OVERVIEW
Platform:
PC Tools: HTML5 Duration: 2 Weeks Team Size: 6 Role: Game Designer, Producer |
This was a rapid prototype in a team of 6, consisting of two artists, one producer, and two engineers. I was a game designer and producer. The theme given to us for this project was to pick a really old arcade game and iterate upon it. We chose Tempest as our game and brainstormed how to iterate. In the end, we ended up adding forward movement to Tempest, while also adding Gears of War-like pieces of cover to enhance the gameplay.
I designed the flow and mechanics of the game. I came up with the core mechanics, enemy behaviors and spawns, and the general systems. I was the producer for a team of five, keeping the art and engineering on-track with the Scrum process and Trello. |
DESIGN WALKTHROUGH
Analysis
So I broke down Tempest and found out a couple of things. One, that it was pretty much Tapper but facing a different direction. It was also like a turret section of most video games. And finally, if you got the shapes that the player was one and made it flat, it pretty much became Guitar Hero. Iteration So what I decided to do was add a forward element to the game by putting a grid that moved forward so the player could choose discretely how far they wanted to move forward. However, I still wanted to encourage the fast-paced and frantic nature of Tempest, so I made the ring that the player stays on have a timer. When the timer depletes, the player dies. This encourages the player to move forward through the levels. But now that I have encouraged the player to move forward, I had to design the enemies and enemy placement in a way that the player couldn't just spam forward to win. Essentially, encourage the player to move sideways AND forward. Enemies The game has a few enemy types. One of the types is just a piece of cover that blocks both the player and enemy. This gives the player some respite from the chaos. However, the only way to move forward would be to either sidestep the cover or to destroy it. The cover most affects the green turret enemies. These enemies travel sideways and shoot projectiles at the player. This forces the player to dodge this bullets while also trying to get a few shots at the turrets themselves. There are the orange spaceships that damage the player on contact. They can move both forward and sideways, again encouraging the player to dodge them or take them down. Finally, the last enemy is the red Kamikaze ships. These enemies will fly straight forward. When they reach the ring that the player is on, they will explode and damage that particular grid and the ones adjacent to it. These enemies are usually top priority because of the damage they can do. The player must quickly move sideways along the circle to eliminate enough of these kamikazes to have a safe passage through. I planned all of the enemy spawns using a .JSON file that planned out how long levels would last, what enemies would show up, and where they would spawn. UI I also added a "boost meter". The player can move forward, but on a cool-down timer. They can move forward 3 times quickly, but will have to wait a bit for the meter to refill. It doesn't take too long, but it does take away the option of just speed-running through the entire level. I made both the boost meter and the health of the player actually exist on the player. They player would turn green, yellow, and red to indicate what the health level is currently at. |
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DETAILED INFO
Video
- edited the trailer in Adobe Premiere Pro CC - utilized video, sound effects, and music from the game Sound - created all of the sound effects in the game - edited using royalty free audio and Adobe Audition CC |
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