap items, view stats and save the game without having to load up a
completely separate screen.
34
2.9 Navigation
Moving about the game world is one of the most predominant features in Thirst, due to
travelling between locations, as well as gaining new ways to explore via mutation.
Methods of Travel
Walking
This is the primary method of travel once you have arrived in a new area. Walking, as well as
running, is recommended during the day when there are fewer threats roaming the area.
Completing particular tasks in each area allows you the ability to move into the next area, so
you will most likely be walking for the majority of them.
Driving
Driving is utilised in the sections between moving from one area to the next. While you
cannot use the car outside of these sections, there will be reasons provided for doing so in
game, such as petrol conservation and blockades. The driving sections are not controlled by
the player, but serve as a recap of events, as well as to show cutscenes on story aspects
occurring away from the protagonist.
Crawling
When this ability has been learnt, you will be able to climb up and along most surfaces in the
same manner as a crawler vampire. Such a method can be used to access areas such as roofs
of buildings that would otherwise be out of reach. This ability has very limited use in the day,
as contact with sunlight will render the power unusable. Using it in shadows or in the night is
how to make the most of it.
Flying
Similar to the crawling ability, you can use your wings to access most of the area you are
currently in. This will mostly be for collection purposes, to find and collect amulet shards and
items for side quests. This ability is also limited in sunlight. Using your wings in front of
humans will also scare them, making them more likely to run into danger.
35
Lock Outs
Due to the game being made out of several locations, it is impossible to roam from one to
the other on foot. Lock outs will be used to prevent the player from leaving the area, but will
be carefully thought out to prevent player frustration. Simple blockades and explanation can
prevent moving out of bounds by foot, but after gaining the flight power, this becomes more
difficult. They will likely be situational, but using Special Forces to control contamination, or
larger enemies that are too powerful in the early game are ideas.
Using the Map
The map is located in the main menu, with markers showing key locations and events being
clearly marked upon it. This is a more in-depth map, in comparison to the mini-map on the
HUD. It appears in the top-right corner and works like typical compass-like mini-maps, with
major events appearing on the rim of the map itself until it moves onto the face when
approaching it. Locations can also be reached by setting a marker on the main map.
36
3.0 Technical
3.1 Controls
With many different platforms on the market, there are also many different methods of
input. Covering both PC and home console controls are mandatory with a game such as this.
A keyboard and mouse diagram has been used for the PC breakdown, while a Razer Onza
controller has been used for both PC gamepad support as well as XBOX 360.
Keyboard (PC Gamers only, in conjunction with a mouse)
[1]
Button Description
W, A, S, D Move the players character
E Use or enter
R Reload active weapon
F Open inventory
1 through 0 Cycle active weapon
Shift Crouch
Space Jump
Escape Pause the game and open the menu
37
[1] Seo (2002) MS Frontpage [Online]
Available at: http://www.seoconsultants.com/frontpage/keyboard/ [Accessed 30 April 2011]
Mouse (PC Gamers only, in conjunction with a keyboard)
Button Description
Left Click Fire/Swing/Use primary weapon
Right Click Secondary fire/Alternate attack
Middle Click Change scroll category to either
weapons, items or abilities
Scroll Scroll through active category
Moving the Mouse Move camera
[1]
Razer Onza/Microsoft Style Gamepad (PC and XBOX 360)
Button Description
Left Analogue Stick Move player character
Left Analogue Button Crouch
Right Analogue Stick Move camera
Right Analogue Button Reset camera
Left Bumper Change ability
Right Bumper Change weapon
Left Trigger Secondary fire
Right Trigger Primary fire
D-Pad Change item, weapon, ability
A Jump
B Reload
X Use
Y Open inventory [2]
Start Open menu

Select N/A
Dualshock 3 Controller (PS3 Only)
For Playstation 3 controllers, the above table is used. The following button names replace
those from the Onza/Microsoft controller table.
A X (also known as ‘Cross’)

B Circle
X Square
Y Triangle
Left Bumper L1
Left Trigger L2
Left Analogue Button L3
Right Bumper R1
Right Trigger R2
Right Analogue Button R3 [3]
[1] Davies (2010) Introduction to computer hardware and software [Online]

