This week has been the final week of our alpha phase of the game in which the team finalised a playable alpha version of the game. This alpha build consisted of a level select hub in which three levels could be selected and played. With the majority of our major mechanics now implemented within the game, this week a heavier focus was placed on playability, making each of the mechanics feel as good as possible as well as debugging. One of the things that previous playtests had suggested was to increase the feedback received when crashing the glider. To tackle this challenge Juan and I worked on making the glider model able to break into many pieces when crashing. By using some explosive forces and the new glider model which is split up into smaller fragments, we were able to create a crash which gives more feedback to the player and gives them a clear indication that they crashed the glider. A big emphasis was also placed on the “holo room” which will act as the level select within our game. The new model was placed into the game and the rings within the sphere were set up to spin. The teleporters were also placed in the scene to allow the player to choose which level to play. The three levels within the build were constructed using our level toolkit and each incorporated 2 – 4 main mechanics to focus on. The level that I created utilised the mechanics of turrets, grappling, jump pads as well a glider course as the final section. Other than this a large amount of time was spent on optimising code as well as debugging some serious issues within the game. Some of the challenges tackled included camera improvements when grappling and platforming near walls, glider usability and feel, as well as fixing a serious issue related to the new “rope arm” which caused the game to crash when loading a checkpoint for the player. The majority of the major bugs that we are aware of are now resolved with a few small optimisations and fixes still required.
In the week to come one of the things that we will be focusing on is improving the use of our JSON saving and loading system as well as planning and setting up the structure for our game save files and data to be saved as a whole.
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During week 4, I built yet another level. After spending so much time on the third level, I once again revisited what I should put as the main focus for the level - which came back to platforming. The enemy turrets in the level that I created, for example, were merely annoying rather than challenging. I think this was because I added them as an afterthought, rather than as a focal mechanic. So this week I started designing the level on paper first.
The above image is the final design of the level, after several different iterations. I went through several basic ideas, while also building on the mechanics that I had tested in the second level I had built. With this level, I wanted to test platforming and grappling proficiency above all else, as well as offer the player an opportunity to play around with the mechanics in a fairly open area. Extra mechanics (like making grappling hooks descend on button press) or moving blocks were introduced and added in order to vary up the different types of challenges. The level was changed back to a much more linear structure, with small sections of variance in moving left/right and up/down in order to progress (like button presses). I felt like a more linear structure would help my design skills improve faster, as I did not have to worry about players moving around unpredictably, and could offer a more responsive and interesting level. I put a lot of thought into designing this level, concepting several different stages until I felt they were appropriate. I am continuing to learn as much about level design as I can as fast as I can, and I feel like the result was a lot better than last week’s level. The initial response to it was very positive, and I continued building on it, adding some puzzles (though not as many as the previous level) and more platforming challenges. Using platforming alongside the grappling hooks proved to be a very entertaining component of the game, and required most of the team to attempt some sections in the level multiple times. Some of these issues were due to my inaccurate placement of grappling points and platforms, resulting in hard-to-complete jumps or movements that were impossible without getting used to mechanical quirks. The entire level layout and development took a few days, and then testing was required in order to get the level ‘feeling’ good. In preparation for the submission, however, we needed some extra, smaller levels. Both Dylan and Josh created smaller levels that showed off the other mechanics that we have in the game that I did not put into the levels. In week 5, I will again alter my approach somewhat as we enter beta phase. Rather than focusing on solely mechanics, there will also be a ‘theme’ to each level that connects to the world. The team discussion on Monday will involve deciding what the theme of the first world will be, and then the five levels that make up that world. From this point onward, level design will be more directed, with clear visions laid out for each level that is backed up in their design. Because we have the level select framework and the holo room complete, (mostly) implementing world-switching is the last main system to address. Week three has been a busy week for the team as we have now started finalising the mechanics within the game and been preparing them for use within multiple levels in the future. One of the major focuses this week was the improvement and finalising of the new glider mechanic within the game. With the main movement system implemented from last week, this week was more about making the glider look and feel as good as possible. This included a lot of playtesting and tweaking of values for both the glider and follow camera to get them feeling as satisfying as possible. The new glider animations were also implemented this week which now cause the glider model to bend its wings according to the direction of travel. To give more feedback to the player we also made the glider react differently according to the speed that it was travelling at. For example, when travelling faster the gliders newspaper and frame wobble more and wobble less whilst travelling slower. The glider can now also collide with objects which cause it to crash and respawn the player at the last checkpoint. We also attempted to make the camera shake when travelling faster however this ended up looking more like a mistake rather than an intentional mechanic and as a result we have taken it out for the time being. Other than this, some more effort was also placed into the cop chase mini game during the week. The main aspects of the mini game are now set up and allow the player to drive the van around whilst trying to avoid the police cars. The police cars successfully track and seek the player’s car and attempt to apprehend them by driving into them. The player can be caught if hit by one of the police cars. The mini game is designed to be funny yet entertaining at the same time and this is aided by the unrealistic car crashes which occur when the police cars crash into one another. To give the player the incentive to drive around the map we have also incorporated a fuel system into the mini game which causes the players car to use fuel as they drive around. The player can refill their fuel tank by finding fuel barrels which spawn at different locations around the map. Some more playtests were also conducted during the week to try and receive feedback on how the glider mechanic feels and reacts to player input after improving it during the week. To do this a simple race track styled course was created for players to steer through checkpoints along the way. Overall the feedback was fairly good as players found the glider fun and interesting to use. There were also no responses which said that the glider was hard to use. However, there was some feedback given which stated that the up and down movement of the glider felt slightly awkward to get used to. All participants were also happy with the speed of the glider and felt that it did not need to increase or decrease. One response also stated that the wind updrafts which cause the glider to lift upwards could be improved by increasing the feedback to show the glider is actually being lifted upwards. This is something that will need to be addressed in the future in order to improve player enjoyment of the glider.
