The Pirates of the Crimson Cutlass
Game Design Presentation: By Pete Kinnunen
The Concept
• What is this game supposed to be?
– A Pirate Themed First Person Shooter (fps).
• Using pistol, musket, blunderbuss, and trusty cutlass the player will shoot and slash his/her way to plunder and riches.
• The player’s Role?
– You play as the Captain of the pirate ship The Crimson Cutlass, Bartholomew Scythe.
• His intention is to “acquire” pieces of a map to lead him and his crew to untold riches.
Overall Feel
• Attempt to go with a more realistic view of pirating, but with a minor folklore/fantasy feel as well.
– Movie Examples:
• Pirates of the Caribbean • Cutthroat Island
– A semi romanticized look at pirating, but it should feel realistic in a sense.
The Viewpoint
• As mentioned before, this will be a fps so the majority of the action will be seen through Bartholomew’s eyes.
– The only exception will be in the case of fighting with the cutlass.
• To make it easier on the player to see his surroundings and attack accordingly, the melee weapon will be used in a third person adjustable perspective. • This is similar to what was provided in the Jedi Knight games by Lucasarts.
The Player’s Role
• Again, the player will be controlling the captain of The Crimson Cutlass, Bartholomew Scythe.
– This means that the player will be in the thick of the fighting and also be responsible for certain actions.
• ex: In the sea battle, before boarding the player will have to guide the shots from the cannons aboard the ship.
The Weapons
• Musket:
– This weapon will have the longest range, but to offset this it will take the longest to reload. – Fairly accurate and very good damage.
• Blunderbuss:
– This would be considered an earlier version of the shotgun, firing a spread of lead shot. – Accuracy will be an issue so it will only be good against multiple enemies.
The Weapons
• Pistols:
– These will be only useful in close range, but due to their size Bartholomew will be able to hold several on his person at once. – There might be an option of dual wielding for them.
• Cutlass:
– This is going to be your mainstay for combat since it requires no ammo. – Taking the idea from Jedi Outcast, your character and mouse movement will dictate attacks.
The Story
• Captain Bartholomew Scythe has heard of a rumor of a lost Treasure Galleon that had run ashore a remote island, and in turn has been hidden by the native populous. • There exists a map to the island and the treasure, but not one person holds the whole map. • So, Captain Scythe has taken it upon himself to liberate those map pieces and rescue the treasure from those backwards natives.
Potential Levels
• So far, two separate levels have come to mind.
– Prison Escape:
• One piece of the map is being held by a Spanish Captain within the fort of Santo Domingo, and the easiest way is in shackles…
– Rival Pirate:
• Another piece is being held by another Captain of the seas, so perhaps the sword and the cannon could convince him to part with it…
Prison Escape
• Prior to the level starting, Captain Scythe has let himself be captured by the Spaniards and be thrown in a cell.
– From there, Scythe picks the lock and retrieves his effects. – Then Captain Scythe must sneak/fight his way to the courtyard to raise his flag, signaling his nearby ship to commence the attack.
• From here there will be some scripted explosions from the cannon fire.
– With the distraction being made, Scythe now fights his way to the Captain’s quarters and is forced to fight to “acquire” the map piece. – Finally, with map in hand Scythe makes a run for the fort wall and takes a dive into the sea below.
Rival Pirate
• This level starts off with Captain Scythe upon the Crimson Cutlass and closing in on his rivals ship.
– From here the player will be stationary and looking through a spyglass, guiding the cannon fire.
• The intention will be to disable the other ship by knocking out the other ship’s mats/sails
Rival Pirate
• Once the other ship is disabled, The Crimson Cutlass moves alongside to board her.
– Captain Scythe leads the swing across, but his rope gets hit by a stray shot and he goes plummeting down.
• Luckily, he ends up hitting an open gun port and is able to climb in.
– From there, the player fights his way up through the decks of the ship to the Captain, defeats him and recovers the piece of the map.
• Be there any questions?