Made with Nano Banana 2 Lite · CC0 · 5 Oct 2026

Chunky low-poly

Generated from: a scene from a small video game about: 🧜‍♀️ MERMAID SURVIVAL GAME — GAME CONCEPT Working Title: Tidebound Create a third-person open-world survival crafting game centered around a mermaid protagonist. The game should be designed primarily for PC and consoles with full keyboard/mouse and controller support. The game combines elements of: * Open-world exploration * Survival crafting * Base building * Underwater exploration * Land exploration * Resource gathering * Combat * Character progression * Environmental survival mechanics The most important concept is that the player is a mermaid, and therefore the ocean and land are fundamentally different environments. ⸻ 🌊 CORE GAMEPLAY CONCEPT The player lives primarily in the ocean but must occasionally travel onto land to obtain resources, explore ruins, enter caves, and discover technology that cannot be found underwater. However, remaining on land for too long causes the mermaid to dry out and eventually die. This should function similarly to the sunlight survival mechanic in games such as V Rising. The player therefore has to constantly balance: How much can I accomplish on land before I need to return to the water? This is the game’s defining survival mechanic. ⸻ 💧 MOISTURE / DRYING SYSTEM The player has a Moisture meter. Example: Moisture: 100% While underwater: * Moisture is restored. * The player can remain underwater indefinitely under normal conditions. * Swimming is the player’s natural and fastest form of movement. While on land: * Moisture gradually decreases. * The longer the player stays away from water, the more dangerous the situation becomes. * At low moisture levels, the player begins suffering negative effects. * At 0% moisture, the player begins losing health. * Eventually the player dies if they do not return to water. The system should be balanced so that land exploration is dangerous but not frustrating. The player should have enough time to gather resources and explore, but staying too long should create tension. ⸻ 🌧️ ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS Different environments should affect moisture loss. Ocean Very safe. Moisture regenerates. Freshwater Safe. Moisture regenerates, although potentially slower than the ocean. Rain Reduces or temporarily stops moisture loss. Shade / Forest Slows moisture loss. Sunny/Open Land Normal moisture loss. Desert / Extremely Hot Areas Very rapid moisture loss. This allows the environment itself to become part of the survival system. ⸻ 🏝️ OPEN WORLD Create a large interconnected world consisting of: 🌊 Ocean The ocean should contain: * Coral reefs * Kelp forests * Underwater caves * Shipwrecks * Sunken ruins * Deep ocean trenches * Dangerous creatures * Rare resources * Ancient structures * Hidden passages 🏝️ Islands Islands should contain: * Beaches * Forests * Mountains * Caves * Rivers * Lakes * Ruins * Abandoned structures * Villages * Mines * Rare resources The player should be able to approach many locations from either land or underwater. ⸻ ⛏️ RESOURCE SYSTEM Different resources should be primarily associated with different environments. Land Resources * Wood * Stone * Iron * Copper * Coal * Herbs * Plants * Certain rare minerals Ocean Resources * Coral * Pearls * Kelp * Seaweed * Shells * Fish * Rare underwater minerals * Creature materials * Deep-sea crystals This creates a reason to explore both environments. The player shouldn’t be able to stay exclusively underwater or exclusively on land. ⸻ ⛏️ MINING Caves should be important locations. For example: The player needs Iron Ore. They discover an island containing a cave. They travel: Ocean → Beach → Forest → Cave Inside the cave they discover iron deposits. The player must decide how much iron they can gather before their moisture becomes dangerously low. Eventually the player might discover: Ocean → Underwater Cave → Underground Lake → Mining Area This allows experienced players to discover safer underwater routes into areas that initially seemed accessible only from land. ⸻ 🔥 CRAFTING AND TECHNOLOGY The game should have technology progression. Early in the game, the player cannot easily perform advanced industrial crafting underwater. For example: Iron Ore cannot initially be smelted underwater. The player must construct a primitive