Design Document for:

Cave In
(Working title)
Trapped alone underground
Some things should remain buried."

Written by Christopher McCollum

Version # 1.00
Thursday. July 21, 2016

Table of Contents
CAVE IN
DESIGN HISTORY

VERSION 1.00

THE GAME

GAME OVERVIEW

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
COMMON QUESTIONS
What is the game?
Why create this game?
Where does the game take place?
What do I control?
What is the main focus?
Whats different?

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FEATURE SET

GENERAL FEATURES
GAME PLAY

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THE GAME WORLD

OVERVIEW
CAVE
RUINS
WEATHER

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WORLD FEATURES
Overview: Fun house at Fair Grounds
Key Locations: Fair Grounds
Scale
Objects
Hero Assets
CAMERA
Overview:
Camera

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CHARACTERS

OVERVIEW
AVATAR

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7

USER INTERFACE

OVERVIEW
HEADS-UP DISPLAY (HUD)

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MUSICAL SCORES AND SOUND EFFECTS

OVERVIEW
MUSICAL SCORE
3D SOUND
SOUND DESIGN

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SINGLE PLAYER GAME

OVERVIEW
OBJECTIVES
EXPLORATION
STORY

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"STORY APPENDIX"

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Design History
Please see below.

Version 1.00
Version 1.00 is the initial game design document.

Game Overview
Design Philosophy
The game is designed to take advantage of the fear and panic one would experience being trapped
underground after a cave in. Exploring the environment for a way to save your girlfriend will lead to trying
to escape for help, then stumbling upon a vast alien research complex. The goal is to give a unique view of
the underground ecosystem and the types of secrets that could be hidden underground.

Common Questions
What is the game?
The game is an exploration game that creates a sense of suspense as the player is isolated and
alone underground. The player must find a way to rescue their friend or get help. After a cave-in, they
discover an alien research facility that the aliens believed was well hidden. The player must rescue their
friend and escape the complex.
Why create this game?
There aren't many games that take place underground in cave systems. Several use dungeons or
have small cave sections, but none focus on the kind of extensive underground networks of caves there
could be or what might happen if someone decided to hide something valuable down there. By creating this
game we can explore natural cave systems, mines, and the concept that the best place for aliens to hide
would be underground.
Where does the game take place?
It takes place in a natural cave system that happens to connect to an old abandoned mine. After
transitioning from the natural caves to the mines, the player will come across a high-tech underground
research facility.
What do I control?
You play as a male explorer.
What is the main focus?

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The focus is to explore and solve a mystery about why the mine was abandoned, what is hidden
underground, and how to rescue your girlfriend and escape with this knowledge to share with the world.
Whats different?
Similar games like Legend of Grimrock take place entirely in dungeons underground, but not
naturally occurring caves. Most games opt for exterior environments where it is easy to make things flashy
and cool. We want to show that there can be beautiful environments underground, whether that is an
abandoned mine, ruins, or the natural ecosystem of caves that few people in the world have explored deep
enough to see.
Furthermore while games may hide government labs underground, they have not yet hidden an
alien base underground. It is usually assumed aliens base themselves in space, or are captured and taken to
secret labs. However we believe it is more likely and interesting that they would hide underground, begging
the question whether they've always been there or are a recent arrival to Earth.

Feature Set
General Features
Exploring dark confined spaces
Discovering alien artifacts
Escaping alive

Game play
Finding tools (flashlight, rope)
Rescuing your girlfriend
Exploring and solving a mystery

The Game World

Overview
The game takes place underground and features three separate areas. The player will transition
from one to the other, and on their way out to escape the caves revisit some familiar areas. The three main
areas are a naturally occurring cave, an abandoned mine, and an alien research facility.

Cave
It will be a natural cave formation that must be repelled into using rope and climbing gear. From
the bottom of the first level of the game, the player can look up and get the feeling that they are at the
bottom of a large pit, far from help.

Abandoned Mine
The abandoned mine will contain old machinery, power generators, and an elevator. The miners
would have left behind some small caches of supplies such as survival rations or TNT. Some sections will
have old lights strung up that can be powered by the generator. Furthermore, strange alien artifacts can be
found in the mine.

