Game Design Document

Paradise Fleet — A light-hearted cruise ship management simulation.

Living document. Migrated from Notion; revise freely. The demo date in §9.1 conflicts with Path to Demo — tracked in #31.

1. Game Overview

1.1 High Concept

A light-hearted cruise ship management game inspired by SimAirport and Prison Architect, focused on the fun of building and managing cruise ships rather than hyper-realistic simulation.

1.2 Genre

Management Simulation / Building / Strategy

1.3 Target Audience

Fans of accessible management games who enjoy creative building mechanics and character-driven gameplay. Appeals to players who appreciate games like Two Point Hospital, SimAirport, and Prison Architect.

1.4 Platform

PC (Windows, Mac, Linux)

1.5 Unique Selling Points

• Cruise ship setting rarely, if at all, explored in management games
• Personality-driven passengers and crew with emergent storytelling
• Well developed campaign
• Freedom to build and manage a dream ship
• Accessible yet deep management mechanics
• Light-hearted tone that prioritises fun over realism

2. Core Gameplay Loop

2.1 Primary Loop

1. Design and build ship sections with various facilities from an empty shell
2. Hire, train, and schedule crew members to staff the ship
3. Welcome passengers aboard with diverse needs and preferences
4. Manage supplies and basic port operations
5. Monitor satisfaction and address issues as they arise
6. Earn revenue to expand and improve the ship
7. Unlock new facilities, routes, and features

2.2 Secondary Loops

• Route Planning: Choose destinations, which affect passenger types/personalities, pricing and events
• Customisation: Personalise ship look and company branding
• Fleet Expansion: Eventually add and manage multiple ships simultaneously

3. Game Mechanics

3.1 Ship Building System

Construction Mechanics:

• Grid-based placement system for rooms and facilities
• Modular design allowing creative ship layouts
• Multiple deck management
• Room types: Cabins, restaurants, entertainment venues, pools, shops, spa facilities, casino, etc.
• Infrastructure requirements: corridors, stairs, lifts, utilities, docking
• Staff only zones: kitchen, storage, staff rooms, ship control, radio, etc.

Design Constraints:

• Budget limitations for construction
• Space management across multiple decks
• Passenger flow and accessibility considerations

3.2 Guest Management

Passenger Types:

• Families with children
• Couples (honeymoons, anniversaries)
• Solo travellers
• Groups and parties
• Elderly passengers
• Each type with unique preferences and behaviours

Needs System:

• Hunger and thirst
• Alcohol
• Luxury
• Entertainment
• Rest and comfort
• Social interaction
• Activities and excursions
• Temperature (Stretch goal)

Satisfaction Metrics:

• Overall happiness score per passenger
• Reviews and ratings affecting reputation
• Word-of-mouth system influencing future bookings (Stretch goal)

3.3 Staff System

Crew Roles:

• Cabin stewards
• Restaurant staff (chefs, waiters)
• Bar crew
• Cleaning
• Entertainment crew
• Maintenance workers
• Security personnel
• Medical staff
• Ship officers (captain, navigation)

Staff Attributes:

• Skills and competency levels
• Personality traits affecting interactions (Stretch goal)
• Energy and morale
• Relationships with other crew members (Stretch goal)

Management Mechanics:

• Hiring and dismissal
• Shift scheduling
• Training and skill development
• Staff facilities and break rooms

3.4 Economic System

Revenue Streams:

• Ticket sales (cabin bookings)
• Onboard purchases (shops, bars, restaurants)
• Packages
• Premium services and upgrades
• Excursion bookings

Expenses:

• Construction and renovation costs
• Staff wages
• Maintenance and repairs (Stretch Goal)
• Fuel, supplies and operating costs
• Port fees (Stretch Goal)
• Marketing and advertising

3.5 Route System

Route Selection Mechanics:

• Players choose cruise routes that determine the voyage’s character and passenger demographics
• Different routes attract different passenger types based on destination appeal, journey length, and reputation
• Route choice influences optimal ship configuration, pricing strategy, and facility requirements

Standard Routes:

• Caribbean Island Hopping — Families and couples, warm weather activities
• Mediterranean Culture Tour — Older passengers, cultural enthusiasts
• Northern Lights Expedition — Adventure seekers, nature lovers
• Pacific Island Paradise — Honeymooners, luxury seekers
• Coastal Sightseeing — Budget-conscious travellers, first-time cruisers