Week 3 During Week 3 I learnt a lot about level design. Over the 5 days, I completely redid the second level, focusing on a different type of approach. The original version of the first level was much more linear. It followed a straight path, requiring players to complete the puzzles in a linear fashion. I have changed my approach to level design for this type of level; mostly because of the way the grappling hook works. How the Grappling Hook influences level design philosophy The grappling hook is a movement ability. This means that the player will want to move around as much as possible, because the hook is an alternative to normal movement. Because grappling movement allows the player to move in a large circle, spaces have to be much larger. This meant that the original level that I designed felt underwhelming compared to the ultimate ‘grapple fantasy’ that the player could experience. Only progressing along a linear path means that the mechanic becomes severely underutilised. I have altered the approach in this level, to cater to the idea of moving around freely. Where the previous iteration started the player and forced them through a linear ‘gauntlet’, this approach is more open. The green cubes above indicate the presence of a goal, and the red colours are hazards. This colouration was added as part of making the area more open, as it indicates to players what the object on top of the platform is. The pattern will also likely be changed or altered to compensate for players who are unable to distinguish that particular colour. The block-red boxes indicate the presence of switches, and the player will need to hit these to progress. Originally ordered, the buttons have had required ordering removed as part of assisting the flow of play. Requiring players to hit buttons in a particular order is an interesting but ultimately tedious mechanic if done repeatedly.
Each of the puzzles has a particular focus; one introduces the player to the mechanics by requiring the player to move out of cover to hit the buttons before the turret shoots them. The second puzzle requires the player to swing between platforms hitting the buttons while a pair of turrets shoots at them. The third puzzle (and the final on the first stage of this level) is a platforming challenge that requires players to make accurate jumps to progress, and buttons ordered from bottom-to-top. There are two platforms on the second level; one introduces laser walls and the other requires players to grapple around a central object. Because this level will eventually become the first level of a world, multiple mechanics are introduced in this level that will be expanded in later levels. In particular, I have an idea for further development of a level focused around the ‘central object to swing around’ idea, with multiple mechanics used in tandem to make it even more interesting. Changing the design of the entire first level will come later on, but the iteration on top of the second level has been successful thus far. The level feels more open and entertaining to play now, rather than a linear trudge. While the level can be completed extremely quickly, there will likely be additional puzzles added to flesh out the content further. Like last week, this week for me was about mechanical refinement and improving the feel of the game. Grappling was reworked significantly, with the goal of making it easier to control and removing some quirks from the mechanic. Now, the connection from the grapple target to the player is not created until the player’s claw has reached the grapple target. This means if the player jumps and tries to connect to a grapple point, they can still be falling for a time. If the player has not timed their jump well, they can still fall. Last week a challenge emerged when balancing between propelling and hitting buttons as the player cannot do both and this change to grappling is a similar challenge. The grapple now also moves the player around differently and is (hopefully) easier to control. The character collider also changed from a capsule to something more resembling a cylinder. The reason for this was with the capsule collider, players could easily slide off crates and platforms. This was very frustrating. A cylinder collider means that if you land on a platform, you aren’t likely to slide off. However, a problem emerged in that if the ground was not perfectly flat, the player could not move. So a customer collider was created which has a slight bevel on the bottom. The was a happy medium between not sliding and being able to walk over uneven surfaces. A lot of time was also spent on the magnet mechanic but it was extremely difficult making this look and feel good. So we put grapple points on the blades of the turbines and tested flying between grapple points on turbines. It was immediately more fun. So we made the decision to scrap the magnet and let the grapple do its job.