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Alien Laboratory
The alien research facility will compose a large part of the game. From here the player may
venture into parts of the mine the aliens have repurposed, or small naturally occurring cave systems, but
they will always return to the lab. While exploring it they will have to evade aliens and rescue their
girlfriend, as well as try to solve the mystery of what is going on.

Weather
The game takes place underground so there is no weather. However, atmospheric effects such as
dust, smoke, or fire will be used. As per a naturally occurring cave system, there may be wind moving
through the cave system pushing the smoke and dust towards an exit to the surface. The mine will also have
ventilation shafts. By using wind and subtle atmospheric effects we can help the mines feel alive as well as
provide small unsettling sounds in the background like whistling.

World Features
Overview
The world of the game consists of a cave with three distinct environments.
Key Locations
1.
2.
3.

Natural Cave System

Abandoned Mine
Alien Research Laboratory
Travel
The character will travel by walking, running, crouching, and jumping. They will be able to climb
over small obstacles, or larger ones with a rope or ladder.
Scale
Real world.
Objects:
1. Flashlight:
Hero Assets

Camera
Overview
First Person Camera View with only arms and items in view.
Camera:
A cinematic intro sequence will be used.

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Characters
Overview
The main character will only have arms modeled and animated as necessary from the first-person
perspective. The girlfriend will be modeled and animated and encountered further on in the game.

Avatar
The player will be able to walk, run, jump, and crouch. They will be able to interact with items
that fill them in on the backstory and either help guide them to safety or warn them of what has been
happening underground. The avatar will be equipped with a flashlight helmet, radio, and some minor rock
climbing supplies.

Girlfriend
The girlfriend is kidnapped early in the story and is separated from most of her gear, except her
radio. She uses this to communicate to the player and help them locate her, as well as report on the alien
movements.

User Interface
Overview
The User Interface will be designed for the PC but flexible enough to adapt to other consoles.

Heads-Up Display (HUD)

The player will not use health, stamina, or batteries for their flashlight. Instead, the HUD will help
track their current objective and which clues they have found.

Musical Scores and Sound Effects

Overview
(To be decided)

Musical Score

3D Sound
Sound Design

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Single-Player Game
Overview
Cave In is solely a single player experience.

Objectives
The player has only one objective at first, to rescue their girlfriend. However they quickly have a
secondary objective, to escape whatever is living down in the cave system and seems to be following them.
A minor objective is to unravel the lore and discover the purpose of the artifacts. The main focus will
remain seeking the girlfriend and escaping pursuit.

Exploration
The environment is very linear and straightforward for the most part, with some short dead ends.

Story Appendix
The player and his girlfriend decide to explore a cave together. They're experienced
climbers and set a small camp at the bottom of a vertical cave entrance.
The story starts with their ropes and camp visible, but the girlfriend who is smaller and
thinner has slid through a crevice in the wall. The player goes over to check on them, commenting
the crack is too small for them, and hear the girlfriend discover something on the other side. She
then panics and is kidnapped.
The player heads down a nearby tunnel to try and find a way around. Along the way they
locate an artifact and start to hear something behind them. Their progress is barred by a mine shaft
and they can't see the bottom. They turn around and are startled by an alien (poorly lit) standing
behind them. They fall down the mine shaft which luckily is only ~10-15 feet, and land on crates
of supplies that break their fall.
Player gets up rather sore and starts to explore again, unable to climb out back to the cave
entrance. Their radio gets a signal from the girlfriend's walkie-talkie and she tells him she's in a
mine. The captor took the artifact from her and is busy out of sight talking to another one of the
creatures.
The player goes down the mine tunnels until locating some drilling equipment. Further on
is a generator, they turn it on and hear the drilling equipment power up. However they also hear
something scream and the loud thrashing as the equipment they just passed is destroyed. Lights
start going out down that same tunnel.
The player advances and finds another artifact and gets another radio message from their
friend. They're being taken deeper in the mine and the walls are replaced with a silver liquid. She's
counted 3 of the creatures and suggests you find help instead of coming straight to rescue her. The
signal is lost as she goes through a door.
The player goes on to locate another artifact and a generator, which the artifact is able to
repair. They rush to the elevator as darkness closes in and they start to rise, before the elevator
stops. The cave rumbles and collapses as the elevator plummets, and breaks through the floor into
an alien compound storage area.

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