Special/Themed Routes:

• Atlantis Cruise: LGBTQ+ party cruise with high entertainment and nightlife demands, vibrant atmosphere, specialty events
• EDM Festival Cruise: Young adults, electronic music fans, requiring enhanced sound systems, performance spaces, and late-night venues
• Retirement/Seniors Cruise: Elderly passengers with accessibility needs, calmer entertainment, medical facilities emphasis
• Corporate Charter: Business conference hire-out with meeting rooms, presentation facilities, networking spaces, and professional catering
• Family Adventure Cruise: Child-focused with kids’ clubs, family entertainment, child-friendly dining
• Wellness Retreat: Health-conscious passengers requiring spa facilities, fitness areas, healthy dining options
• Culinary Experience Cruise: Food enthusiasts expecting premium restaurants, cooking classes, wine tastings

Route Impact on Gameplay:

• Passenger Mix: Each route attracts specific demographic profiles with unique needs and spending patterns
• Pricing Dynamics: Route prestige and passenger expectations influence optimal ticket pricing and onboard service costs
• Facility Requirements: Themed routes may require specific facilities or amenities to maintain satisfaction
• Event Generation: Routes trigger contextually appropriate events and situations (e.g., rough seas on expedition routes, VIP appearances on luxury routes)
• Reputation Effects (Stretch): Success on specific route types builds reputation in those niches, attracting more of those passenger types
• Seasonal Variations: Some routes may be seasonal or have varying appeal throughout the year

Strategic Depth:

• Players must design ships that can adapt to different routes or specialise in specific route types
• Route switching requires consideration of current ship configuration and potential refitting costs
• Building a versatile ship versus specialising creates interesting strategic choices
• Themed routes offer higher risk/reward scenarios with demanding but profitable passenger groups

Emergent Gameplay:

• Mixing passenger types on multi-purpose ships creates interesting social dynamics
• Route-specific events and challenges keep gameplay fresh and unpredictable
• Reputation and word-of-mouth (stretch) create feedback loops encouraging specialisation or quality improvement
• Special route unlocks provide progression goals and variety throughout the campaign

3.6 Progression System

The game will feature different progression approaches depending on the game mode:

Campaign Mode:

• Unlocks tied to narrative progression and scenario completion
• Story-driven milestone achievements that grant access to new facilities and features

Career Mode Options (to be decided during prototyping):

• Option A — Milestone-Based Unlocks: Unlock facilities and features by achieving passenger numbers, revenue targets, satisfaction ratings, or route completions
• Option B — Licences/Certifications System: Invest money to obtain licences (e.g., “Casino Operations Licence”, “Premium Dining Certification”, “Entertainment Permit”) that unlock groups of related facilities and attract corresponding passenger types
• Option C — Hybrid Approach: Combine milestones with licence purchases — reaching certain milestones grants access to purchase new licence categories
• Option D — Progressive Unlock: Everything available from the start for maximum creative freedom (player choice at career start)

Sandbox Mode:

• All facilities, routes, and features unlocked from the start
• No progression restrictions to enable pure creative freedom

Design Note: Career mode progression system to be determined during prototyping based on playtesting feedback. Licence/certification system (Option B) currently favoured for providing structured progression whilst maintaining player agency and strategic depth.

4. Game Modes

4.1 Campaign Mode

Story-driven progression on pre-existing ships with structured scenarios featuring specific objectives and constraints. Unlocks are tied to campaign narrative milestones. Teaches core mechanics whilst advancing the company storyline and presenting varied challenges.

4.2 Career Mode

The primary mode where players start with initial capital and build their cruise company from scratch. Players experience the full progression system (see section 3.6).

4.3 Sandbox Mode

All facilities, routes, and features unlocked from the start with unlimited budget. Focus on pure creativity, ship design, and experimentation without economic pressure.

4.4 Challenge Mode

Special scenarios with unique constraints or goals (e.g., “Manage a ship with only budget facilities”, “Handle a VIP cruise with demanding guests”).

5. Visual Style & Atmosphere

5.1 Art Direction

• Parkitect-style low-poly 3D (not flat tiles), clean materials, minimal to no photo textures
• Bright, readable palette with strong value contrast for clarity
• Slightly toy-like proportions for props and characters to improve legibility
• Cohesive modular look for rooms and furniture to support kitbashing and fast content creation

See Art Direction for the full spec.

