It's this long for a reason...heh...hehhh!

Tom - This is just in case you would like to get a jump on some of the documentation stuff. Feel free to edit, chop, crop, poop, or do whatever you would like with it.

Sorry about the length, I just want to make sure we are all on the same page. Please let me know about changes, suggestions, and etc.

Interfaces Level plan

This is the overall design plan for the tutorial level.
These ideas and concepts are completely subject to change.

Tutorial level:

The tutorial level is going to be short and simple. It will demonstrate the core mechanics which are needed to continue successful gameplay. It will be laid out in the progression of task related difficulty.

It begins with getting the player familiar with basic movements, (walking left/right) and jumping heights. The jumping heights will be determined initially via dirt mounds, with a few various locations to jump from, and to, (pics provided). After the player is comfortable with the walking / jumping, they will be confronted with their first challenge: a simple spike pit. There will be a shiny artifact waiting for the player after they make a successful jump (this will not be a huge jump, small and simple).

Note: If the player falls into the spikes (or fails any other attempt through out the tutorial level), the cost of failure will be removed; the player should be respawned in the area/screen just prior to their failure (i.e. right before the spike pit). The interface could provide feedback of life loss, alert player of harm and/or dangerous situations, and also to notify collectibles (Ee's, dino food – explained later).

The shiny artifacts will be rare Earth elements. The player will need to collect these elements in order to aid in the fixing of the ship. These are very important!

The next step in the level will be (possibly) vine climbing and jumping. This will allow the player to climb a few vines and jump across them. The player will then be confronted with their second challenge: another simple spike pit. However, this spike pit will be longer than the previous. The player will not be able to make the jump. They must then utilize their new vine jumping skill to over come the obstacle.

Earth elements, (Ee's) will be provided after challenges, or placed in area's where the artifact itself becomes a challenge to get. The reward: always the Ee's.

The player will then encounter their 3rd challenge. This will be a combination of the two previous obstacles, spike pits & vine jumping. The player can decide to either vine jump over the spike pits, or just simply jump over them. Ee's will be provided (possibly different sized).

The next area will grant the player the opportunity to ride their first dinosaur. After a series of jumps and/or some climbing, the player will be confronted by the Velociraptor. Use of the zapper gun will slow down and eventually stop the dino. This will give you enough time to jump on it's back and use your mind control device. The area will have a new element: jump thru platforms. These will be more than obvious branches that the raptor can jump to (upon initial mount, have “forced” jump to a limb directly above). The raptor is extremely fast and can jump very high and far.

The 4th challenge will be a small cliff with a spiked lower facade. The player will have to successfully mount the raptor and jump to the top of the small cliff to continue on with the level (Ee's will be provided). This portion of the level also marks the first use of the zapper gun (possible Graphic Holograms Offering Specific Tasks Reinforcing Interaction & Gameplay or GHOST RIG could be used to display proper information, pics provided). Am I pushing it with that one? Ha! Ha!

Note: There will be a new artifact introduced: meat for the Velociraptor. This meat will add an additional number of seconds to the time limit of the dino riding experiences.

After passing the cliff face, the dino time will run out; player dismount will occur. The player will then, soon after dismount, enter a clearing in the forest. There will be some rocky terrain, (jumping involved) that will lead towards a river. Once the player arrives at the river's edge, they will see some platform trees (jump thru platforms within player jump heights) growing out of the base of a tall rock pillar.

The tall rock pillar is the home of the Pterodactyl. The player will have to zap the Pterodactyl and hop on for a ride of a life time! The player will fly over a raging river with protruding jagged rocks: bad news for alien's and Pterodactyl's. This becomes the 5th and final challenge of the tutorial: using the flying dino to cross the river and exit the level. Upon reaching the other side of the river you discover one of your alien scout comrades who has some important news for you.

When you dismount from your Pterodactyl, your scout buddy tells you to drop off your Ee's with him. He also checks to see if you've collected all of the Ee's in the area. At the end of the levels you will check in with a scout. If you don't have all of the Ee's collected, they will instruct you to backtrack and find the missing Ee's. The level can only be completed after the player has collected all of the Ee's that have been detected on the scout's radar.

Note: Both sides of the river will have some sort of perch for the Pterodactyl. In the event that the player should have to backtrack, the opportunity exists.

Possible cut scene or something: the player could be presented with a score screen, progress meter, or some sort of visual thing that shows player achievement.

(Hypo)The scout states: “Ah! More of the Elements (Ee's)! You have done well collecting. This operation is critical! We need everyone working as much as possible to fix this time blunder! A team of scouts went ahead. I've lost contact with them...travel onward and find the team. I'll signal back to the gatherers and have them collect this deposit of Ee's. Good Work! Keep gathering them! Our ship and survival depend on it! Hey….be careful out there.”