Elements
Solo Project - Action Game Studio
Journey through a world infested with dangerous enemies. Use elemental powers such as Telekinesis, Ice, and Fire to defeat your enemies in numerous ways. Some enemies are resistant to a power. You must discover what powers they are susceptible to and capitalize by utilizing the environment in front of you to defeat your enemies and clear your path.
Timeline: 1.5 months
Timeline: 1.5 months
Enemy Design:
Fodder:
The image above previews the games' fodders. The player can use anything in their arsenal to defeat these enemies. As you can see, the player uses their telekinetic, fire and ice powers as well as their basic punch and kick combo.
Projectile:
These enemies shoot a projectile at the player no matter where they stand. The projectile deals little damage and is shot every 2 seconds. The only way for these enemies to die is by being hit with their own projectile.
Projectile & Fodder
Here you can see the dynamic that can be created in this game. There is an area with fodders and a projectile enemy. There are no rocks to throw (and if the player were to go backwards and find previous rocks, they could, however rocks eventually break after multiple uses). So the player resorts to grabbing the projectile in mid-air and flings it towards the fodder to deal extra damage. You will notice that the projectile, too, can be affected by other powers such as fire and ice.
Red Enemies (Enforcer/Emphasizer)
Red enemies are a special unit in that they have a shield and are not susceptible to fire. The player can not punch, kick, freeze, or deal any damage to the enemy until their shield is destroyed. Which is done by using telekinetic powers to fling an object at the enemy. After doing so, the player may freeze the enemy, as well as punch or kick and fling objects at them to deplete health. They are an enforcer in that the player is forced to use telekinetic powers first and then they can use other tools to destroy them (but not fire!).
Blue Enemies (Enforcer)
Blue enemies are susceptible to fire and ONLY fire. They can not be punched, kicked, frozen or have objects flung at them (but there is a catch). The player may use their basic fire power, however there is limit to how much you can use your fire power and then regeneration must take place before using the power again. As a result, the player may resort to lighting objects on fire and then flinging the object at the blue enemy. In this case, the player uses the projectile enemy to their advantage by lighting the projectile on fire and flinging it at the blue enemy, killing them instantly.
You'll notice in the other giph that the player picks up an axe, ignites it, and then throws the object at the Blue Enemy.
You'll notice in the other giph that the player picks up an axe, ignites it, and then throws the object at the Blue Enemy.
Level Design:
Map:
The map is separated into three parts and are associated with where you are on your journey. You start in the grassland, which acts as a tutorial into the controls and the powers you can use. This section features only the Projectile and Fodder enemies. After completing the beginning stage, you enter into the desert where you encounter the red enemies, Fodders, and Projectiles. Finally, you finish the game by making your way to the snow-land where you find the Blue Enemies and destroy all enemies in that area.
Grassland (Beginning)
I used linear level design in the grassland area. I use trees, rocks, and other environmental assets to guide the player towards the right direction. Which will eventually lead them to the end of the grasslands into the desert to continue their journey.
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Desert (Middle)
I leaned away from linear design for the desert and instead tried something new. There is no one correct path to take while in the desert area. When you enter the desert, heavy fog appears which prompts the player to be disoriented but, naturally, they explore. As they explore the area they trigger enemy fights. Eventually they will continue to explore and find an opening into the snowland in which the fog will be turned off (entrance into snowland is the third photo, looking from left to right).
Snowland (End)
The snow biome marks the end of the player's journey and the end of the game. I used a mixture of level design from both the grassland and desert to create this area. There are environmental assets that guide the player to the final destination, however there are multiple ways to go there.
Introduction:
Introducing the player to mechanics digestibly:
As I stated above, I used the grasslands/beginning to provide a tutorial to the player on the mechanics and controls of the game. I used trees as a practice target for the intro. If you can guess which trees are used as a practice target then I have already done something right as a designer.
Instruction Box/Controls:
1st Slide: Presenting the introduction dialogue box
2nd Slide: Introducing the basic kick and punch combo
3rd Slide: Introduction to Telekinesis
4th Slide: Introduction to shooting an object using Telekinesis
5th Slide: Using what you've learned on enemies
6th Slide: Introducing ability to use powers such as Fire
I used a formula of introducing a mechanic, ensuring the player has enough time to understand and use the mechanic for the first time by using an object such as a tree (which obviously does not rush or attack you). Then, the player practices these mechanics on the easiest enemy in the game, a Fodder.
2nd Slide: Introducing the basic kick and punch combo
3rd Slide: Introduction to Telekinesis
4th Slide: Introduction to shooting an object using Telekinesis
5th Slide: Using what you've learned on enemies
6th Slide: Introducing ability to use powers such as Fire
I used a formula of introducing a mechanic, ensuring the player has enough time to understand and use the mechanic for the first time by using an object such as a tree (which obviously does not rush or attack you). Then, the player practices these mechanics on the easiest enemy in the game, a Fodder.
Enemy Fights:
Trigger Areas:
For enemy fights, I manually placed a certain amount of enemies within a specific area and used a collider that when the player collides with enables the enemies within that area to fight the player. I created a public list of enemies so that I can place as many enemies as I want within said area.
Role:
- Designed and developed all mechanics and systems
- Integrated all features using C#
- Integrated Level Design
- Implemented visual effects
- Integrated UI
- Outsourced and integrated art assets
- Wrote and integrated instructions
- Integrated all features using C#
- Integrated Level Design
- Implemented visual effects
- Integrated UI
- Outsourced and integrated art assets
- Wrote and integrated instructions
Design Process:
This prototype was created with the goal of creating an emergent game. It's obviously difficult as a developer to intend emergence, considering emergence often comes from situations unintended by the developer. To me, for emergence to occur means there must be malleability. The objects within the game must be affected by multiple properties. As a result, I thought of a game in which you can use generic powers which can be applied to both the enemies in front of you as well as the environment. Additionally, I thought of ways to mix the powers together to enact different moves on the enemies in front of you. Something that emerged within game for me was using the projectile to my advantage. For example, I froze a projectile and flung it at an enemy who happen to be right next to another enemy. Both enemies were frozen, which actually goes against my development of this game in which when you use up a power move you can only do so to one enemy at a time. However, a projectile allowed me to enact an attack that affected two enemies at the same time.
When I was thinking about what I wanted to do for level design, the first thing I did was create three different biomes. When I first started making hyper-casual games for the iPhone, I learned early on that the player likes to have a feeling of progression, which can be conveyed to the player in many ways. In this game, I demonstrate that idea of progression by completely changing the environment the more you traverse the level. I then found it to be a great idea to associate the types of enemies with the environment. The grassland features the Fodder enemy. Basic grassland, basic enemies. The desert features the Red Enemies who cannot be lit on fire. Finally, the snowland features the blue enemies who can not be frozen. As you can see, I had a clear pattern in this design.
When I was thinking about what I wanted to do for level design, the first thing I did was create three different biomes. When I first started making hyper-casual games for the iPhone, I learned early on that the player likes to have a feeling of progression, which can be conveyed to the player in many ways. In this game, I demonstrate that idea of progression by completely changing the environment the more you traverse the level. I then found it to be a great idea to associate the types of enemies with the environment. The grassland features the Fodder enemy. Basic grassland, basic enemies. The desert features the Red Enemies who cannot be lit on fire. Finally, the snowland features the blue enemies who can not be frozen. As you can see, I had a clear pattern in this design.