- Wildflower Village -
RPG PROTOTYPE
Wildflower Village is an RPG prototype that lets players explore a cozy island, meet a small cast of quirky characters, and take on a few quests. The island map and its locations are designed to showcase the potential scope of a fully developed RPG.
As the solo designer and developer, I had a blast creating the map and bringing the NPC personalities to life. This project leaned more into a lighthearted and cutesy vibe than my usual style, to my surprise I came to really enjoy its playful charm. I also learned a lot about prioritization for successful prototypes.
Timeline: 3 Months, Solo Designer
- Gameplay & Quests -
- Gameplay & Quests -
The market region has a merchant that the player can sell collectables to for coins. Selling and buying from the merchant is one of the main quests in the game.
The fields have a sweet flower girl that gives away daisies that she finds. Accepting these gifts is one of the smaller interactions that the player benefits from once they sell to the merchant.
The farmer’s garden has plots of fields where he grows his crops. Stepping onto these fields damages them and the farmer will chase players down if they step on his plants.
The NPCs have reactions to player actions- the flower girl is much happier when they accept her gifts vs. if they reject her. Come on! How can you say no to that face?
- Design Process -
Map Overview Design Sketch
Creating a rough map overview with design sketches of the zones and characters helped refine the development process. The main zones included the village, market, garden, and pond.
The characters are outlined in the top right. During the initial phase I chose to keep the map simplistic as the project was meant to be a prototype. The player paths helped setup the NPC programming and ensure that players bumped into wildflower residents in the designated areas for the quests.
The previous section shows in-game screenshots of the map and the assets turned out to be much more detailed. However, the design process was an important step to understanding the layout for my desired prototype.
Quest List
- Collect flowers and plants from the fields
- Explore the farmland without stepping onto garden beds
- Escape from angry farmer after inevitably trespassing
- Buy and sell items from merchants in the town square
Key Elements
- Creating smaller scale player missions/side quests
- Having expressive NPCs designed to invoke reactions
- Designing different regions within the island village
- Choosing designated player paths