5.2 Tone

Light-hearted, colorful, and welcoming. Humour comes from situations and character reactions, not slapstick. Visuals support clarity of systems first, charm second.

5.3 Practical Production Notes

• Prioritize modular kits for walls, floors, doors, stairs, elevator shafts, and furniture
• Prefer flat colors and trim sheets over bespoke textures to accelerate production
• Use simple, color-swapped variants to multiply content with minimal art effort
• Characters begin as capsules or super-simple rigs; later add heads, hats, hair, and outfit color variants

6. Audio Design

6.1 Music

• Upbeat, tropical-themed background tracks
• Contextual music for different areas (pool deck, casino, restaurant)
• Calming menu and planning music

6.2 Sound Effects

• Ambient ship sounds (waves, seagulls, engine hum)
• Passenger chatter and reactions
• Facility-specific sounds
• UI feedback sounds

7. User Interface

7.1 Core UI Elements

• Main viewport with camera controls (zoom, rotate, pan)
• Building menu with categorised rooms and objects
• Management panels (staff, passengers, finances)
• Notification system for important events
• Statistics and analytics dashboard

7.2 Information Display

• Overlay systems showing passenger needs and satisfaction
• Heat maps for various metrics
• Individual passenger and staff information panels

8. Technical Specifications

8.1 Engine & Technology

• Engine: Unity 6.2
• Programming Language: C#
• DCC/Content: Blender
• Event Management: PodNet

8.2 Performance Targets

• Support for ships with hundreds of passengers and crew
• Expected ship to be max 400×100×100 m
• 0.5 m grid system
• Smooth performance on mid-range hardware
• Quick loading times
• Stable simulation at increased time speeds

8.3 Save System

• Multiple save slots
• Autosave functionality
• Cloud save support (platform dependent)

9. Content Plan & Development Timeline

⚠️ Demo date conflict. §9.1 below says the demo targets October 2026, but Path to Demo and the public devlog say August 2026. The whole roadmap is also being re-baselined. Tracked in #30 and #31.

9.1 Demo

• Single playable scenario showcasing core mechanics
• 8–10 essential room types
• 3 passenger archetypes with clear, distinct behaviours
• 3–4 core staff roles
• 1 pre-built ship template
• 1 cruise route

9.2 Early Access Launch

• 16–20 room and facility types (lean on upgrades and variants before new rooms)
• 6–8 passenger archetypes
• 5–6 staff roles
• 2–3 ship templates
• 2–3 cruise routes/destinations with 2–3 unique events each
• Career and Sandbox modes functional

9.3 Full Release

• Campaign with curated scenarios
• 25–35 room and facility types
• 10–15 passenger archetypes
• 8–10 staff roles
• 4–5 cruise routes/destinations
• Challenge mode optional depending on schedule and community demand
• Polish, balancing, and optimisation

9.4 Post-Launch Content (Updates & DLC)

• Free updates with quality-of-life improvements and balance tweaks
• Additional campaign scenarios and challenges
• New facility types and themed room packs
• Seasonal events and limited-time content
• New cruise routes and destinations
• Community-requested features
• Potential paid DLC expansions (themed content packs, major feature additions)

10. Key Challenges & Solutions

10.1 Balance

Challenge: Balancing accessibility with depth Solution: Layered complexity — easy to start, optional depth for engaged players

10.2 Performance

Challenge: Managing many active agents simultaneously Solution: Efficient pathfinding, level-of-detail systems, optimised simulation

10.3 Repetition

Challenge: Preventing gameplay from becoming repetitive Solution: Varied scenarios, emergent situations, personality-driven events

10.4 Non-Rectangular Ship Geometry

Challenge: Ships have curved and tapered hulls (especially at bow and stern), which conflicts with traditional grid-based room placement systems

Solution: Adaptive room boundaries with internal grid alignment

• Smart Room Shapes: Rooms automatically adapt their outer boundaries to follow the ship’s hull contours whilst maintaining an internal rectangular grid for furniture and object placement
• Edge Handling: Angled or curved walls at ship extremities are treated as “unusable space” or converted into decorative elements (windows, architectural features) that don’t affect the functional grid
• Placement System: Two-layer approach — outer boundary defines the room’s footprint (can be non-rectangular), inner grid provides consistent placement zones for objects and furniture
• Visual Feedback: Clear indicators showing usable grid space versus decorative/structural areas when placing rooms near hull edges
• Pre-designed Sections: Offer pre-configured bow and stern room templates that handle the geometry elegantly, whilst still allowing customisation of the interior layout
• Efficiency Trade-off: Rooms in tapered areas may have slightly reduced efficiency or capacity, encouraging players to place high-capacity facilities amidships whilst using bow/stern for speciality or premium spaces

