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novafarma/docs/KICKSTARTER_DEMO_PLAN.md
2026-01-20 01:05:17 +01:00

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🎮 KICKSTARTER DEMO - MINIMUM VIABLE ASSET LIST

Goal: Playable 15-20 minute demo showing core gameplay loop
Budget: €400-500 (1,000-1,250 assets)
Timeline: 1-2 weeks production
Result: FUNDABLE Kickstarter campaign


🔴 TIER 1: ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED (€240 / 600 assets)

A. Main Characters (€40 / 100 assets)

Kai (Player Character):

  • Idle sprite (1)
  • Walk cycle (4 frames × 4 directions = 16)
  • Run cycle (4 frames × 4 directions = 16)
  • Attack animation (3 frames × 4 directions = 12)
  • Portrait (dialogue) (1)
  • Hurt sprite (1)
  • Death sprite (1) Subtotal: 48 assets

Ana (Quest NPC):

  • Idle sprite (1)
  • Portrait (3 emotions: neutral, happy, sad) Subtotal: 4 assets

Gronk (Companion):

  • Idle sprite (1)
  • Walk cycle (4 frames × 4 directions = 16)
  • Portrait (2 emotions) Subtotal: 19 assets

Key NPCs for Demo (5):

  • Merchant (shop keeper)
  • Farmer (tutorial)
  • Guard (quest giver)
  • Elder (story)
  • Child (side quest) Each: Idle + Portrait = 10 assets

Susi (Baby dinosaur - bonus):

  • Idle + Walk (8 frames) Subtotal: 8 assets

Total: 89 assets (round to 100 with variations)


B. Core Enemies (€60 / 150 assets)

Zombies (Main threat):

  1. Basic Zombie - Idle, Walk (8 frames), Attack (4) = 13 × 3 variants = 39
  2. Runner Zombie - Idle, Run (8), Attack (4) = 13
  3. Tank Zombie (boss) - Idle, Walk (8), Attack (6) = 15

Wildlife (Farmable): 4. Wild Boar - Idle, Walk (4), Attack (3) = 8 5. Wolf - Idle, Walk (6), Attack (4) = 11 6. Bear (mini-boss) - Idle, Walk (8), Attack (6) = 15

Dino Valley Preview: 7. Baby T-Rex (friendly) - Idle, Walk (4) = 5 8. Raptor (hostile) - Idle, Walk (6), Attack (4) = 11

Each with:

  • Death animation (1)
  • Hurt sprite (1)

Total: ~150 assets


C. Demo Biome: Base Farm + Preview (€80 / 200 assets)

Farm Zone (Starting area):

  • Grass tiles (4 variants)
  • Dirt tiles (4 variants)
  • Path tiles (4 variants)
  • Water tiles (animated 4 frames)
  • Fence (8 pieces)
  • Farmhouse (exterior)
  • Barn (exterior)
  • Tool Shed
  • Crops (8 types × 3 growth stages = 24)
  • Trees (6 types)
  • Bushes/decoration (10 variants) Subtotal: 80 assets

Dino Valley Preview (Teaser area):

  • Volcanic terrain (8 tiles)
  • Prehistoric vegetation (12 from existing)
  • Props: skulls, bones, nests (8)
  • Cave entrance (1)
  • Lava pool prop (1) Subtotal: 30 assets

Transition Zone (Forest path):

  • Forest grass (4)
  • Trees (6)
  • Rocks/stumps (6)
  • Path markers (4) Subtotal: 20 assets

Town Square (Hub):

  • Cobblestone (4 tiles)
  • Shop exterior (1)
  • Town hall (1)
  • Well (1)
  • Market stall (2)
  • Benches/decorations (6) Subtotal: 15 assets

Interior: Farmhouse (1 room demo):

  • Wood floor (4)
  • Walls (8 pieces)
  • Furniture: bed, table, chest, chair, stove (10)
  • Decorations (8) Subtotal: 30 assets

Interior: Shop (1 room):

  • Floor tiles (4)
  • Walls (8)
  • Counter (2)
  • Shelves (4)
  • Items on display (7) Subtotal: 25 assets

Total: 200 assets


D. Essential Items & Equipment (€40 / 100 assets)

Weapons (visible in combat):

  • Wooden Sword (starter)
  • Iron Sword (upgrade)
  • Axe
  • Bow + Arrow
  • Pistol (modern gear)
  • Baseball Bat (scavenger) Subtotal: 6 assets

Tools (farming/gathering):

  • Hoe
  • Watering Can
  • Axe (chopping)
  • Pickaxe
  • Fishing Rod Subtotal: 5 assets

Consumables (inventory icons):

  • Health Potion (3 tiers)
  • Food items (10: bread, meat, vegetables)
  • Seeds (6 types)
  • Water Bottle Subtotal: 20 assets

Crafting Materials:

  • Wood Log
  • Stone
  • Iron Ore
  • Cloth
  • Leather
  • Rope
  • Nails Subtotal: 7 assets

Quest Items (story):