Available at: http://www.ict4lt.org/en/en_mod1-2.htm [Accessed 30 April 2011]
[2] Shoemaker (2011) Razer releases ‘Onza’ [Online]
38
Available at: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2375323,00.asp [Accessed 30 April 2011]
[3] Admin (2009) PS3 Controller [Online]
Available at: http://www.ps3controller.org/ [Accessed 30 April 2011]
3.2 Style
This section goes into detail about the visual aesthetic and direction of Thirst. There will also
be comparisons to games that are currently in the market, and what can be done to best
them.
3.2.1 Graphics
Due to the similarities and doubtless comparisons that will be made with Dead Rising, Thirst
needs to have a graphical advantage; else it will fall short and become overshadowed. The
graphical quality of the console version are of course going to be the versions that are played
the most, so making sure they give the user a smooth graphical experience is paramount.
When porting across platforms it is not uncommon to see problems in the appearance of
particular areas of shading or textures, so these must be eliminated before release.
Regarding textures, a common complaint with a fair amount of recent games is that they
suffer from ‘texture popping’. This is due to the game cutting loading times too quickly,
while the game has loaded the low quality versions of the textures, and then slowly, texture
by texture, loads the high-quality versions. This is a common occurrence in the Unreal
engine, so either the load screen will be extended or a different engine will be used. The
option to have a fresh engine developed could be tempting when ensuring there won’t be
problems like this, as it would be the down to the responsibility and experience of the coders
to make sure it doesn’t happen.
The PC version will have the capability to display at the same graphical quality as the console
versions, as well as having both lower and higher qualities available. This is to ensure that a
wide spread of computers will have the capability to run the game. Ensuring compatibility
with Nvidia and ATI cards is vital to cover the majority of the PC gamer base. Intel cards are
also worth considering, though they aren’t as popular and widespread as the
aforementioned brands.
3.2.2 Game World

The game will be set in America in the year 2020, though the landscape, buildings and style
will be largely similar to the modern world. It will be set and made clear that it is ‘another
world’s version of 2020’ to allow for an artistic license with level design, not being bound to
pinpoint accurate replication of cities.
During the daylight sections, the sunlight will be extremely harsh except during the event of
rain. This is for two reasons. The first of these is to make it quite apparent that vampires
cannot enter it without serious harm or death, with the other to offer a stark contrast to
creeping around during the night. A clear blue sky can also be used to symbolise the large
expanse of the country the protagonist is travelling, accentuating the length at which he is
going on his journey.
39
The game will also focus a lot on the destruction and break down of the world around him.
There will be heavy amounts of gore, inside and outside of actual combat due to the
ferociousness of the monsters that are roaming. Buildings won’t necessarily be broken, but
broken doors and windows as well as barricades will be apparent. Fire will be used in places
you would really expect to see it, rather than being used as a cheap way of blocking the
player.
3.2.3 Package Art
The package art needs to be clear as to the genre of the game, as well as the violent nature
of the game. Rather than a ‘busy’ cover like the Dead Rising series, it would be worth
considering the simplistic approach games like Vampire Rain have taken, by showing one of
the enemies in main focus to attract the eyes of potential buyers. Foil or embossing
techniques are also an option to draw in buyers. Games like Borderlands did this particularly
successfully.
The reverse side of the box will touch on the story of the game, due to that being a large
focus of the game itself. The remainder of the text will then explain the style of game and
examples of what you can do and its main features. Screenshots from in-game as well as
cutscenes will be used to demonstrate what they can expect to see. Essentially, the front of
the box will draw the player to pick it up, while the reverse will show why it is better than
similar games to try and earn the sale.
3.2.4 Music and Sound Effects