Environmental mechanics also got new models. The turbine, floor fan and pressure pad all have new models and textures. The pressure pad now depresses when the player steps on it. During the previous week our team placed a heavy focus on level design as well as the new glider mechanic to be implemented into the game. We have also worked at refining the movement in the game to give the optimal feeling of enjoyment and satisfaction when platforming through the levels. Our second enemy the “Eel Turrets” have now been fully implemented into the game and can be used to create interesting platforming challenges for the player. We found it beneficial to switch the turret firing from being script based to being animation based. This means that the turret now shoots bullets based upon animation events which eliminates the issues of de-sync between the turret firing and the bullet leaving the barrel. The new glider mechanic within the game has also been fully re-worked to better suit the needs of the game. Now instead of using physics based movement the glider utilises a custom built movement system to give it the intended feeling of gliding through the levels. The glider features realistic acceleration properties which allow it to speed up when nose diving and slow down whilst banking upwards. It also has a minimum speed value which once reached will cause the glider to rotate downwards and begin a small nosedive. This essentially limits the glider from behaving the way that a plane with a motor would by restricting the amount of time the player can fly upwards at a steep angle. Because of this, the glider essentially loses altitude over time. To counter act this, we have also set up basic air vents which the player can aim for to gain a short upwards acceleration to re-gain height which has been lost. The combination of these mechanics has allowed us to create a fun environment in which the player can experience movement in a different way and will provide a nice “break” from the general platforming within the game. It is important to note that the movement controls for the glider have been set up in a way that makes it easier for the player to control. This is because we have opted to ditch the standard “plane controls” and instead use a system which involves automatically banking when steering left or right. This makes the glider movement easier to handle which in turn will make it easier to play for our target audience of younger players. A new camera system has also been implemented for the glider movement. This camera behaves like an elastic band as it pulls further away from the glider whilst travelling fast and pulls in closer as the glider slows down. This has the great effect of increasing the feeling that the player is travelling faster/slower and gives a real sense of the gliders speed. A lot of time has been spent testing and tweaking the values of both the glider and the follow camera to try create the optimal movement experience for the player. The team also organised a formal playtest session this week in which we received useful feedback about the movement within the game as well as the new glider mechanic. This provided us with crucial information regarding what could be changed to optimise the users experience within the game. For example, people who tested the glider enjoyed the mechanic and felt that it “behaved the way that a glider would”. However, they also gave some feedback stating that the camera felt as though it pulled to close to the player at some points and too far away at other points. We also received feedback that the gliders speed needs to be better conveyed to the player as it can be hard to tell when it is about to reach its minimum speed and begin descending. This feedback helped us identify what could be fixed and as a result we implemented some simple trail renderers behind the glider which become shorter as the plane starts to slow down and longer as it begins to speed up.
In the week to come we will be focusing on level design as well as continuously refining the current mechanics which we have implemented into the game thus far. The game’s core mechanics received a lot of attention this week to improve player feel and fun factor. The game now has two more environmental mechanics; falling platforms and flipping platforms. This is another device to add to our toolkit which will enable us to efficiently build interesting levels. Additionally, the jump pad has been improved. The jump pad now shows a spring pushing Klepto into the air! The use of Klepto’s grapple arm has also been expanded to allow him to hit buttons from far away. This opens up more interesting platforming possibilities. For example, Klepto can leap from one platform, hit a button on a wall in mid-air and land on the platform that has been activated by this button. This also brought out an interesting aspect of gameplay which we had not considered before. This comes from the fact that Klepto’s abilities all come from his arm. Klepto can be gliding across a chasm but if he needs to use his arm to activate a button, he will fall. Of course, his arm cannot be a grapple and a propeller at this same time. This generates a layer of challenge and depth and will encourage players to think more about how they control Klepto. Klepto’s magnetic hand was further developed this week. A level was designed to make use of this magnetism mechanic and a rough build was created to get a feel for this mechanic. It’s getting closer to being useful and it is easy to see the platforming possibilities but currently, it needs more attention to become stable.
