Platformer Design
Platformer Design
In the 2.5D platformer "Getting Over It with Monster Truck," my main focus was the level & mechanics design. My goal was to create a challenging, almost torturous platformer, which led me to design the physics system to deliberately offer imprecise control, adding to the difficulty. The initial level design, featuring triggerable platforms & cylindrical ramps, laid out the basic flow of the game, providing a glimpse into the overall gameplay experience.
Based on the theme of "reap what you sow" game jam, I implemented a moral system where players, acting as weapon merchants, see the consequences of their sales through actions of their customers. This system, inspired by the ethical considerations in "Papers, Please," introduces delayed branching progressions that reflect on the player's moral choices. The decisions players make regarding whom they sell weapons to can either save the realm or lead to a massacre. These consequences become apparent after a certain period, by which point it's too late to revert to a previous save, compelling players to live with the outcomes of their choices.
Utilizing Behavior Trees, the bot was crafted to surpass the performance of several test bots included in the project. Starting with a basic bot that expanded to the nearest weak planet without distance consideration, I devised and executed a more sophisticated colonization strategy. This approach factors in the distance to target planets, their tier, and prioritizes objectives, enabling a more strategic and efficient method of conquest.
"The Trial" is a text-based game I created with the Twine engine, centered around the narrative design of a court prosecution process portrayed in a savage and bizarre manner. I integrated a feature reminiscent of interactive detective dramas, allowing players to explore various locations and engage in repeated conversations with different witnesses until they reach a conclusion. This functionality was achieved by linking multiple scene nodes and looping them back to a central menu-like node, facilitating a dynamic investigation process.
This project is an adaptation of a card game called Table Battle. My approach began with a thorough system analysis of the original game, during which I pinpointed the reinforcing and balancing loops that add vibrancy to the game. Leveraging my understanding of the strategic intricacies found in the Japanese trading card game Yu-Gi-Oh, along with the rich historical backdrop of World War I, I developed several mechanics including war fog dynamics, a turn-countdown feature, and reverse card plays, all of which reflect the intense and murky conditions characteristic of the WWI stalemate.