Thirst will make use of typical suspenseful music while in areas with no or few apparent
enemies. Orchestral pieces will emphasise the dire situation should an enemy appear or
creep up on the player. The sound effects will also be trying to make the player be cautious
of their surroundings, while also aiming to make them jump.
Due to the heavy focus on the hooded men at the start and the comparisons that can be
drawn between them and monks, exclusive orchestrated pieces of music will be used during
the boss fights, with Latin choir or even chant-like vocals. This adds another reason for
players to play the game multiple times, especially if they are fans of the music. The songs
can also be tailored to the fights themselves, allowing them to not feel repetitive and to get
players excited for them. During critical sections of the fights themselves, be it the player
attacking heavily, a boss changing form or something similarly exciting, the music will raise in
volume, carrying across the impact of the occurring action.
40
3.3 Levels Overview
The following is a map of North America, showing the potential routes that can be taken
throughout the course of the game. The player starts at the far right on the east coast, then
slowly makes it to the west coast, where the vampire was summoned.
The player will have to complete the main task of each area, as well as defeating a ‘boss’
enemy, before moving to the left and on to the next area. The levels are as follows:
Level 1
Location: Washington DC
Chapter name: Introduction
Main Task: Locate a vehicle and get it moving.
Boss: Gigantropod
Can travel to: Level 2
Level 2
Location: Ohio
Chapter name: Revelation
Main Task: Locate piece of amulet based on sighting of mutant.
Boss: Vagabundus
Can travel to: Level 3a or 3b
41
[1] Admin (2011) Map of America [Online]
Available at: http://www.onlinepicture.org/tag/map-of-north-america-and-south-america/
[Accessed 28 April 2011]
Level 3a
Location: Chicago
Chapter name: Consequences
Main Task: Locate a sufficient amount of fuel.
Boss: Corvunevamorn
Can travel to: Level 4a or 4b
Level 3b
Location: Memphis
Chapter name: Consequences
Main Task: Locate a sufficient amount of fuel.
Boss: Aurockk
Can travel to: Level 4b or 4c
Level 4a
Location: Bismarck
Chapter name: Discovery
Main Task: Discover location of demon.
Boss: Ferafelis
Level 4b
Location: Denver
Boss: Gulantus
Level 4c
Location: Santa Fe
Boss: Amanita Helloides
Level 5
Location: Salt Lake City
Chapter name: Epiphany
Main Task: Prepare for the final encounter.
Boss: Polycephalus
Level 6
Location: San Francisco
Chapter name: Conclusion
Main Task: Locate demon.
Boss: Vespulanga, Antagonist
42
4.0 Analysis
Thirst has been analysed both to the 10 rules, Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, and also Dead
Rising 2 in a competitive analysis, to see exactly what design choices were made to compete
with other titles and why.
4.1 Analysis against the 10 rules

Of course, the main reason this document exists is to create a game that abides by the ten
rules stated and detailed in the research section of this FYP. The following will be a list of the
ten rules, as well as the measures that Thirst takes to ensure it meets them.
4.1.2 Rule #1 – Players want their gameplay unrestricted

While the premise of moving from one area to another seems linear, the game allows and
actively promotes exploring. The towns and cities that are visited in the story can be moved
around, buildings can be entered and secrets can be found. While the game will always
feature the boss fights and amulet collection, it is up to the player if they want to play as a
good or bad character.
A variety of weaponry are included to maximise the chances that the players will find a
favourite and be able to stick to them or change at will. Players that want to play as the
vampires will eventually be able to gain access to particular skills as the game progresses, as
well as being able to start the game as a vampire on replaying the game. Downloadable
content can even be considered to introduce further abilities to non-primary playthroughs
for players who want to play as full vampires.
4.1.3 Rule #2 – Players want to feel the effect of their

decision
There are three main places decisions are made. The first is the split level structure seen
when the player chooses where to travel for levels 3 and 4. The choice of location at the end
of level 2 directly influences the choice you can make at the end of level 3, as there will
always be a level that cannot be chosen. Of course, the most immediate change is the visual
style of the location, as well as the level design.
The other decisions involve NPC’s discovered during the game. The common survivors can be
dealt with in two different ways. The first of these is to save them, earning their respect and
gaining rewards. The other would be to treat them like the other monsters you’ve
encountered and kill them, allowing you to forcibly take the items they would otherwise gift.
The same is somewhat similar for the special survivors, except the ending seen after the
credits can change based on this. You will see an ending for each of these special survivors
you meet, showing you what happened after you saved them, what happened after you left
43
them (on the assumption you didn’t fulfil their quests) or nothing if you killed them outright.
All of these decisions have major changes to the endgame.
4.1.4 Rule #3 – Players want the option to change a decision

