MECHA SEEKER
This game is a Run & Gun with Platformer inspirations, made in two months by a team of 13 people for PC, Web browsers and Android.
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Here are some screenshots of the game, and some pages of the Game Design Document I made for the team, as well as the flowchart of the UX of the game.
You can view both the playthrough, the full walkthrough of the game, or the walkthrough of only my level on youtube by clicking the buttons on the left. You can also play the browser-embedded version of the game by clicking the button on the right.
(Play with arrow keys, spacebar to jump and 'F' to shoot, game is best experienced in a 16/9 ratio, pressing F11 on the page of the game is recommended, account creation is only needed for saving purposes.)
Details about my main role in this production
My main task during this project was to design a level for the game. I helped during the game design brainstormings, and produced a GDD for the team. I also did most of the sound design.
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We used Adobe Illustrator to produce the level design documents for this game.
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My intentions for this level were to ensure that all the players had a good time.
This specifically means that beginners can have as much fun as advanced players with a higher skill level, or players that completed other levels of the game before this one.
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What I did to ensure this was to provide multiple paths of different difficulties, while always keeping the main path easier.
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As you can see, as soon as the level begins there is already a second path available for more experienced players that would have spotted it.
Here for instance, on the left you have the end of the aforementioned path for experienced players, while just underneath you have the end of the 'main' path that serves as a tutorial that runs just below it. It has fewer enemies and teaches basic game mechanics through practice.
They then meet in a room that is open on both sides, the main path is on the right, but if the player explores a bit he can see another that goes left. If the player keeps going right, he will be met with an arena that will challenge his combat skills. Losing in the arena isn't very punitive as there is a checkpoint before it ensuring that players don't have to do the tutorial all over again.
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Once the arena is beaten, the player is rewarded by another checkpoint and some more choices. A player that has unlocked the ice or fire weapons will recognize signs and will be able to visit the alternative paths that begin here. Both paths are harder than the main path, each ends with an arena, and rewards the player with a big completion collectible.
For the ending of the level, I continued on this philosophy. The player is faced with an upward "staircase" of platforms and enemies he can eliminate quickly with his new thunder weapon. If however he gets hit and falls, he can choose to either go back up or continue to the right. Since the path to the right starts with empty space, the player is more likely to go up the platforms first.
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This path is easier overall, with enemies that are not directly a threat to you due to their placement. But they still provide multiple targets for your new weapon, making it really fun to go through.
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I did not detail everything from this level design here, you can see the whole document by clicking the button below.