  • Ana's Diary (key item)
  • Strange Egg (dinosaur)
  • Map Fragment
  • Radio (broken)
  • Photograph (family) Subtotal: 5 assets

Armor (visible equipment):

  • Leather Vest
  • Iron Chestplate
  • Helmet
  • Boots Subtotal: 4 assets

Misc Demo Items:

  • Coins/Currency (3)
  • Backpack icon
  • Key
  • Torch/Lantern
  • First Aid Kit Subtotal: 7 assets

Farm Animals (interactable):

  • Chicken (idle + walk = 5)
  • Cow (idle + walk = 5)
  • Pig (idle + walk = 5) Subtotal: 15 assets

Collectibles (eggs, milk, etc):

  • Egg, Milk, Wool, Leather (raw)
  • Cooked variants (4) Subtotal: 8 assets

Demo-specific Tutorial Icons:

  • WASD keys
  • Mouse click
  • E (interact)
  • I (inventory)
  • Q (quest log) Subtotal: 5 assets

Total: 87 → round to 100 with variations


E. UI & HUD (€20 / 50 assets)

Core HUD:

  • Health bar (3 states: full, half, low)
  • Stamina bar (3 states)
  • Hunger bar (3 states)
  • Quick slot (8 icons)
  • Mini-map background Subtotal: 18 assets

Inventory UI:

  • Slot background (1)
  • Selected slot highlight (1)
  • Category tabs (5: weapons, tools, food, materials, quest)
  • Sort buttons (3) Subtotal: 10 assets

Dialogue UI:

  • Dialogue box (3 variants)
  • Name plate (1)
  • Continue arrow (1)
  • Choice buttons (2) Subtotal: 7 assets

Menu Icons:

  • Settings gear
  • Quest log book
  • Map icon
  • Save icon
  • Exit icon Subtotal: 5 assets

Status Icons:

  • Poisoned, Bleeding, Frozen, Burning (4)
  • Buff icons (2) Subtotal: 6 assets

Misc UI:

  • Button (normal, hover, pressed = 3)
  • Checkbox (checked, unchecked = 2) Subtotal: 5 assets

Total: 51 → round to 50


F. VFX & Particles (€40 / 100 assets)

Combat Effects:

  • Slash effect (4 frames × 3 variants = 12)
  • Blood splatter (3 variants)
  • Bullet impact (2)
  • Muzzle flash (2) Subtotal: 19 assets

Magic/Special (preview):

  • Healing sparkles (4 frames)
  • Poison cloud (4 frames)
  • Fire burst (6 frames) Subtotal: 14 assets

Environmental:

  • Dust clouds (3)
  • Water splash (4 frames)
  • Leaf scatter (3)
  • Smoke puff (4 frames) Subtotal: 14 assets

UI Effects:

  • Level up shine (6 frames)
  • Item pickup glow (4 frames)
  • Damage numbers (0-9 + symbols = 15)
  • Coin sparkle (4 frames) Subtotal: 29 assets

Weather (ambient):

  • Rain drop (2)
  • Snow flake (2)
  • Fog overlay (1) Subtotal: 5 assets

Misc:

  • Explosion (8 frames)
  • Portal/teleport (6 frames)
  • Footstep dust (2) Subtotal: 16 assets

Total: 97 → round to 100


G. Additional NPCs & Variety (€40 / 100 assets)

Town NPCs (background life):

  • Villagers (male, female, child × 3 = 9)
  • Each: Idle, Walk (4 frames), Portrait = 6 each = 54 Subtotal: 54 assets

Merchants/Services:

  • Blacksmith (Idle, Portrait, working animation = 8)
  • Doctor (Idle, Portrait, healing gesture = 6)
  • Innkeeper (Idle, Portrait = 3) Subtotal: 17 assets

Quest-related NPCs:

  • Lost Child (for side quest) (3)
  • Injured Survivor (2)
  • Mysterious Stranger (3) Subtotal: 8 assets

Romance Preview (Kickstarter stretch goal tease):

  • Romantic Interest #1 (Idle, Portrait × 3 emotions = 4)
  • Romantic Interest #2 (same = 4) Subtotal: 8 assets

Misc NPCs:

  • Dead NPC (corpse variants = 3)
  • Pet Dog (Idle, Walk = 5)
  • Cat (Idle, Walk = 5) Subtotal: 13 assets

Total: 100 assets


H. Extended Biome Content (€40 / 100 assets)

More Farm Variations:

  • Seasonal crops (4 seasons × 4 crops = 16)
  • Farm decorations (scarecrow, trough, etc = 8)
  • Weather tiles (wet grass, snow = 8) Subtotal: 32 assets

Forest Expansion:

  • Different tree types (8)
  • Forest floor variety (6)
  • Wildlife: Deer, Rabbit, Squirrel (9 each = 27)
  • Berries, Mushrooms (6) Subtotal: 47 assets

Dino Valley Expansion:

  • More dinosaurs from existing (12 already done)
  • Additional props (5)
  • More vegetation (6) Subtotal: 11 assets (using existing)

Town Expansion:

  • More shop interiors (2 rooms × 15 = 30) Subtotal: 30 assets

Total: 120 → trim to 100 priority items


I. Sound Indicators (Visual cues) (€40 / 100 assets)

Visual Sound Cues (Accessibility):

  • Footstep indicator (4 directions)
  • Gunshot indicator (4 directions)
  • Zombie growl (4 directions)
  • Animal sounds (4 directions)
  • Ambient markers (wind, water, etc = 8) Subtotal: 24 assets

Tutorial Prompts:

  • "Press E to interact" (+ 10 similar = 11)
  • "WASD to move" (1)
  • Quest markers (arrow × 4 directions = 4)
  • Exclamation mark (quest available = 1)
  • Question mark (talk = 1) Subtotal: 18 assets

In-world Signs:

  • Farm sign (1)
  • Shop sign (1)
  • Danger sign (1)
  • Direction arrows (4) Subtotal: 7 assets

Cutscene Assets (Ana discovery):

  • Diary close-up (1)
  • Photo (family) (1)
  • Radio static visual (3 frames)
  • Flashback overlay (1) Subtotal: 6 assets

Achievement Icons (for Kickstarter tease):

  • "First Blood" (1)
  • "Green Thumb" (farming) (1)
  • "Dino Hunter" (1)
  • "Survivor" (1) Subtotal: 4 assets

Loading/Transition:

  • Loading spinner (8 frames)
  • Transition fade (1)
  • Zone entering text box (1) Subtotal: 10 assets

Misc Demo-specific:

  • Kickstarter logo (in-game Easter egg) (1)
  • Credits scroll background (1)
  • Title screen background (1)
  • Main menu buttons (5) Subtotal: 8 assets

Death/Respawn:

  • "You Died" screen (1)
  • Grave marker (respawn point) (1) Subtotal: 2 assets

Extra Buffer:

  • Placeholder/misc (22)

Total: 101 → round to 100


🟢 TIER 3: POLISH / STRETCH (€100 / 250 assets)

(Only if budget allows, ~€500-600 total)

J. Animation Polish (€50 / 125 assets)

  • Character emotes (laugh, cry, wave, etc)
  • Idle variations (scratching, yawning)
  • Combat finishers
  • Tool-using animations (chopping, mining)

K. Biome #3 Preview (€30 / 75 assets)

  • Mythical Highlands teaser (partial)
  • 1-2 unique creatures
  • 20 vegetation/props
  • Terrain samples

L. Extra Enemies (€20 / 50 assets)

  • 2-3 more zombie variants
  • 1 wildlife boss
  • Special infected types

📊 DEMO ASSET BREAKDOWN:

Tier Category Assets Cost Priority
🔴 T1 Characters 100 €40 MUST
🔴 T1 Enemies 150 €60 MUST
🔴 T1 Biomes 200 €80 MUST
🔴 T1 Items 100 €40 MUST
🔴 T1 UI 50 €20 MUST
🟡 T2 VFX 100 €40 HIGH
🟡 T2 NPCs 100 €40 HIGH
🟡 T2 Biome Ext. 100 €40 HIGH
🟡 T2 Visual Cues 100 €40 HIGH
🟢 T3 Polish 250 €100 NICE
TOTAL 1,250 €500

REALISTIC PRODUCTION PLAN:

Week 1: TIER 1 (€240)

Days 1-2: Characters (100)
Days 3-4: Enemies (150)
Days 5-6: Biomes (200)
Day 7: Items + UI (150)

Result: MINIMAL PLAYABLE (600 assets)

Week 2: TIER 2 (€160)

Days 8-9: VFX + NPCs (200)
Days 10-11: Biome Extensions (100)
Days 12-14: Visual Cues + Polish (100)

Result: KICKSTARTER-READY (1,000 assets)

Optional Week 3: TIER 3 (€100)

If budget allows, add extra polish for WOW factor.


🎯 WHAT THE DEMO WILL SHOW:

Core Gameplay Loop:

  • Wake up on farm
  • Tutorial (plant crop, harvest, craft)
  • First zombie encounter (combat)
  • Explore to Dino Valley preview
  • Find Ana's diary (story hook)
  • Meet Gronk (companion system)
  • Return to town (trading, quests)
  • END: "To be continued... Fund us on Kickstarter!"

15-20 min playtime
Shows ALL core mechanics
Story hook (WHERE IS ANA?!)
Visual proof of concept
Dinosaur teaser (unique selling point)


💰 FINAL BUDGET:

Minimum (Tier 1): €240 → Playable but basic
Recommended (T1 + T2): €400 → Polished & fundable
Ideal (T1 + T2 + T3): €500 → Maximum impact

Remaining credit after demo: €617-877
Use for: Kickstarter campaign visuals, stretch goals showcase


🚀 DELIVERABLES:

  1. Playable .exe / .app build (Windows + Mac)
  2. Trailer-ready footage (all assets in action)
  3. Screenshot gallery (10-15 high-quality shots)
  4. Kickstarter page assets (GIFs, images)
  5. Press kit ready

This is realistic, achievable, and FUNDABLE! 🎮

Budget: €400-500 / Timeline: 2 weeks / Result: KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN READY