Before travelling to a new area, the player will be given the option to make a save, which will
place them before the decision in the event of wanting to change it. All the player has to do
is keep this save and not overwrite it, and they are free to change their minds. The decisions
made with the NPC’s are very situational, and only benefit minor changes in stats. Having the
ability to change these decisions would be largely impractical, though the special survivor
missions are very obvious, so saving can be initiated by the player before engaging them.
4.1.5 Rule #4 – Players want a different experience when

playing a second time
There are several draws that can help entice a player into replaying the game. The first of
these are the additional locations in levels 3 and 4, which will be new experiences to the
player. Another reason is the ability to start with the demonic powers from the beginning of
the game, allowing you to defeat bosses in different ways, explore areas further and gain
access to new items. The other is that you can choose to play differently, changing from
good to bad or vice versa. These main reasons, as well as other small reasons such as finding
the other special survivor endings or finding all the collectibles, will surely see players
returning to Thirst.
4.1.6 Rule #5 – Players want canonical sequels

As the ending implies that the protagonist lives, and doesn’t verify the status of the
protagonists wife, there is plenty of room to create a sequel that takes place directly after
the first. There are also enough reasons to not resolve to retroactive continuity changes in
order to make the game feasible, for example giving the wife powers due to the demon that
was inside her rather than using an illogical explanation. Considering she was used and
abandoned, a game based on revenge is not out of the question.
4.1.7 Rule #6 – Players don’t want endings to be a

punishment
While the ending is not a typical ‘happily ever after’ style ending, it exists to deliberately
shock the player. By creating an ending that provides such a twist at the end of the game,
players will begin to talk about it and raise awareness of the game via word of mouth, similar
to Portal. However, while the ending is a shocker, regular styled endings can be viewed after
the credits when viewing what happened to the special survivors. The ending isn’t classed
the same way as ‘bad endings’, those of which feature the main character dying or actions
44
being worthless, so taking a different approach can be considered a fresh way of having
players enjoy the end game.
4.1.8 Rule #7 – Players shouldn’t have to play more than

three times to obtain the full narrative
To reach all areas and therefore all of the narrative, the player will have to play three times
to visit all of the locations. They will also have to help the special survivors should they wish
to see the narratives tied to them; though this too can be done within three plays should the
player wish to see them. The core narrative is obtained after one playthrough, with the
subsequent two being solely for extra info on the special survivors.
4.1.9 Rule #8 – Players don’t want moral choices just

because there is a moral system
Moral choices are never openly mentioned or tied to choices, with ‘morals’ only relatable to
the way the player is playing the game. They can be playing as either a ‘good’ or a ‘bad’
character, but will never have to make choices to reflect this, at least not by way of dialogue.
It will always be the player’s choice what they want to do, and there are no bars, numbers or
rewards to reflect otherwise.
4.1.10 Rule #9 – Players shouldn’t have to considerably

change their play style
The only way a play style could be changed is by killing everyone instead of helping the
survivors, an option which is completely up to the player and offers no differences in
gameplay besides that which the player reads into. There are also no time based events such
as speed runs or other actions that would stop the player from paying full attention to the
world around them.
4.1.11 Rule #10 – Players should not have a greater reward

