Genre
Game
Puzzle platformer, hack and slash, action RPG
Narrative
Post-apocalyptic, gritty, epic, detective mystery, drama, ethical, post-truth
Hook
What sets the game apart from the competition? What does this game do differently? These are good foundations for marketing and an elevator pitch.
Kandria is a hand-crafted, 2D action game, which combines the wall-climbing verticality and precision puzzle platforming of Celeste, with the tight hack and slash swordplay of NieR:Automata, all set within an epic, post-apocalyptic RPG story and world. Questions of artificial life and android ethics abound as you thread and fight your way through hostility, and a complex web of uncertain truths.
Steam Blurb
Latest version:
Explore a ruined open world of caverns and settlements. Hack and slash your way through missions: patrol, repair, scavenge - choose your quests and dialogue. Or go fishing, forage mushrooms, and race the clock! The old world is gone - the future is up to you.
Tone
Arid, fallen world
Broken technology
Decay
Gritty
Epic
Personal
Complicated
Target Audience
Fans of the above genres, games, and tones. Post-apocalyptic content in particular seems to be on the rise, with new movies in the Mad Max and Blade Runner franchises in recent years, not to mention “wasteland” games like NieR and Kenshi proving popular.
Target PEGI rating: 16+
Even if only being distributed on Steam where PEGI is optional, it’s a useful content guide.
PEGI 16
This rating is applied once the depiction of violence (or sexual activity) reaches a stage that looks the same as would be expected in real life. The use of bad language in games with a PEGI 16 rating can be more extreme, while games of chance, and the use of tobacco, alcohol or illegal drugs can also be present.
Source: https://pegi.info/what-do-the-labels-mean
Themes
Themes will emerge as the game and story are produced, but are likely to explore:
The difficulties of survival in a ruined world
Is artificial life less valuable than organic life?
What the future might hold for human beings if we destroy our environment
What it’s like to be disliked by people for things beyond your control
What it’s like to live in constant conflict, and risk of loss of life
Value Proposition
12-hour single player experience
Modding support
Cost will reflect this