Week 6

On Week 6, the team put together a new demo with character, environment asset, lighting and new controls integrated in.

Playtest Night #2

We went to our second playtest night on Tuesday, and were hoping to get feedback on our updated game control mechanics. Based on last week’s feedback, we modified it so that the joystick movement directly map to the pogo movement, which gives more intuitive and easier control to the player.

We received plenty of positive feedback this week, mostly that with the new control mechanics the game is fun to play with. They feel that just bouncing around in the level is fun and makes them want to keep playing. Even though the control is still challenging and frustrating at times, they feel like they can learn and get better with practice and time. In addition, the art style received compliments as well.

We also found some problems that we can improve on, notably:

  • Coin colliders are not accurate
  • Bounce height is inconsistent can be confusing
  • Having air walls around and prevent falling off the map would be helpful

 

Art and UI Updates

New Game Demo

Our Game Demo on Monday:

By Friday, we already have a much more refined tutorial level.

By the end of this week, we have updated the game to have:

Tutorial Level:

  • Integrated environment assets, preliminary texturing
  • Integrated coin collection for testing
  • Preliminary lighting and effects
  • Added boost mechanics
  • Refined game control mechanics more

Character art:

  • Character model and texture imported into UE
  • Integrated bounce animation
  • Integrated one trick animation for testing

UIUX:

  • UI design for tutorial level done, waiting to be integrated
  • UI design for main menu integrated

 

Game Design Document

With a test level implemented, we feel more confident on the direction and the feel of the game. We had a discussion as a team and updated our vision of the whole game:

Level Design:

  • 2 Levels: Tutorial Level -> Main Level
    • Tutorial Level serves to introduce game mechanics
    • Main level is a bigger sandbox area where player complete objectives
  • Level style: industrial, cyberpunk, city
  • Art style: american retro comic book

Gameplay Design:

(*) are stretch goals that will be attempted depending on time.

  • Main Mechanics:
    • Joystick for controlling direction; X for “small boost jump”
    • Player collect “air elements” spread around the environment [encourage exploration]
      • Fill up the air tank for a “big boost jump”
      • During big boost jump, player can do tricks (quicktime button press event)
      • Air elements will reappear in the environment continuously
    • Special coins are placed in difficult-to-reach spots
      • Once a player find a special coin, they acquire a new pogo stick
      • A total of 3-5 special coins
      • (*) Special coins are randomly generated at different locations every game [encourage replayability]
    • (*) Timer that records player’s time for completing all objectives. 
      • Shorter time is rewarded. [encourage replayability]
    • (*) Special collectables are invisible/hidden in special areas, and must be reveals by doing a specific trick in a specific area
      • A total of 2-4 collectables
      • (*) Change location every game [encourage replayability]
    • (*) Special tricks dependent on location: grinding on edge, wall jumps
    • (*) Adapt for keyboard + mouse
  • Game Objectives:
    • Player must complete a set of objectives to finish the game
    • Example list:
      • Do 3 barspins
      • Do 2 grab tricks in a row
      • Do a No-Footer on pogo#2
      • Do a can-can on top of the pink container
      • Do a frontflip and then a double peg grab
      • Find 2 special coins
      • Find 2 collectables
    • (*) Objectives are randomly picked from a list every game [encourage replayability]
  • Ending of the game
    • Once a player completes all objectives, they can pogo to the tallest point of the map. A cut scene will play where the player gets off the pogo and watches the sunrise while overseeing the entire map.
    • Back to the main menu. Now free explore mode is unlocked, where the player can freely roam the map without objectives. They can also do the mission mode again.

Next Steps:

  • Refine the Tutorial Level as much as possible before half
  • Prepare for half presentation