Introduction

The following is a concept for a side-scrolling Metroidvania, playable on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and PC. Golem fits into the emerging “cozy game genre” by offering soothing and emotionally fulfilling gameplay based loosely on Jewish folklore. This game includes beloved tropes in the genre, such as task-based enjoyment, while introducing mechanics that so far have been neglected, such as heavy utility-gating. In doing so, the goal is to take the sense of accomplishment and enjoyment that is typically gleaned from cozy games and maximize it.

Game Design

Overview

Golem is a Metroidvania where the player plays as a small clay creature, appropriately named Golem. It is Golem’s goal, and thus the player’s, to defend his cottage garden from incoming threats. 

To protect the garden, Golem must make use of the plant-based abilities that are unlocked as the side-scrolling world is explored. These abilities not only aid him in defeating enemies, but also makes new areas within the game available, allowing for the discovery of 3 unique subsections within the garden in addition to 5 outlying ecosystems. 

To gain one of the aforementioned abilities, the plant must be found, interacted with and equipped, which involves Golem planting a small cutting of it on top of his head. Once this is done, he’ll be able to use the power associated with that plant. To name a few examples: he’ll shoot thorns at enemies with a rose, scale walls with ivy, or slow fall with dandelion.

Exploration, tasks, and combat are broken up by various interactive, feel-good mechanics within the game. The three most central ones are: garden customizations, Golem cosmetics, and an NPC friendship point system. The goal of this is to create a more personalized experience for the player. 

Throughout the game, the player will trigger interactive cutscenes that have real effects on the world around them. For example, the game opens on a cutscene where Golem is being sculpted. The player is prompted to hit various buttons that correspond with the actions on screen. The outcome, based on how the player performed, affects the look of Golem: how chubby he is, the shape of his eyes, the style of his cape. This mechanic will further differentiate playthroughs. creating a feeling of personal intimacy between the game and the player. 

Golem will support online and couch co-op. In this mode, two golems are created—one colored like clay and the other like terracotta—and both are able to explore and initiate combat within the same camera frame. 

Plot and Setting

The following is a general description of the game’s tutorial:

After starting up the game, the start menu appears. Here, you can start a new game, continue an ongoing save, configure your options, or view the game credits. Idling on the start menu, the player can watch various randomly chosen NPCs walk across the bottom of the screen. 

Upon pressing “Start Game”, the opening cutscene plays. Patient hands sculpt clay. The player is prompted to control how the clay is molded. This allows them to customize the golem’s eyes, cape, and chubbiness. These choices are purely cosmetic and do not otherwise affect gameplay. 

Dialogue opens as the cutscene closes. The Creator, presumed the owner of the nearby cottage, explains that the golem has been created to tend to and defend the garden. She tells him that he will need to complete 3 tasks to prove that he is up to the challenge. 

In the first task, she explains that she’d like him to fetch her a nearby rose. Walking near it allows the player to interact with it and pick it. Once they’ve put it in their inventory and brought it back to The Creator, she tells Golem that he can keep it and that planting it on his head allows him to use special abilities. 

The player follows her instructions and discovers that the rose allows Golem to shoot thorns. They are prompted to try it on a nearby thistle, which is a minor enemy. 

At this point, they receive a gift: a small journal to chronicle their adventures. In this journal lies the player’s inventory, info on the plants they’ve discovered, a list of NPCs they’ve spoken to, and a quest queue. 

Next, The Creator explains that she’d like to make tea. She requests that Golem find her some chamomile. To do so, he must run off on his own and take down the three thistles guarding the plant—which he can now do with his new thorn-shooting ability. Once he defeats them, he brings back the chamomile, and The Creator offers him one of the flowers. He takes it, plants it on his head, and now has the ability to put a single enemy to sleep for a short period of time. 

The final task is to tend to the garden. The player is sent off to plant some seeds, water some flowers, and harvest some vegetables. Once they finish, they report back to The Creator. 

Now, the player understands how the controls and basic mechanics are used. The Creator informs Golem that he is now ready to fend for himself and heads into the cottage, leaving the player to explore the garden. 

At this point, the player can search the area for items, speak to the few NPCs that have settled down within the garden walls, and battle any enemies that are threatening his snug little sanctuary. 

When the player attempts to leave the area through the garden gate, they are greeted by a grumpy old NPC—a wild hog named Edgar. He tells them that they cannot pass through to the wild because it is his territory. He huffs, sighs, yawns, and gives Golem the cold shoulder. To get past him, the player must use the chamomile to put him to sleep.

Once this is accomplished, a cutscene plays, showing rolling fields and spritzes of flowers. The player has entered the first outside environment: the meadow.