As gaming becomes an increasingly social activity, it is becoming more and more important to share similar gaming tastes with friends, family, and loved ones in order to have fufilling social gaming experiences. Unfortunately, it's often the case that we don't want to play whatever our friends want to play at a given time. Some games attempt to merge genres to appeal to a broader audience, but oftentimes this results in a 'watered down' game where it no longer appeals to the hardcore fans of any specific game type. What ACG is setting out to do is creat a game where different genres, left largely unchanged from their traditional forms, can interact in significant ways, such that an individual is playing the game they most prefer, while still having a social experience with their teammates.

We believe this can be done with a wide range of genres. For the purposes of Fusion, we have chosen to integrate first person shooters, racing games, and puzzles. The genre you choose to play as during a particular game is referred to as your 'Mode.' When we talk about 'Roles', we refer to your current task within your team's strategy, such as attacking, defending, or support.

Core Design Principles

• No game is more important than another: No game mode should feel like the 'main' game.
• No game is more hardcore than another: No game mode should encourage the player to play more casually or take up a supporting role.
• Roles can vary through a game: There should be a number of strategies any player can adopt during a game, from getting points to attacking the other team to supporting their own teammates. Not only should no strategy be dominant, the design should encourage different players to switch roles throughout the game.
• Interactions are significant: Every mode should have ways of earning points, as well as supporting their teammates and attacking enemies, regardless of the combination of modes. These interactions should feel important. If a team of all shooters plays against a team of all puzzle players, the game should still feel like a conflict, rather than solitary races for points.
• Communication is important: We will be assuming that all players have access to some sort of VoIP technology. As the aim of this game is to create a social experience where all team members can help each other, we want to set up situations in which live communcation is essential.
• No one is forced to play a particular mode: Not only should game types be balanced, but all potential team make-ups should be balanced. We aren't looking to replace a game where everyone has to play a shooter with a game where one person has to play each role. If a team of three puzzle players wants to play a team of three racers, that should still be balanced and offer a wide range of interactions.