Save the Holy Potato by destroying the imposters! But don't eat the holy potato!

Move: WASD, Mouse Look

Jump: Space

Pickup: E

Throw: R (Definitely not G)

Jetpack: J, once equipped, also: broken. 

OnlySpud - Game Design Document

Introduction

OnlySpud is a 3D action-puzzle game where players protect a sacred "Holy Potato" by collecting and eating imposter potatoes in wave-based challenges. Players must strategically manage a Fullness meter, sacrificing movement speed to clear imposters, while navigating obstacles and upgrading abilities to survive increasingly difficult waves.

I worked on this game with my 7 year old son, and this is our first time ever building a game. We learned a ton about Godot and how to playtest game mechanics. We are excited to keep working on this game and make it awesome. I can’t wait for you to be able to buy the demo on Steam!

Inspiration

• Super Crate Box: The fast-paced, wave-based survival gameplay inspired OnlySpud’s structure of clearing imposter potatoes under time pressure. The need to collect items (crates/potatoes) while avoiding hazards shaped the core loop of collecting, eating, and managing resources.
• Vampire Survivors: The concept of upgrades between waves, enhancing player abilities, influenced the random upgrade selection system. The escalating difficulty and strategic choices inspired the balance of sacrificing fullness for progression.
• Portal: The first-person perspective and environmental interaction (pushing potatoes, navigating 3D space) draw from Portal’s puzzle-solving in a 3D environment, encouraging creative movement and object manipulation.

Player Experience

Players embody a guardian in a perpetual 3D arena, tasked with protecting the Holy Potato by eating imposter potatoes across multiple waves. Each wave spawns imposters that must be cleared before time runs out, requiring careful management of a Fullness meter that slows movement when full. Between waves, players choose one of three random upgrades (e.g., faster digestion, jetpack) to enhance their abilities. The experience is a mix of tense action, strategic resource management, and satisfying progression, with sacrifices (e.g., eating to slow movement) leading to strength via upgrades.

Platform

The game is developed for Windows PC.

Development Software

• Godot Engine 4.4.1: For programming and scene management.
• Audacity: For sound effects (e.g., eat_sound.wav, impact.wav).

Genre

Singleplayer, action, puzzle, survival.

Target Audience

Casual players seeking accessible yet challenging gameplay, and action-puzzle enthusiasts who enjoy strategic resource management and escalating difficulty. Aimed at ages 13+ for its simple controls and moderate complexity.

Concept

Gameplay Overview

Players control a first-person character in a 3D arena with a central Holy Potato. Imposter potatoes spawn in waves (5+ per wave, increasing with difficulty). Players must pick up (E), eat (F), or throw (G) imposters to clear them before the wave timer (60s, decreasing per wave) expires, while avoiding eating the Holy Potato (game over). A Fullness meter prevents players from eating too many potatoes and slows movement by 20% when full, requiring players to wait for regeneration or unlock/use alternate methods of destroying potatoes. Between waves, players select one of three random upgrades (e.g., Faster Digestion, Jetpack) to improve stats or gain abilities, sacrificing immediate mobility for long-term power.

Theme Interpretation (Only One)

There can be only one potato - the Holy Potato. All others must be destroyed.

Primary Mechanics

Mechanic	Description
Movement	Players move using WASD, sprint with Shift (stamina-based), and jump with Space. Movement is restricted by a 20% speed penalty when the Fullness meter is maxed, requiring strategic timing.
Pickup (E)	Collect up to 3 potatoes within a 2-unit radius, stacking them on the player’s camera. Picked-up potatoes are frozen and don’t collide, sacrificing inventory space for mobility.
Eat (F)	Consume the top potato in the stack (1.5s cooldown), increasing Fullness by 25. Eating the Holy Potato ends the game; eating imposters clears them, sacrificing speed for progress.
Throw (G)	Throw the top potato in a forward arc (10-unit impulse), restoring collision and allowing environmental interaction. Useful for clearing potatoes without eating, sacrificing inventory for tactical positioning.
Push	Automatically push nearby potatoes (1-unit radius, 0.1 strength) when moving, triggering impact.wav (0.5s cooldown). Sacrifices precise control for area management.

Secondary Mechanics

Mechanic	Description
Fullness Meter	Tracks fullness . At max, imposes a 20% speed penalty, pulsing red in the UI. Players sacrifice mobility to clear potatoes, balanced by upgrades like Faster Digestion.
Wave System	Waves spawn imposters with a timer. Players must clear all imposters before time runs out, sacrificing safety to collect them.
Upgrades	After each wave, choose one of three random upgrades (e.g., Faster Digestion, Jetpack). One-time upgrades (e.g., abilities) are removed after selection; stackable upgrades (e.g., Bigger Stomach) persist. Sacrifices immediate action for long-term power.

