PaperCut!

A solo-developed, arts & crafts themed, micro-MOBA videogame featuring always-new origami heroes! Earn papers to craft unique heroes and battle over the cutting mat!

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The Cutting Mat

Wit & Humor Here

Matches are won by being the last team standing.

Three teams use both Origamis and Pom-Pawns to defeat and capture Bottle Bases.

'WTF are those?' Keep reading, friend.

Origami Heroes

Craft, Stack, & Synergize Abilities

In this MOBA, players craft their heroes, known as Origami from over 50 possible animals and objects.

Origami are crafted by using Papers, which modify each creation uniquely and lead to surprising, dubious, or outright awesome results. Even I have no idea what might happen, it's wild.

Fold a Beaver with your XL Holographic Red Zig-Zag origami paper then watch as it loses its temper and teleports around the cutting board, building shielded wooden dams along the way. I'm telling you, it's crazy.

Care for your folded heroes between battles. Feed them, raise them, then take the day off work when you lose them.

Papers are unique and no two are the same. Maybe really rarely but you know what I mean.

Pom-Pawn Minions

A Secondary Mechanic

(but your primary friend)

This MOBA's minions are small fuzzballs called Pom-Pawns.

They wage attritional warfare in large numbers and deal minimal damage (like in other MOBAs) but can capture Bottle Bases for your team by being ordered around.

Pom-Pawns are both cannon-fodder against enemies and 'ammunition' for nearby Origami to abuse.

Check it out

With the above bulletpoints in mind, watch the gameplay video below.

PaperCut is a work-in-progress with placeholder visuals

Concept

Introduction

With the warmth of your glowing nook overlooking the dreary world, you'd rather stay in, pet the cat, and fold some origami animals...

Description

PaperCut's a 'micro-MOBA' videogame being designed for mobile platforms. Players create heroes which they battle in-match and care for out-of-match.

How does PaperCut differ from the other action-strategy mobile games?

  • This MOBA's heroes are unique, player-crafted creations designed to have the player battling with them, and caring for them [like 1997's Digimon Virtual Pet].
  • In matches, PaperCut has a two-layer game design where players are in charge of ordering both their (1) minions and (2) heroes around. You can play your heroes if you've got them, but you can continue to just play minions if you don't.
  • The player's gameplay experience starts simplified with them ordering minions before expanding into the diverse, emergent-driven gameplay of crafted heroes.
  • All damage dealt by heroes and minions is reciprocated to the dealer -- a design which consolidates 'health', 'damage', and 'stamina' into a single, streamlined variable: Power.
  • All minions have 1 Power; if a minion hurts another, both will 'die.' Minions are best harnessed in large amounts.
  • A hero's Power is variable and dependent on the Plan and Paper used to craft it.

Images

Please note that PaperCut is a work-in-progress with placeholder visuals

Game Design Details

The information below is intended to be supplemental to the playable demo, reading like a mouthful otherwise -- Please check that out first then refer to this stuff for any clarification needed

Fold-a-Fighter (crafting)

One of PaperCut's biggest distinguishers is that players craft their own heroes using Papers [earned by defeated enemies in previous matches].

Plans

  • Plans are like the base blueprint of a critter, allowing players to fold it into Origami if they have Paper.
  • Currently, players unlock Plans by gaining XP and levelling-up.
  • Plans define the animal/object and it's base abilities.
  • eg. A Beaver commits Mud Splash when attacked, Log Walls when reached destination.
  • Plans are not consumed when used.

Papers (abilities & mods)

  • Papers are objects which players acquire and collect that represent abilities and stat mods, evident by their patterns, glossiness, or holographic features.
  • Papers are earned/found by defeating enemies in matches and, with a Plan, can be used to fold Origami.
  • eg. If crafting a Beaver with a Burrow-patterned Foil Paper, it will be able to commit the Burrow ability and its Power will be doubled (allowing it to hit harder and last longer).
  • Papers are consumed when used.

Bottle Bases (capture points)

  • Bottle Bases act as a capture point mechanic whose ownership is fought over by each team.
  • Some levels allow Bottle Bases to be upgraded. Upgrading a Bottle Base will make it's Pom-Pawns spawn faster, giving the player more to command.
  • 'Bottles' sounds lame, ngl. Share cool ideas to the Discord.

Unit Types

  • Units are characters which hop along the ground in a match. There are two types: Origamis and Pom-Pawns.
  • When an Origami or Pom-Pawn is ordered to move to another Bottle Base, it will be autonomous and will no longer need player input until, and if, it arrives at a friendly Bottle Base. Upon reaching an enemy Bottle Base, they will attack it until it's neutralized.

Origamis (heroes)

  • Players can only place their Origami on a Bottle Base belonging to their team.
  • When an Origami is ordered to move to an enemy-owned Bottle Base, it will move and attack autonomously until either the targeted Bottle Base or Origami 'dies.'
  • If an Origami is not Attacking, it is Defending.

Pom-Pawns (minions)

  • Pom-Pawns spawn at Bottle Bases, so long as it's owned.

Matches

  • Each match pits the player against 1-2 opponents, either AI-controlled, or through multiplayer.
  • Matches last about 4-6 minutes with heated matches reaching 10 minutes. They're short, bite-sized-yet-action-packed bouts designed to bring maximum drama to a player in a mobile environment (when on the bus, when pooping, etc).
  • Out of the three, only a single player can win each match -- players lose when they either (a) run out of tickets or (b) don't own any CapturePoints.

Player Input/Controls

  • While in a match, the player taps-and-drags [like Angry Birds].
  • While in a menu, the player taps to select choices.

Player Progression

  • Players unlock Plans by gaining XP in-match.
  • Different gameplay events award different amounts of XP (attacking, defending, capturing, neutralizing, upgrading, defeating, stickying, stunning, immunizing, etc.).

Target Market

  • All user-input in PaperCut was designed to be as simple as possible, with gameplay system -- such as hero abilities -- designed for calculated depth and recurring novelty. The least input for the most output: value.
  • For players who enjoy:
  • Clash Royale (for the deck-building, simplified, unit-based, autonomous-attack gameplay)
  • Bloons TD 6 (for the over-the-top, top-down, unit-based battle gameplay)
  • The Binding of Isaac (for the 'stacking & synergizing abilities' gameplay)
  • Borderlands (for the earning and management of unique loot)
  • Similar independently-published mobile games where players capture bases by ordering many small units to them. There are a few of these floating around app stores, but I believe that, while there's both consumer desire and enjoyment, there's currently a market vacuum for a 'definitive' game of this type.
  • Conquer the Tower
  • MicroWars
  • Galcon
  • Auralux

Other Details

Development

PaperCut is being developed on Unreal Engine 4 by Brian Roycewicz [with input from Olly the whoodle].