Game Design Document: Fairy Dragon “Bunnylike” thingy

“There are five recognized types of Embiggening. If you truly wish to grow strong, you must understand them all.”

In this world there is the Out of Bounds Zone, then there are Habitable Zones, built by organized groups or powerful individual who scavenged Data Bubbles from the OoB in plentiful numbers and used those to turn their dreams and desires into real places. Those places very often take the form of theme park-like and convention-like living spaces.

The first drawing of Ribbon Badge, before she was given her name. Here she is clearly flying and deflecting or throwing some kind of orb, despite having no visible hair or wings.

Some more sketches of Ribbon Badge with her actual hair and wings. The right-most version here is closer to the intended look, bunnysuit, holographic dragonfly wings, and a more technically accurate Pafu Pafu hammer.

Her name is Ribbon Badge. She is a fairy and she's supposed to have holographic dragon-fly wings and long pink ponytail hair. Not to be confused for Ribbon Dancer, who is a completely unrelated Squee/bunny. — Her name is Ribbon Badge. She is a fairy and she’s supposed to have holographic dragon-fly wings and long pink ponytail hair. Not to be confused for Ribbon Dancer, who is a completely unrelated Squee/bunny.

This Air Pump is a strong catalyst for the power of Embiggen. It's called the Pafu Pafu Hammer (パフパフハンマー) It's also secondarily designed to be used as a melee weapon, held by the grip and swung so that the shaft extends the head. Typically the ends are given decorative power orbs which become pressurized by the shaft's pumping, but those can be removed for a more pancake-y impact, or replaced with a hose for directing the flow of air. — This Air Pump is a strong catalyst for the power of Embiggen. It’s called the Pafu Pafu Hammer (パフパフハンマー) It’s also secondarily designed to be used as a melee weapon, held by the grip and swung so that the shaft extends the head. Typically the ends are given decorative power orbs which become pressurized by the shaft’s pumping, but those can be removed for a more pancake-y impact, or replaced with a hose for directing the flow of air.

A revised version of the Pafu-Pafu Hammer, now with the grip being placed lower to better swing with, smaller hand guard/base, a rough sketch of how the rechargable pressure cylinders work, and shifted weight on the head to make it easier to swing. Not very balanced for specifically pumping, but considering it'll be charging the cylinders during normal swings too, that's probably fine. — A revised version of the Pafu-Pafu “Hammer”, now with the grip being placed lower to better swing with, smaller hand guard/base, a rough sketch of how the rechargable pressure cylinders work, and shifted weight on the head to make it easier to swing. Not very balanced for specifically pumping, but considering it’ll be charging the cylinders during normal swings too, that’s probably fine.

1. Game Overview

Title: [idk probably something like Balloony-Kazhooey & Ribbon’s FLUFFED UP BIG BUNS Very Loud Day in Wonderburrow Zone ]
Genre: Action-Adventure, Platformer
Target Audience: Fans of cute characters, whimsical settings, and unique gameplay mechanics
Platform: [To be determined]

2. Story and Setting

2.1 World

A realm inhabited by fairy-dragons and empowered bunnies
Originated from an exiled bunny who gained power in the Out of Bounds (OoB) area
Recent influx of dragon-fairies into the original rabbit’s realm

2.2 Plot

A rogue fairy is spreading power to formerly docile bunnies
Main character accidentally gains powers when trying to crush what she thought was a pest in her food supply and must learn to control them
Conflict involves tracking down the rogue fairy and helping newly empowered bunnies
Expelling threats from the bunny zone

2.3 Main Characters

Kazhooey (Zooey): The protagonist, a bunny who accidentally gained powers
Ribbon Badge: A powerful character who trains Kazhooey
(Jerry?) Rogue Fairy: The antagonist spreading power to bunnies

3. Gameplay

3.1 Core Mechanic: Embiggening

Five types of growth-based powers:

