Game Name: Blood Moon
Developer: Robert Poland
e-mail: rpoland1@unm.edu

Overview
	Blood Moon is, in a nutshell, a game where vampires and werewolves must work together to save the world.  Strictly for entertainment purposes, the game will be on the X-Box console, and will support one or two players.  It will be a 2-d side-scrolling adventure targeted at hardcore gamers ages 17-30.
	The driving story revolves around a human sorcerer named Typhon who takes advantage of the Blood Moon ( a rare red full moon ) to summon an army of otherworldly demons in order to extend his control of the world.  Already a powerful magician, with this unholy host behind him it seems there may be no one to oppose him.  The humans are too weak; any forces they put in the way of this dark legion fall like straw before a flame.  The only one capable of standing, the one who answers the call, is the vampire leader Dracula.  A powerful mage in his own right, Dracula knows he is a threat to Typhon, and he knows that Typhon will attack him eventually.  Unable to sit and wait for Typhon’s inevitable assault, unable to watch his world fall under another’s control, Dracula prepares to try to stop Typhon.  In an effort to swell his ranks, Dracula calls upon the only others capable of standing toe-to-toe with Typhon’s demons: the werewolves.  Unable to participate in the fight directly, Dracula sends his vampires and his new werewolf allies to halt the demon’s advance, push them back if possible, while he prepares to banish these demons from the earth.
	The players will start outside Dracula’s castle in a mountainous terrain.  They immediately set forth to do battle with Typhon’s monsters.  They will traverse a world of diverse landscapes, including forest, plain, and swamp, ultimately ending up at Typhon’s tower.  Player will navigate an Overworld map to select which level to play.  Completion of a level will grant access to the next level, which must be completed before the next can be attempted.  A boss awaits the player at the end of each geological zone, and only defeating the boss will allow access to the next zone.  The boss of the final zone, Typon’s Tower, is Typhon himself.  Defeating Typon will result in a victory condition, and effectively bring the story to a close.
	Though game play is platform based, players will gain experience points for defeating enemies.  When enough points have been accumulated, players will be able to enhance their physical and magical abilities.

Game Play
	Game play mechanics will include basic platform activities.  Running and jumping will be the primary movements in the 2-D world.  Other movement actions include flying for the vampire and climbing for the werewolf.  Combat will involve wielding a sword, firing a gun, and casting magical spells.  Each of these actions will be executed with the push of a single button.
	Magic for the player will be based on the combination of 8 different tokes; four tokens to represent the four elements, and four tokens to represent the four beasts.  The various combinations yield sixteen different spells.  For example, combining the Tiger with Fire will allow the player to shoot a fire ball, while combining Viper with Earth will cause the players weapon to poison the enemy, and the poisoned enemy will take damage over time.  The elemental and animal tokens are very rare, although one from each set will be given to the player early in the game.  Players will also be able to expend some of their magical energy to transform into their alternate form ( wolf or bat ) for a short time, which will temporarily enhance their physical attributes.
	In addition to gaining experience points from defeated enemies, players have a chance to collect items.  These items can be armor, to enhance the players defense and other attributes; potions, to replenish health or magical energies; one of the elemental or animal tokes; or ammunition for the players gun.  Items will be shared between the two players, but the two players can not equip the same piece of armor at the same time.  It will be possible to activate the same magical spell at the same time.
	Each level will be fairly linear, with a clear direction players must travel to reach the end.  Enemies will attack on sight, but need not necessarily be defeated ( with the exception of the bosses, who must be defeated in order to progress.  Levels may be repeated for items and experience; players need only select the level the wish to play from the over world map.  Players will have an unlimited amount of time to complete each level.
	Player interface through the controller will be simple to allow for a gentle learning curve.  Horizontal movement will follow pressing left or right on the D-pad, with down allowing the player to crouch, and up changing the angle of attack.  Other actions will be single button strokes: A to jump, B to attack, X to fire the gun, and Y to activate magic.  The Start button will pause the game and bring up a menu which players can navigate using the D-pad to highlight options, A to select options, and B to cancel.  Menu options include equipping items, choosing which spell to use, and exiting the current level.  Saving the game will only be allowed at special save points that will appear on the over world map.
	The Heads Up Display ( HUD ) will also be simple, to allow the player to know their status at a glance.  Two colored bars, one red and one blue, will show how much health and magic the player has remaining.  These bars, the red health bar on top of the blue magic bar, will appear next to a portrait of the player’s character in either the upper left corner of the screen for player 1, or the upper right corner for player 2.  The bars will be filled to show the percentage of health and magic based on how much total they can have.  A player dies when their health reaches zero ( heath is decreased when a player takes damage from an enemy).  Health will only replenish by magic or item, but magic will slowly replenish over time.
	Players will play simultaneously, and so if one player dies the other still has a chance to complete the level.  If that player successfully finishes the level, the dead player rejoins play at the start of the next level with fifty percent health and magic.  If the second player dies, both players may resume play from the last saved state.

Audio and Video
	The overall look of the game should have a gothic feel.  The terrain will be detailed, but with dark, muted colors.  The vampire will have long hair, pale skin, and long, dark, flowing clothing.  His alternate form will resemble a man in basic form, but with physical differences, most notably wings.  The transformed vampire will be taller, darker, broader in the shoulders and have large bat-like wings extending from his shoulders.  The werewolf, in human form, will have shorter hair, lighter clothing in earth tones, and a darker complexion.  His alternate form will also resemble a man, but with distinct wolf-like characteristics.  He will have pale gray fur, pointed ears, and a wolf snout.  Enemies will range in color from red to blue to green to yellow to black.  They will vary in size from the short, squat imps to the large, winged gargoyles to the massive dragon boss.
	The audio will not be of vital importance, but it will help to complete the atmosphere of the game.  Appropriate sound effects will accompany actions such as jumping and attacking, by both the player and the computer.  Each zone will have a unique musical theme, purely instrumental and suitable for the dark theme.  There are no current plans to include vocal dialogue.

Summary
	Bloom Moon is a game where one or two players assume the role of either a vampire or a werewolf as they struggle to stop a demonic army from controlling the land and eliminating all threats to themselves, including the vampires and the werewolves.  Players will navigate a 2-D world with running and jumping, and they will fight enemies with swords and magic.  By defeating enemies, players grow stronger and gain items to help them in their quest.  The graphics and music will work to create a gothic feel to the game.  The dark subject and mild violence should earn the game a Teen rating, and the game should be enjoyed by young men ages 17-30.