for a particular moral choice
As mentioned previously, there are no specific moral choices to make, either by action or
dialogue, and can only be read into the game by the player. Such being the case, the only
action to analyse would be the method of saving or killing the survivors, which in both cases
offer the same rewards. Players are free to do either method, as the game will not change in
the long run due to it. Helping characters will allow you to be gifted the reward, and while
killing them for it may seem like an easier method and thus more ideal, other survivors will
run from you at this point, which will balance this. Players can even make the most of
helping and killing depending on the situation.
45
4.2 Analysis against Campbell’s ‘The Hero’s Journey’
Many similarities between Thirst and Joseph Campbell’s ‘The Hero’s Journey’ diagram can be
observed and analysed. With a game that features one single over-arching story, it is easy to
apply to this particular diagram, than say a game that features many instances of shorter
quests.
[1]
Call to Adventure
The call to adventure occurs just after waking up and beginning the game. After meeting
another survivor outside, the significance of the woman that was used in the ritual is
revealed. This becomes the players call to adventure, a quest seemingly to halt the vampire
curse, destroy the demon causing it and save his wife.
Threshold (beginning of transformation)
The beginning of the transformation occurs after collecting the first piece of the amulet,
where its power begins to change the features and abilities of the protagonist. It’s a visual
representation of the way someone changes over the course of an adventure, though in this
instance, is a physical and mechanical transformation.
Helper
While there are no specific helper characters, many NPC’s will aid you if you do not act
hostile towards them. A significant event occurs when you are tracking down the exact
location of the demon, which is revealed after meeting and talking with an NPC.
46
[1] Liberation Heroic Journey (2010) The Hero’s Journey [Online] Available at:
http://liberationheroicjourney.blogspot.com/ [Accessed 29 March 2011]
Challenges and Temptations
The challenges can be representative of many parts of Thirst, but helping out other survivors
and dispatching the tough boss enemies in order to obtain amulet pieces are definitely the
frontrunners of such a classification. Temptation can also fall into the hands of the NPC’s, as
players may decide to take out everyone they see, not stopping to help a delirious NPC and
get them to safety.
Transformation
The transformation is again a literal one, with the protagonist becoming more and more
affected by the vampire curse in the amulet he carries. He begins to grow claws, wings and
react to the smell of the blood, temptations that the player can either fulfil or ignore of their
journey to the demon that caused it all.
Return
The return is the arrival back at the demon, as it is revealed that the protagonist was one of
the cloaked figures that revived the demon in the first place. This ‘return’ also symbolises
the end of the game, as it also shows the protagonist returning to his actual self, a barbaric
and sickening human that sacrifices his wife for nothing but power, leaving her for dead.
47
4.3 Competitive Analysis
I will be comparing Thirst to Dead Rising 2, a game that would most certainly be compared
to by reviewers, critics and players alike.
4.3.1 Game Details
Name: Thirst Name: Dead Rising 2

Platform: XBOX 360, PS3 Platform: XBOX 360, PS3 and
and PC PC
Max Players: 16 Players: 2
Genre: RPG/Adventure Genre: RPG/Adventure
Analysis
Platform
Both titles have utilised the available market well by releasing on multiple platforms,
therefore maximising player coverage. The games are too technical to consider release on a
handheld as they are, and the Wii was likely not considered due to the control scheme and
the average players associated with it.
Maximum Players
Dead Rising 2 is predominantly a single player game, though it also features an online co-op
campaign for a total of two players. Thirst uses the single player campaign to drive its story
across, so having a co-op campaign wouldn’t be suitable as it is. However, using the different
monsters and abilities, up to 16 players can play online in competitive game modes such as
death match and king of the kill. The decision to include competitive multiplayer stems from
the popularity of games that feature these modes, most specifically titles in the Call of Duty
line, Gears of War and Halo.
48
4.3.2 Sound
Name: Thirst Name: Dead Rising 2

