I decided that in stead of having two leaves as hair, he could have one big leaf like a baseball cap...

Here are some quick concepts of the main bean character

Here is a concept for the friendly old jumping spider character

Action Concept

New Work on Bean Character

So, I made an old bean character with all sprout appendages.  It was fun to mess around in zbrush and maya and Photoshop to make it.

The Beanstalk

Concept by

Jonathan Powell

EAEMGS 2010

The Story

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom where creatures such as singing harps, golden egg laying geese, and magical beans lived peacefully, until an evil giant came along, and used the magic to destroy nearly all of the creatures, letting live only those that were useful to him, taking them and the castle up into the sky with him to rule over the land without opposition…

When the bean was a young boy, he and his bean family lived in the peaceful castle, with the Singing harp, and the golden egg laying goose.  They used to gather around the harp and listen to it singing lullabies.  The songs were about using elements, and combining them to create and cast spells…

When the Giant came to the castle, he did not think the beans had useful powers, so he killed the beans family by smashing them, but the young bean barely escaped as the castle was ripping out of the ground, and the bean fell far to the earth, and came to rest on a dirt path.  He could not move, and eventually the sun dried him up, and he lost his memory…

An old man, who remembered the peaceful days before magic was banished from the kingdom, picked up the bean on the side of the road, and thought of the bean family that used to live in the castle.  He did not know it, but he had found the only remaining bean from that family…

Without magic, the land grew barren, and the kingdom was in a famine.  The old man, thinking to provide for his family, sought to sell the bean to a young gullible boy named jack…

Jack had been sent out by his mother with a cow to trade for food.  The man saw Jack and convinced him that the bean was magical, and would bring his family wealth and limitless food. The man said that he would give it to Jack, if Jack would trade him his cow…

This awakened something in the bean, as he overheard the conversation.

“Am I really magical?”

“How can I be worth so much?”

“I am just a bean…”

Jack brings the bean home to show his mother the great trade he had made, but as soon as she sees the tiny bean, she is furious…

She throws the bean out the window, and sends jack to his room.

Meanwhile, still contemplating his existence, the bean lands in the garden patch outside the window…

The game begins where the bean lands. it is a world of giant plants, insects, and animals.  As he is contemplating his situation, he has a flashback memory of the harp singing to him as a child…

The harp is singing about the basic elements of earth, water, and light, and how they can be utilized in order to not only grow, but to create magical spells.

He is in a small puddle of water, and can feel it giving him some kind of energy, and he starts shaking, until he begins bouncing, and realizes that he is able to move around.

The Gameplay

2 ½ dimensional action/puzzle platformer with a focus on gathering resources, casting motion controllable damage spells and upgrading your “suit” in the form of growing appendages one by one with corresponding movements and melee attacks available with each new appendage 

Resource gathering

GATHER LIGHT

LIGHT METER ALLOWS YOU TO SEE HOW MANY PLASMA BALLS YOU CAN CAST

YOUR LIGHT CAPACITY AND PLASMA BALL DAMAGE STRENGTH GROWS WITH EACH “SUIT” STAGE

GATHER WATER

WATER METER ALLOWS YOU TO SEE HOW CLOSE YOU ARE TO SPROUTING YOUR NEXT APPENDAGE.  WATER IS HARD TO COME BY…

    GATHER SOIL ITEMS

DIRT CLOD: REGAIN A SMALL AMOUNT OF HEALTH

DEAD CREATURES: REGAIN A LARGER AMOUNT OF HEALTH DEPENDING ON THE SIZE OF CREATURE

CLAY: SHORT PERIOD OF STEALTH

PEAT MOSS: EXTRA LIFE

KEEP PLAYING WHERE YOU DIE WITHOUT HAVING TO GO BACK TO LAST SAVE POINT (ZELDA’S FAIRY IN A BOTTLE)

HEALTH CAPACITY INCREASES WITH EACH “SUIT” STAGE

Basic Actions

“SUIT” Stage I movement: No appendages

Directional arrows: move left and right by bouncing 

press jump button to bounce higher, with a possibility of a much higher triple jump if timed correctly       (mario 64)

Basic Actions cont.

hold down left or right bumper:

roll on downhill slopes

Can also be used to stun enemies by rolling into them

Trigger button:       Cast plasma spell

Plasma ball is controlled by directional arrows once cast                                      (Ness-Super Smash bros)

Video: Start at 0:25 sec

Action button:

pick up items, interact with other characters, or confirm.                            

Basic Actions cont.

“SUIT” Stage II movement: one arm

All stage one movements

Hold down left or right bumper:

Still will roll on slopes downhill, but when next to a steep uphill slope, will climb slowly

After jumping Press left or right bumper:

Can grab onto swinging vines/roots

Basic Actions cont.

“SUIT” Stage III movement: One arm and one leg

All previous actions

Toggle back and forth twice between left and right bumper:

Spin attack with arm and leg

Can also be used to hover, or jump farther distances

Basic Actions cont.

“SUIT” Stage IV movement: Two arms and one leg

All previous actions

Hold down both left and right bumper:

Dig/burrow

used to find hidden items, as well as to find new passages

Basic Actions cont.

“SUIT” Stage V movement: Two arms and two legs

All previous actions

Directional arrows:

Run- much faster than bounce

After jumping, hold down left or right bumper:

Spread leaf appendages, and glide as long as there is room

Basic Actions cont.

“SUIT” Stage VI movement: Beanstalk Boss Battle

Directional arrows:

Shake beanstalk to stun Giant

Toggle left and right bumper twice:

Spin leaf vines to tie giant down

Trigger button:

Emit plasma to damage giant while tied down

Boss Battle

The giant is chasing jack down your stalk, your job is to keep the giant as far from the ground as possible for as long as possible while jack is hacking you down with an axe.  If the giant gets too close to the ground you will lose.  If you succeed you will damage him enough to make him pass out while he is tied down to the stalk. when you get chopped down, the giant will also fall down to his death.  you win the game by sacrificing yourself.  The goose and harp will restore magic to the kingdom, jack will take all the glory, and your  heroic role will be forever forgotten…