We also organized a playtest with students to get feedback for our movement mechanics. This goal was to get an idea of how much friction should be present on the platforms to prevent players from sliding off and feeling as if they are not in control. Last week, we had reduced the jump height of the player. This was because, in the vertical slice, Klepto was able to use his double jump to almost fly through the level. However, we soon realized this was getting in the way of fun. With some more testing of values, we found a happy medium; higher jumps with less air speed to prevent players from flying. Next week we will hold another playtest to assess what players think about this change. Finally, Klepto now has a circular shadow beneath him while he is in the air. This shows players what point on the ground they are directly above and makes platforming a little easier. During week two, we worked on a decent amount of new mechanics - like the glider - and also built another level. I built the second level with a focus on grappling, the new enemies (turrets) and ancillary mechanics (doors + buttons and lasers) I structured the level in a simple style, iterating on the mechanics that are presented to the player to make sure they learn them in a particular order. The main mechanic of this level is the turrets themselves, as it will be the first time that they are presented to the player. To introduce the turrets properly, I decided that they should first be presented to the player in a linear, somewhat safe fashion. The addition of the range limiter to the turrets means that players will be able to see the active range of the turret and play around it. This means that the player will be able to clearly see the threat of the turret, as it is completely visible. Level 2 also includes mechanics like ‘the chimney’ - a downward fall through a boxy area filled with lasers, multiple grapple points ‘chained together’, and areas that will most likely need to be fully expanded during the testing period. Level 2 is now at the same stage as level 1, and both will likely be revisited this week as we ramp up our testing, transitioning from just testing mechanics towards a focus on testing levels. This week we also further developed our character controller, due to a few issues that we had. Firstly, I created a test environment with four differing friction values on different surfaces, then created boxes with those same values to jump between repeatedly, for players to get used to. We then got members of the development team to test the colours, as well as others from outside our group. The consensus was that values between 0.6 and 0.8 friction feel ‘far better’ than lower friction values. These values will be implemented (along with other adjustments to values regarding jump height) together in preparation for our level testing in the future. Playtesting was the way we finished our week. We got a small group (read: 3) of people to test the gliding mechanics, as well as our jumping mechanics. The feedback was overall very positive, something that we were relieved about. Week 3 should involve getting the levels ready for playtesting, as well as making sure that every mechanic is polished and works well. We have some cursory bugfixing to do for the game, to make sure that random issues do not pop up in our progression to the beta version of the game. We have returned from our short break and are happy to announce that we have now entered the Alpha phase of our production for Klepto Space Thief. We have taken some considerable time to discuss and plan the direction in which the game is going to evolve over the next 8 weeks of development before we initiate a feature freeze. One of the major aspects we have decided to focus on over the next few weeks is the platforming systems within the game. To improve the feeling of platforming and moving within the game we have decided to include some new mechanics which revolve around movement. These include some new character abilities such as a helicopter hand to slow descent when falling as well as a magnetic hand to grip onto metallic surfaces which may influence movement such a spinning fans. There is also the possibility of a glider being incorporated into some levels to give players another way to traverse large areas at a time in a fun and alternative way. We have also decided to add numerous new environmental mechanics into the game such as jump pads, see saws fans, time limited / flipping platforms and pressure plates. Essentially over the next few weeks we are aiming to create a completed level design toolkit for the game which will allow us to easily drag in each of our developed mechanics to create new levels with ease. The majority of these new features have already been simplistically implemented into the game as follows: We have also added a ranged enemy into the game as an alternative means of hazard for the player to avoid whilst traversing the levels. This ranged enemy appears in the form of a stationary turret which shoots at the player when the player moves within their range. One of the other ideas that we discussed implementing into the game was the use of a resource system for the player to manage during each level. This was designed to be an energy tank on the players back which would use energy as the player used abilities involving the arm such as the grappling or gliding. The player would be able to refill this energy by stealing energy from battery packs found on the guards backs as well as by breaking crates and finding batteries inside. During this first week we incorporated the basic functionality for this system however decided to cut the idea due to the fact that it was essentially limiting and putting a restriction on the player from engaging in the fun aspects of the game.
This week was all about change. After we all returned from our lengthy break, we immediately began scoping for the next stage - Alpha build. While we were happy with the version of Klepto that we submitted, we knew that we needed to make a number of changes moving forward. The goals that we were outlining revolved around creating environments for players to move around - levels with more freedom and the ability to move around the map. These ideas were ultimately rejected, in favour of a much more linear design. From now on, the levels in Klepto will be designed to be much more linear, and built around a central mechanic (like falling platforms, or timers). Each level will have a few collectibles, which will be used elsewhere in the game. We have a few ideas for systems like this - like playable minigames or cosmetic benefits for players. The types of mechanics we will focus on will mostly relate to platforming, which feels like the best direction to move in for us. This week, we have also been doing work on the character controller. The controller now feels much more reliable when it comes to jumping - when the player is moving and jumps, the distance that the character jumps is much more in line with reasonable level design, in terms of space. Previously, the jump was far too large for levels, making design difficult in terms of tuning how quickly the player could move through the level. The goal for the end of this week is to have two levels fully playable (not artistically complete) and able to be tweaked and adjusted. This is so that we are able to fully test mechanics properly, to make sure that everything about the controller feels smooth. |
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September 2017
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