missing, he will decide to don his rocket-pack to go after them. The rocket-pack came
with a helpful Instructobot—a pint-sized robot that speaks in robotic tones and
instructs Sam how to use his rocket-pack. In fact, the Instructobot will encourage the
player to experiment with the rocket-pack to get the hang of controlling it. In the safe
environment of his house, the player will be able to experiment with Sam’s different
maneuvers before venturing into the more hazardous outside world.
The Electric Priestess’ Home
The most “calm” section of the game is the Electric Priestess’ bubble home. A
mini-level where there is no combat, the bubble home acts as a “hub” between the
worlds of Benthos, Harmony, and New Boston. In the Electric Priestess’ home, the
player will talk to the Electric Priestess and will be able to choose one of the different
sections of the game to progress to next without any threat of harm. For more informa-
tion about the Electric Priestess and the different worlds found in the game, consult the
Game Progression section later in this document.
World Order
The player will get some choice in the order he experiences the game’s different main
areas or “worlds.” After completing the Gargantuopolis levels at the beginning of the
game, the Electric Priestess will present Sam with a choice of which area he will travel
to next: Benthos, Harmony, or New Boston. Each of these areas will be fairly equivalent
in difficulty, though due to the different challenges present in each area, different play-
ers may find one of the three harder or easier than the others. As such, the player can
choose the one he finds easiest first. (In the middle of a given section, the player will
have the ability to instantly revert the game to the Electric Priestess’ bubble home,
from which the player can choose a different section, if the one he was playing proves to
be too challenging or he simply grows tired of it.) For more on the flow of the game, con-
sult the Game Progression section of this document.
III. Artificial Intelligence ..........................
SinceAtomic Samis based around interesting combat scenarios, the primary function
of the game’s AI is to support these conflicts, providing the player with a compelling
challenge. The AI will also be essential for imbuing the friends Atomic Sam encounters
with some semblance of life, making them seem like more than just automatons.
Enemy AI
Many of the adversaries Sam faces will be robots. As such, the AI for these adversaries
can be quite simple-minded while still being believable. Indeed, the simple-mindedness
of some of his opponents will allow Sam to set traps for them using the interactive envi-
ronments found in the levels. Not all robots will be simpletons, however. As the game
progresses and the levels ramp up in difficulty, the robots will become more and more
intelligent and thereby more and more challenging. Still later in the game, the player
will fight human adversaries such as the Merciless Mercenaries. These human
Appendix A: Sample Design Document:Atomic Sam 555