Music: Yes Music: Yes
Sound Effects: Yes Sound Effects: Yes
Voice Over’s: Yes Voice Over’s: Yes
Analysis
The music direction in both games is surprisingly different. Dead Rising 2 very rarely uses
music, instead opting for sounds you would find naturally in each given area. Often it is just a
culmination of various different sound effects, but you can occasionally hear music from
either music stores, lifts, or similar. Subtle music can also be heard during cut scenes.
Thirst uses music throughout the game, though during regular combat it won’t be played
very loudly. During difficult fights, boss fights or when the player is taken by surprised, the
music becomes louder and more upbeat to emphasise the situation. This music is designed
to be both creepy in context with the fights, as well as being able to excite the player. Choir
like music with Latin vocals with heavy crescendos will be an ideal way to do this.
Sound effects are the primary source of audio in Dead Rising 2, which vary from zombie
groans to footsteps to gunshots. They provide the player with the ability to work out where
enemies are, as well as to judge the situation around them. Thirst will function similarly and
feature correct sound effects, though the emphasis will be more on the music. Thirst has a
larger influence on killing the enemies, were as Dead Rising 2 tends to allow you to move
past them should you not want to engage them.
Voice overs are used in conversation with NPC’s, or in cutscenes. They help keep the player
engaged, which is vital in such scenes. Over use of subtitling can cause players to simply skip
such scenes entirely.
49
4.3.3 Gameplay Analysis
NPC A.I.
The A.I. largely varies in Thirst, depending on the type of enemy or ally that is concerned.
Vampires will wander around until they detect you, at which point they will give chase.
Shadowlurkers will try to get behind you, maximising their chances of killing you. Crawlers
will try and drop from above, using your confusion against you. With such varied A.I. in the
enemies alone, it keeps the player on their feet and always watching out for the next threat.
It builds suspense and makes winning battles more satisfying.
The A.I. in Dead Rising 2 can be categorised into three categories; survivor, zombie and
psychopath. The survivors will always run after you, only stopping to attack zombies should
you do so first. Zombies will stumble around aimlessly, though they hasten slightly if you
walk in range of them. Psychopaths are unique in that they are essentially boss fights, so
their A.I. is very situational. The military also appear after a time, but they follow a simple
‘follow and shoot’ style which even some of the psychopaths use.
Dead Rising 2 uses the A.I. to create a laid back game that players can mess around in and
have fun. It’s intentionally comedic, so having huge unavoidable threats at every corner
would work against it. Thirst is built as a serious game, so genuine difficulty and planning
around fighting larger enemies is required. The NPC A.I. is largely suited for their respective
games, rather than one being succinctly better than the other.
The Addiction
The collectibles form a large part of why players will want to come back to play Thirst.
Collecting more items allows access to more weapons and equipment, thus giving them
more ways to play. Players can even pick the game up just to attempt survival on some of
the harder difficulties, or to increase their kill count. One of the main reasons will be for
players to visit new locations and obtain new special survivor endings. The main draw post-
game is of course the multiplayer, with few other games offering such a death match,
abilities and gameplay considered.
Dead Rising 2 is notorious for having players come back to the game, though not necessarily
to play the game as it should. A lot of people find that they will come back simply to kill a
few more zombies, often in a comedic fashion, as a way of relaxing with a game. There are
plenty of weapons and events that can be used to create such scenarios, and assuming you
don’t create a new save, you don’t have to worry about consequences. Players that go
through the campaign again may also be looking to obtain the alternate endings.
50
4.3.4 Story
Characters
Dead Rising 2 focuses on a small, closely knit group of characters. However, the two that
feature constantly and predominantly are Chuck, the protagonist, and his daughter Katey.
He interacts with her best interests in mind, but does also have regular conversations with
Rebecca, a news reporter who seems to have taken an interest past simple journalism. While
Chuck does not talk much to the majority of people he meets, he will go out of his way to
save them if they are in danger.
Thirst essentially focuses on the protagonist, but there are also conversations and dialogue
to have with NPC’s. The survivors, most notably the special survivors, will converse with the
protagonist both in-game and via cutscenes. The protagonist’s wife, the demon and the
thirteen cloaked figures also play large roles in building the story via cutscenes, as well as at
the end of the game.
The Journey
Dead Rising 2 has less a journey, but more of a wait. Chuck is actually waiting for a period of
three days for the Special Forces to come and save them, but in the meantime helping to
find more survivors, as well as locate the drug Zombrex to keep his daughter alive. The
shopping mall is the only location of the game, though it is exceedingly large and with a lot
to do inside it.
Thirst has a total of nine different areas to travel to, as well as a wealth of different missions,
NPC’s and collectibles within them. The journey is narrated by the protagonist himself, as
well as documented while travelling between locations by use of a map and descriptions.
The story itself is of a journey, rather than a theoretic or ‘spiritual’ journey.
The Goals
The goal of Dead Rising 2 is to escape the shopping mall alive, a feat that involves surviving
for three days, while locating survivors and keeping your daughter alive. There is also a main
mission that runs through the game, which is timed and must be completed in order to
obtain the ‘good’ ending.
Thirst’s ultimate goal is to vanquish the demon that is using your wife as a host. The
travelling is due to the distance between you and the demon, as well as for collecting the
amulet needed to break the seal of the demon and eventually defeat her. There is a much
heavier visualisation of progression, both journey and experience wise, to amplify the ending
when it comes to showing how far you have come.
51
5.0 Bibliography
Books
Atkins, B. (2003). More than a game. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Chris Bateman (2007). Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames.
Boston: Charles River Media.
Gobel, S. (2006). Technologies for Interactive Digital Storytelling and Entertainment. Berlin:
Springer.
Films
Lawrence, F. (2007). I Am Legend. [DVD]. USA: Warner Bro’s Pictures.
Video Games
Gearbox. (2009). Borderlands. [DISC] PC. California: 2K Games.
Realtime Worlds. (2007). Crackdown. [DISC] XBOX360. New York: Microsoft Game Studios.
Treyarch. (2010). Call of Duty: Black Ops. [DISC] XBOX360. California: Activision.
Capcom. (2006). Dead Rising. [DISC] XBOX360. Tokyo: Capcom.
Capcom. (2010). Dead Rising 2. [DISC] XBOX360. Tokyo: Capcom.
Bethesda. (2008). Fallout 3. [DISC] PC. Maryland: Bethesda Softworks.
Obsidian. (2010). Fallout: New Vegas. [DISC] XBOX360. Maryland: Bethesda Softworks.
Epic Games. (2008). Gears of War 2. [DISC] XBOX360. New York: Microsoft Game Studios.
Valve. (2004). Half-Life 2. [DISC] PC. Kirkland: Valve.
Bungie. (2007). Halo 3. [DISC] PC. New York: Microsoft Game Studios.
Capcom. (2009). Resident Evil 5. [DISC] XBOX360. Tokyo: Capcom.
Artoon. (2007). Vampire Rain. [DISC] PC. New York: Microsoft Game Studios.
52