AMP (Amplify): Enhances mental or physical attributes, empowers projectiles
- This is typically either mental growth (which would not necessarily be visible), or chest growth (which I am reluctant to lean into because I really don’t like the objectification of the chest area, but I’m sure it might be better for sales to a certain audience). Empowers most projectile attacks and provides more “ammo” for more demanding abilities.
BEL (Bellow): Boosts agility and provides limited hovering
- This is typically either a non-visible boost to one’s jumping/kicking/running abilities and potentially limited hovering. Or it could be a visible belly-focused growth that increases durability and the ability to deflect or withstand physical attacks. More mobility to avoid/negate projectiles that don’t directly hit a weak point, but taking a direct projectile hit probably sends the character tumbling towards the ground with the power knocked out of them until they land or do some kind of resource-draining recovery.
CUS (Cushion): Inflation-like power, affects mobility and teleportation
- The simplest and most straight forward. Works like Dig Dug on most things. Not painful, but can be scary for those who don’t know what’s happening. When something “pops” they probably just get sent somewhere else. Possibly the OoB if they don’t have a Home Zone, Possibly somewhere very nearby if they have strong determination and resistance. Probably to the nearest friendly face if they’re not under immediate threat. Also the absolute easiest to resist by anyone with power and can result in Blowback. Makes the target light and easy to throw around for some amount of time.
DEL (Deluge): Increases size, weight, and power, affects mobility
- Makes the target big, heavy, immobile, and juiced up with power. It might be done to one’s self temporarily to enhance a big hit or to use a crushing attack like a buttstomp or belly flop. But it also makes it easy to bowl the target over or roll them around slopes and generally kick them about like a ball until they’re out of juice. Blowback isn’t a thing with this, but the target can ricochet if knocked about.
EMB/BIG (Embiggen): Uniform growth, increases overall power
- This is more of a uniform “magic-like” growth in size while preserving form. Aside from giving the target less space to move around in, this kinda just makes them straightforwardly more powerful in exactly the way one would expect if the character were simply made bigger. Probably good for using more demanding physical weapons, but bad for evasion. Might make the character “armor” through low power projectiles: they take the damage (or maybe borrow the grey-life idea from fighting games if we want to allow technical “no-damage” runs without ruling out this form) but aren’t interrupted by it.

Power System Notes:

Powers can potentially be combined (max two types)
Possible RPS-style interactions between powers
Different effects for “friendly” vs “hostile” applications. Friendly omits a specific penalty. Hostile omits a specific benefit. Incidental omits none.

3.2 Ribbon’s Weapon: Pafu Pafu Hammer

A multi-functional weapon that serves as both a melee hammer and an inflation device.

Forms:

Deflated Form: Compact for storage and carrying.
Filled Form: Default state, full size with recessed orbs
Necked Form: Extended shaft for specialized use

Configurable valve-orbs: pushed in, both unblocked, or hose-connected

Mechanics:

Gas Cylinders: Six internal chambers that store compressed air.
Pumping Mechanism: Refills gas cylinders through shaft movement
Triggered Release: Rapidly expels stored air for powerful effects

Functions:

Melee combat
Ranged air blasts
Target Embiggening (inflation)
Air-propelled movement
Puzzle-solving applications

3.3 Gameplay Loop

Explore environments
Encounter and battle inflated enemies
Solve puzzles using Embiggening powers and the Pafu Pafu Hammer
Gain new abilities and upgrade existing ones
Progress through the story, uncovering the mystery of the rogue fairy

4. Art Style and Audio

4.1 Visual Style

Cute, colorful characters with a mix of bunny and dragon features
Whimsical, cartoon-like environments
Playful animations emphasizing the inflation and growth mechanics

4.2 Character Design

Kazhooey: [Details to be determined]
Ribbon Badge: Purple dragon-like creature with long floppy ears
Holographic, computer-glitch style wings or dragonfly-like wings
Wears a bunny suit (not shown in current concept art)

4.3 Audio

Upbeat, adventurous music
Comical sound effects for inflation and deflation
Unique sound design for each Embiggening power
Think Bubble Bobble, Puzzle Bobble, Yoshi’s Island, Klonoa

5. Technical Specifications

5.1 Target Platform

3-6 button gamepad devices.

5.2 Development Tools

[To be determined]

6. Marketing and Monetization

6.1 Target Audience

Fans of platformer and action-adventure games
Players who enjoy cute, whimsical aesthetics
Gamers interested in unique mechanics and gameplay innovations

6.2 Unique Selling Points

Innovative Embiggening power system
Multi-functional Pafu Pafu Hammer weapon
Cute characters in a whimsical setting with hints of deeper lore
Blend of combat, puzzle-solving, and exploration

6.3 Monetization Strategy

[Ask Nicely To Not Starve]

7. Development Roadmap

7.1 Milestones