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Virtual Pet Site Development worksheet
Learn how to plan your Pet Site
Are you currently planning on developing a virtual pet site or is your pet game in development? This development worksheet can help you plan it and develop it.
Inspiration and Focus:
Keep this in mind throughout the sheet!
∙ What concept or idea sparked the desire to make this game?
Genre AND ENVIRONMENT:
Try to keep a central theme to keep everything together and cohesive!
∙ Will your pets be fictional or real? a combination of both?
∙ Will the world where these pets live be fictional or real? elements of both?
∙ In which era of time or decade is the game set?
∙ Will your game acknowledge day vs night? or even more in depth, time of day and hours?
∙ What special things will happen in the daytime?
∙ What special things will happen at night?
∙ Is this time standard for all users? How will you handle users in different timezones?
∙ What are some key words you would use to describe the game's atmosphere?
∙ What is the scope of the world? One region? One planet? Several planets? ∙ Why do people have pets in this world? Do they serve a purpose?
Storyline:
This will give players a sense of direction and create empathy!
∙ Does the game have any sort of lore, backstory, or storyline?
∙ Do users need to learn the lore, backstory, or storyline to understand the game?
∙ How do users learn about the storyline?
∙ Is there any sort of gameplay associated with this storyline that the user can play through?
∙ Can the user progress through gameplay at their own pace? or is it an attribute of the site as a whole?
∙ Will anything be unlocked or earned as a result of playing through the storyline?
∙ Can new users join the game at any time and understand what is going on?
∙ Will your game have NPCs?
∙ What role will these NPCs have within the game?
∙ How will the user interact with NPCs?
∙ What is the benefit of talking to an NPC?
Exploration:
Give your players a reason to explore your beautiful world! ∙ How do users explore this world?
∙ What is the benefit of exploring the world?
∙ Will your game have random events?
∙ What will trigger a random event to occur?
∙ What are some examples of random events?
∙ Will all areas be accessible, or will some areas be locked or require special items or events?
∙ What are some examples of areas to explore?
∙ Will an area be fun to explore more than once?
Users:
This will give your players a way to compare themselves to their friends and others!! ∙ Will users have an ingame character, avatar, or persona?
∙ If yes, will there be customization? What aspects are customizable?
∙ Will this character/avatar/persona be human?
∙ Will this character/avatar/persona have different body shapes for gender, age, or species?
∙ Do users/characters/npcs have a notion of a level or ranking?
∙ How does this level or ranking increase and/or decrease?
∙ Do users have any other skills, jobs, talents, or traits?
∙ Are any of the user skills/traits randomly assigned?
∙ Which of the skills/traits can be modified or influenced by the user?
∙ Which of the skills/traits cannot be changed once initially set?
∙ Will the user be able to equip items?
∙ Do my skills and traits have an influence on gameplay?
∙ Are users able to have friends on this site?
∙ What are some things that can only be done with friends?
∙ Will there be any useruser interactions?
Pet details:
Be sure to make these exciting! The whole site revolves around them!
∙ How do users obtain their first pet?
∙ How do users acquire new pets?
∙ Is it possible to have no pets?
∙ Do pets age and/or die?
∙ How many pets can a user have at one time?
∙ How do users get rid of pets to make room for new ones?
∙ Does the concept of an 'active' pet exist in your game?
∙ What are some things you can do with an active pet?
∙ What are some things you can do with an inactive pet?
∙ What are some skills, traits, and features that the pets will have?
∙ Which of these traits are randomly assigned and beyond the user's control?
∙ Which of these traits do users have the ability to influence?
∙ What impact on gameplay do each of these traits have?
∙ Will pets ever change how they look in appearance? (aging, evolution, color change, etc...)
∙ Can I trade or gift pets to other users?
∙ What makes some pets more desirable and special than others?
∙ Can pets breed and have babies?
∙ Will pets use an advanced rendering system/layering? or more simple?
∙ Can pets share the same name?
∙ Can I customize my pet using items?
∙ Will my pet have a personality?
∙ What parts of the game will be influenced by the pet’s personality?
∙ Do all pets hatch from eggs?
Battling:
Give your players a reason to fight!
∙ Will your game have battling?
∙ Why should players want to have strong pets?
∙ How do pets get stronger?
∙ Will there be equipable items?
∙ Will pets have unique abilities or moves for battle?
∙ Will the battle system be turn based? or more involved and active?
∙ Will your pets be fighting other pets? or NPCtype monsters only?
∙ If pets can fight other pets, can you challenge other users to a battle?
∙ What do you earn for winning a battle?
∙ Is there a penalty for losing a battle?
∙ What happens if your pet runs out of health/loses a battle?
∙ How do pets regenerate health after a battle?
∙ Briefly explain your battle system.
Pet care:
Strive to make this as fun as owning a real pet, without the responsibility!
∙ Will your pets need to be fed?
∙ How often will a pet need to be fed?
∙ Will the pets need any other types of care?
∙ What reward is earned for properly caring for the pet?
∙ What are the consequences of not properly caring for the pet?
∙ What happens if a user is away for several weeks/months?
∙ Can other users interact with my pets?
∙ Can pets interact with each other?
Gameplay:
Users will leave if they get bored or run out of things to do… aim for continuous gameplay!
∙ What is my goal in this game?
∙ What will users spend most of their time doing in the game?
∙ How do users earn currency?
∙ What happens if a user runs out of currency?
∙ What can users purchase with currency?
∙ List some examples of items and how each type of item is used.
∙ What makes some items more desirable than others?
∙ Do pets help you earn rewards or special items?
∙ Do pets help me earn money?
∙ Do pets let me explore special parts of the map?
∙ Do pets give me a higher chance of winning?
∙ Are pets an integral part of the main gameplay?
∙ Will users always have something to do in the game, or will everything be limited?
∙ What percentage of the gameplay involves ‘waiting’ for more lives/moves/money/turns/chances?
∙ What percentage of the gameplay is continuous/unlimited?
∙ What will keep users coming back?
∙ Is there a way to complete and/or win the game?
∙ Once a pet has maxed out its skills or is considered perfect, is there a reward?
∙ Is there an award for collecting all the different types of pets?
∙ Are there multiple ways to enjoy this game? What are some gameplay cycles?
∙ Does the game have a target demographic or audience?
∙ How will your site generate money?
∙ Will your site comply with COPPA regulations for users under 13 years old?
∙ What types of managers, staff, and administrators will your site need?
∙ How much new content or maintenance will your site need every month?
∙ Will users be able to login, connect, and/or share their achievements via social media?
∙ Will this site be affiliated with any other sites or projects?
Credit: NElizabeth
