Initial concept art
Pitter Patter
Game Engine
Unity
Role
Game Design, Level Design, Programmer, Animation, 3D Modeling
Date
Fall 2017
Description
This games basic concept was suggested by one of my teammates. The team was made up of 6 people. Our team was rather imbalanced and had no artists. As such, I decided to step up for the job. After we flushed out the vision for the game it was clear early on that this game would not be focused on mechanics but instead mostly on aesthetic.
I was in charge of stage design. In addition I was also in charge of the character model as well as its animations, the models for the flowers and collectibles. I also worked on the scripts to make the above assets function and interact correctly in the game.
This was my first time using Maya and I have never done any type of animating before this project. I got used to the foreign work space rather quickly.
The most challenging part of this project was trying to make a mechanically simple game challenging and engaging. We decided to implement a point system as well as multiple possible routes to reward individuals trying to optimize their score. As a result players just looking to clear the stage would have a fairly easy time, but players wanting to collect all the stars and grab the highest score would encounter difficulty. The stages were designed for increasing difficulty and introducing new mechanics to the player.
Stage 1
Stage 1
This stage was designed to introduce players to the mechanics of the game. It forces the player to learn how to play the game. It forces them to use all the different mechanics including the vines and bouncy mushrooms. It also forces them to know how to jump. Without the appropriate skills the player will not be able to pass the level. With the skills, the level becomes trivial and all stars easy to get. A playthrough of this level is shown below.
Stage 2
Stage 2
This stage begins to open the player up to diverging paths. It also introduces the player to the new mechanic of water. The main character automatically skips across the surface of the water. However, skipping across the water consumes the character's water mass, making bodies of water very dangerous to stay in. This stage was designed so that the fastest route is one where the player does not collect any stars, however the stars were still close enough to be seen while on the main path. To obtain the stars the player has to work a little harder. The first star in particular requires the player to carefully and skillfully maneuver through bouncy mushrooms. The last star is teased while traversing through an earlier path, however the path to the star is past the goal. Observant players would realize this and go and collect the star before completing the stage.
Stage 3
Stage 3
This stage was designed to be a challenge, especially if players want to collect all stars. This stage was designed so that the player would have to explore, probably using up multiple lives to do so. The stars are all placed so that none of them are particularly easy to reach. The first star might be completely missed altogether and requires the player to go on a completely different path. The second star is located out of the way on the body of water. However, players will have learned in the previous level that the water is incredibly dangerous to stay on. The players risk a game over if they want to grab it. Grabbing it without dying requires a suitable amount of water mass on the character. The third star might also be missed altogether and requires the player to make a leap of faith. This is because form some angles the mushroom underneath is not visible.
Here is some demo gameplay of the first level. Here you can see most of the mechanics present in the game.
Excuse the poor fps and frame drops in the video. I did not use good video recording software.
Shown above is the ways to die. There are poisonous mushrooms that you do not want to touch. Also as you jump around onto platforms you will lose some water and size until you eventually lose all your mass.