11. Competitive Analysis

11.1 Market Landscape

• Prison Architect 2: Moving to full 3D with deeper systems. Multiple delays signal production challenges for complex sims. Takeaway: 3D management sims are in demand, but risky for small teams.
• SimAirport: Still popular on major platforms. Proves sustained demand for construction-focused, systems-driven sims.
• Parkitect: Exemplifies clean low-poly readability and modular building. Validates our visual direction.
• Post-launch expansions: Games like Cities: Skylines 2 show value in shipping a tight core, then adding content over time.
• Development tools: Most devs now use AI and efficiency tools. Embrace modular kits, instancing, and procedural workflows to maximise output with limited resources.

11.2 Direct comparators and positioning

• SimAirport
  • Strengths: Transparent grid construction, systems clarity, moddability/community knowledge base.
  • Gaps for us to exploit: Personality-light agents, limited hospitality fantasy. Our focus on guest personalities and route themes differentiates.
• Prison Architect / Prison Architect 2
  • Strengths: Iconic readability, strong scenario design, deep management interlocks. PA2 moving to 3D shows market tolerance for isometric-style free camera.
  • Gaps: Security/prison theme has different emotional tone. We target hospitality, delight, and vacation fantasy.
• Two Point Hospital
  • Strengths: Humor, character charm, tutorialization, UX polish.
  • Gaps: Fixed facility archetypes, less player-driven spatial fantasy versus a ship you authored.
• Parkitect
  • Strengths: Low-poly clarity, modular kits, strong logistics layer with staff-only paths.
  • Gaps: Theme park constraints and coaster focus; ship-interior multi-deck logistics and cabin economy open fresh mechanics for us.

11.3 Our differentiation

• Setting and fantasy: Cruise hospitality management with multi-deck interiors and route-driven passenger mixes.
• Visual/readability: Parkitect-like low-poly with constrained free camera, deck toggles, and aggressive occlusion management.
• Personality systems: Fewer, clearer archetypes with distinct needs and spend profiles; light emergent events over heavy simulation.
• Production strategy: Modular kits, color/material variants, and upgrade-driven depth to avoid content bloat; roadmap favors staged expansions (routes, scenarios) after a tight core.

11.4 Risks we accept and mitigations

• 3D solo production risk (seen even at AA scale): counter with limited scope, reusable kits, and deferring bespoke hero assets.
• Market expectations for post-launch support: plan a sustainable cadence of small themed packs and QoL updates rather than massive drops.

12. Success Metrics

12.1 Player Engagement

• Average session length: 20–30 minutes by Early Access, 30–45 minutes by 1.0
• Retention (EA targets): D1 ≥ 30%, D7 ≥ 10%
• Campaign tutorial completion (when available): ≥ 70%

12.2 Quality Indicators

• Crash rate: < 0.5% of sessions
• Bug backlog at milestones:
  • EA launch: ≤ 10 known P1/P2
  • 1.0: ≤ 3 known P1/P2
• Positive Steam reviews: ≥ 80% at EA launch, ≥ 85% by 1.0
• Average frame time on mid-range laptop GPU: ≤ 16.6 ms (60 FPS) on demo scene with target NPC counts

12.3 Commercial Success

• Steam wishlists pre-EA: 5k–10k
• EA month-1 units: 1k–3k
• Press/creator coverage in first month: 5–10 creators or outlets
• Post-launch cadence: at least 1 meaningful update per 6–8 weeks during EA

13. References & Inspiration

• SimAirport — Building and management systems
• Prison Architect — Visual style and construction mechanics
• Two Point Hospital — Humour and character personalities
• Theme Hospital — Accessible management gameplay
• First hand experience at a cruise ship

14. Living Document Notes

This GDD is a living document that will evolve throughout development. Major changes should be documented in the commit/PR that makes them. Regular reviews should ensure the design remains cohesive and achievable within project constraints.