Frozen Depths is a game developed for our end of year project at AIE. During this project our team had experiences many up's and down's. This game had taken 4 iterations to it's level, mechanics to where it's at now. Despise the adversities we faced (including, to redesign the level and mechanics after beta review) we solider'ed on as a team, stuck together, and worked VERY VERY hard to complete the game.
Roles and responsibilities:
Producer
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Co-ordinated team of programmers, artist, sound artist
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Held morning scrum
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Compiled all updated scripts and art on Wednesday for a weekly build
Designer
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Designed the narrative of the game
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Designed and prototyped the levels
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Designed and prototyped the puzzles
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Implemented all features including game-play mechanics, Art, narrative into the game
What I learnt:
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I have learnt that I needed to focus on the player interaction of every level/puzzle before thinking of the whole map and how it can correspond to the narrative.
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How to juggle between being a producer and lead designer. This was the hardest task for myself during pre-production/alpha because I would find myself still level designing but having to give tasks to other discipline to work on. So, I would spend the first half of the day coordinating people and the next half of the day doing designs.
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Get ALOT more gameplay for the first 2 puzzles before moving on. Because the initial puzzles is what builds the foundation for bulk of the game- the start needs to be coherent and engaging enough for players to continue the game.
Level Design and Puzzles
Pre-production Level Design
We wanted to allow the player to experience exploring the cave by finding secret passage ways (minicaves) and having icon large chambers.
Pre-production Planning
Prior to creating levels and puzzles, I had to determine the potential of using the Melting and Ice creation mechanics. Knowing the extend of what the two mechanics can do will guide me to making a suitable level/puzzle that can facilitate it.
Some of the things that the mechanic can exploit on were:
Melting ice
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Getting pass blockage/obstacles that impedes a player from progressing through the level.
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Destroy falling stalactites
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Destroy rolling boulders.
Ice Creation
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Build a bridge/platform to get from point A to B
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Build a shield to reflect falling stalactites.
Having a list of the potential things that the mechanic can do doesn't necessarily mean that we will use all of them in the game, instead (i believe) it makes the designer think thoroughly and in depth of the mechanic of the game- discover the fun ideas that come into your mind and exploit on that!
Level Design
First step was to produce some sketches of Designs based on the information from Planning:
First Prototype made in Unity:
The video below will highlight some of the features of the obstacles, the early version of ice melt and creation, and why this big level was deleted and why our project was back to square one.
Second Iteration Level prototype:
Action that was taken:
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Conducted more research on interesting cave layouts, how to make a cave feel claustrophobic but have enough room to explore.
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Designed puzzles that require the use of the melting ice and creating ice mechanic.
References that was valuable:
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The map should contain corridors that makes the player feel claustrophic and lost
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This image of the poisonous water filled with trash gave me the aspiration to include the poison into the narrative of the game.
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The Poison can be: the main reason why the protagonist is on this adventure, the lore of the cave and an obstacle the player have to avoid.
PUZZLE
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Introduced puzzles that require the use of the melting ice and creating ice mechanic.
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Player to collect keys to open doors
Put