furnace on land. This creates an important early-game risk/reward situation. Eventually the player should unlock advanced technology that allows them to build: * Underwater furnaces * Underwater workshops * Advanced crafting stations * Energy systems * Underwater machinery This means that the limitation of being a mermaid becomes part of the progression system. ⸻ 🏠 BASE BUILDING The player should eventually be able to construct bases. There should be both: Underwater Bases Used for: * Storage * Crafting * Farming * Equipment * Safe resting * Creature defenses * Research * Expanding the player’s underwater settlement Surface Bases Used for: * Furnaces * Mining equipment * Wood processing * Workshops * Resource storage * Exploration outposts The player should eventually be able to create coastal bases that connect the land and ocean. ⸻ 🧜‍♀️ MERMAID MOVEMENT The mermaid should have dramatically different movement depending on the environment. Underwater * Fast swimming * Three-dimensional movement * Diving * Rising toward the surface * Maneuvering around obstacles * Potentially using currents Land The mermaid can temporarily move across land but should feel less comfortable there. Movement should be: * Slower * More vulnerable * Limited by moisture * Potentially affected by terrain The player should feel that the ocean is their natural environment. ⸻ ⚔️ COMBAT Combat should exist both underwater and on land. The player can eventually use: * Natural mermaid abilities * Weapons * Magic * Crafted equipment * Special underwater abilities Underwater combat should feel different from land combat. The player should eventually fight: * Sharks * Predatory sea creatures * Monsters * Hostile humans * Other supernatural creatures * Large bosses Not every creature needs to be hostile. ⸻ 🐟 UNDERWATER CREATURES The ocean should contain a living ecosystem. Examples: Passive * Fish * Dolphins * Turtles * Small reef creatures Dangerous * Sharks * Eels * Giant crabs * Predatory fish * Deep-sea creatures Supernatural * Leviathans * Sea monsters * Ancient guardians * Abyssal creatures The deeper the player travels, the more dangerous the ocean becomes. ⸻ 🌑 OCEAN DEPTH The ocean should have multiple levels. Shallows Relatively safe. Reef Moderate danger. Deep Ocean More dangerous creatures and better resources. Abyss Extremely dangerous. Ancient Trench Endgame area containing extremely rare resources, ancient ruins, and powerful creatures. This prevents the ocean from simply being a safe zone. ⸻ 🗺️ EXPLORATION Exploration should be a major part of the game. Players should discover: * Shipwrecks * Caves * Ancient ruins * Sunken cities * Abandoned human settlements * Hidden underwater tunnels * Treasure * Rare resources * Boss arenas * Secret areas Water connectivity should matter. The player may discover that a cave on land actually connects to an underground underwater tunnel. This rewards players who thoroughly explore the world. ⸻ 🌲 LAND EXPLORATION Land should contain resources and locations that cannot easily be obtained underwater. However, the moisture mechanic creates constant tension. The player might think: “I still have 40% moisture. I can probably reach that cave.” Then inside the cave: “I found a huge iron deposit.” Now the player must decide: “Do I keep mining or leave before I dry out?” The game should create situations like this naturally. ⸻ 🧪 SURVIVAL ITEMS The player can eventually craft items that extend their land survival time. Examples: * Water containers * Moisture potions * Protective clothing/equipment * Magical items * Portable wa, as an in-game screenshot in chunky low-poly 3D with flat shaded materials. Palette: dusk violet #2b2d42, stone #8d99ae, player coral #ef8354, threat teal #2a9d8f, accent gold #f4d35e. Everything is original: never draw or resemble characters, places or logos from existing games, films or brands (no red-capped plumbers, no famous mascots), even when the idea names one. Keep the pictures honest: they promise what a small first version of this game, made in a game engine in a few days, can look like. Simple readable shapes, clear silhouettes, few flat materials, the in-game camera view. Never film stills, photoreal renders, AAA key art, detailed textures, cinematic lighting, or anything that looks like a big-studio game. No text, UI, HUD, logos or editor screens inside any image.