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Thirst

2.1 Core Gameplay

2.2.2 Gaining Experience

Experience is gained mainly by slaughtering enemies, be they vampires, animals or

2.4.1 Common Survivors

Examples of these tasks include:

• Helping to repair a vehicle to allow them to escape,

Special Survivor Name Number Description

Speed: Four out of ten when concerning their running speed.

• Sunlight (from the front)

• Protection from sunlight

• Protection from sunlight

Distinctive features: Nothing unique, as they look like regular bats.

Attack Power: Varies depending on the weapon being used.

‘Gigantropod’ - Slug (Location 1)

Attack Power: Five out of ten.

‘Vagabundus’ Human (Location 2)

‘Corvunevamorn’ (Location 3a)

‘Ferafelis’ Cat (Location 4a)

‘Gulantus’ Human (Location 4b)

Speed: Zero out of ten, as the mushroom itself never moves.

‘Polycephalus’ Dog (Location 5)

The polycephalus is an extremely large dog with seemingly no differences to a domesticated

‘Vespulanga’ Wasps (Location 6)

2.5.1 Level Progression

• Drink blood: Inflicts minor damage on the enemy.

Using the Map

Keyboard (PC Gamers only, in conjunction with a mouse)

Start Open menu

Dualshock 3 Controller (PS3 Only)

A X (also known as ‘Cross’)

[1] Davies (2010) Introduction to computer hardware and software [Online]

3.2.2 Game World

3.2.3 Package Art

3.2.4 Music and Sound Effects

4.1 Analysis against the 10 rules

4.1.2 Rule #1 – Players want their gameplay unrestricted

4.1.3 Rule #2 – Players want to feel the effect of their

4.1.4 Rule #3 – Players want the option to change a decision

4.1.5 Rule #4 – Players want a different experience when

4.1.6 Rule #5 – Players want canonical sequels

4.1.7 Rule #6 – Players don’t want endings to be a

4.1.8 Rule #7 – Players shouldn’t have to play more than

4.1.9 Rule #8 – Players don’t want moral choices just

4.1.10 Rule #9 – Players shouldn’t have to considerably

4.1.11 Rule #10 – Players should not have a greater reward

Threshold (beginning of transformation)

4.3.1 Game Details

Name: Thirst Name: Dead Rising 2

Name: Thirst Name: Dead Rising 2

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