Upgrades

• Faster Digestion: Reduces fullness_delay_duration by 1s (stackable).
• Bigger Stomach: Increases max_fullness by 25 (stackable).
• Stronger Push: Increases potato_push_strength by 0.05 (stackable).
• Sprint Boost: Increases sprint_speed by 2 (stackable).
• Quick Eater: Reduces eat_cooldown_duration by 0.3s (stackable).
• Jetpack: Grants 2s flight (J key, 5s cooldown, one-time).
• Gun: Shoots projectiles to destroy potatoes (K key, 1s cooldown, one-time).
• Stomp: Pushes nearby potatoes (L key, 3s cooldown, one-time).
• Magnet Pull: Pulls potatoes within 5 units (M key, 5s cooldown, one-time).
• Super Jump: Increases jump_velocity by 2 (stackable).
• SO MANY MORE TO COME!

Art

Theme Interpretation

The game adopts a minimalist 3D art style with a limited color palette (white, gold, brown) to emphasize the Holy Potato’s sacredness and imposters’ neutrality. The Holy Potato glows with a gold OmniLight3D, contrasting with plain imposter potatoes, reinforcing the theme of distinguishing sacred from mundane through sacrifice.

Design

• Environment: A simple 3D arena (40x40 units) with a flat ground (StaticBody3D) and basic textures (white base, brown accents).
• Player: A first-person character with a camera, holding stacked potatoes (bobbing animation).
• Potatoes: 3D sphere models (RigidBody3D), with the Holy Potato glowing gold and imposters plain brown.
• UI: Pixelated style with high-contrast white text/buttons, red pulsing FullnessBar when full, and a SpudBar for imposter count.

Audio

Music

Currently unimplemented due to time constraints. Planned: Minimalist, retro-style synthesized tracks with soft reverb, using bass and subtle melodies to create a tense yet engaging atmosphere, complementing the survival-puzzle vibe.

Sound Effects

• eat_sound.wav: Crunching sound when eating a potato (F key).
• too_full.wav: Groan when attempting to eat at max fullness.
• throw.wav: Whoosh when throwing a potato (G key).
• impact.wav: Thud when potatoes collide or are pushed (0.5s cooldown).
• Planned (unimplemented): Pickup sound for E key.

Game Experience

UI

• FullnessBar: Progress bar showing fullness (0-100, red when full).
• SpudBar: Tracks imposter count (max 20, game over if reached).
• WaveTimer: Displays remaining wave time (60s, red when <10s).
• PotatoCounter: Shows “Potatoes Remaining: X” for wave progress.
• GameMessagePanel: Shows “Victory!” or “You Died” with upgrade menu (3 random options) or restart button.
• AbilityPanel: Shows eat button (F) when holding potatoes, with cooldown visualization.

Controls

• Keyboard:
  • WASD: Move
  • Shift: Sprint (stamina-based)
  • Space: Jump
  • E: Pickup
  • F: Eat
  • G: Throw
  • J: Jetpack
  • K: Shoot (Gun)
  • L: Stomp
  • M: Magnet Pull
  • Esc: Pause
• Mouse: Look (captured mode, freed on pause/loss).

Development Timeline

Minimum Viable Product

#	Assignment	Type	Status	Finish By	Notes
1	Design Document	Other	Finished	July 31, 2025	GDD for submission
2	Create potato and player assets	Art	Finished	June 20, 2025	Thanks to GibsAndPieces for being a potato
3	Main menu	Coding	Finished	June 21, 2025	Basic pause menu with resume/restart
4	UI	Coding	Finished	June 22, 2025	FullnessBar, SpudBar, WaveTimer, PotatoCounter
5	Player movement	Coding	Finished	June 23, 2025	WASD, sprint, jump, mouse look
6	Potato mechanics	Coding	Finished	June 24, 2025	Pickup, eat, throw, push
7	Wave system	Coding	Finished	June 25, 2025	Spawning, timer, win/lose conditions
8	Fullness meter	Coding	Finished	June 26, 2025	25 per eat, 1/s regen, 5s delay, speed penalty
9	Sound effects	Audio	Finished	June 27, 2025	Eat, too full, throw, impact sounds
10	Upgrade system	Coding	Finished	July 20, 2025	Modular upgrade system
11	Ability implementation	Coding	Partially Finished	July 25, 2025	Broke the game!
12	Level design	Other	Finished	July 26, 2025	Single arena with dynamic wave spawns
13	Polish	Other	Partially Finished	July 28, 2025	UI animations, needs more effects
14	Submit	Other	In Progress	July 31, 2025	Itch page upload

Beyond (Unimplemented Due to Time Constraints and Not Knowing What we are Doing)

Assignment	Type	Status	Notes
Hot/Evil Potatoes	Coding	Not Started	Damage-dealing or extra-fullness potatoes
Music	Audio	Not Started	Retro-style tracks with reverb
Pickup Sound	Audio	Not Started	Sound for E key pickup
Extra Upgrades	Coding	Not Started	Additional stat or ability upgrades, goal of 100+
Settings Menu	Coding	Not Started	Volume, fullscreen toggle, resolution
UX	Coding	Not Started	Add theming, logos, prettiness.
Controls	Coding	Not Started	Add Controller support