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GAME DESIGN II
part 2




( NO AI WAS USED IN THE WRITING OF THIS PAPER
OR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS GAME)

AT ALL!
 


For the final half of the semester we have been tasked to create a vertical slice of a full game, a 5 Minute gameplay video of said game, and a development log of the process.

the game must also feature a TWIST of some kind. This can be through narritive, mechanics or anything else.




WEEK 7

VERTICAL SLICE CONCEPT PHASE


This time around, I would like to attempt development of a 3D, third person game, as I have only made 2D or first-person games so far.

In the way we all make Flappy Bird/Asteroids (early development), Doom (first-person shooter), and Mario clones (2D platformers), I would like to make a 3D platformer game reminiscent of Super Mario 64 because it is known as the quintessential game of the genre, both establishing it and setting its standards for decades to come.


What I know for sure about the game is that it provided control unlike anything else at the time, particularly in navigating a camera through a 3D space, as it was one of the first games of the genre to do so. The primary mechanic of the game and genre alike is movement, and the way in which you choose to express yourself, combining abilities to solve rhythmic sets of jump-puzzles.


These systems that I am drawn to, rewarding the player for experimenting and learning the limits of their own ability through developed muscle memory. This interest is strangely present in other parts of my life; reflecting through my hobby of skateboarding. the game and genre seem to capture the key concepts of the sport, being highly intrinsically rewarding when achieving a range of fluid and deeply expressive motions via a combination of learnt movements. Im sure Masaya would agree based on his experience with "tricking", which I didn't even know existed until he mentioned it during class last year.


Short clip showing how even somewhat basic skating tricks can still be used as a powerful form of self expression

My introduction to gaming was through the later end of these reletively primitive 3D platformers, experienced mostly on the original Xbox and ps2.

games which I will be researching thoroughly for the next few weeks. (for the visual style or genre)

- SuperMario 64
- Okami
- Legend of Zelda Wind waker
- psychonauts
- LittleBigPlanet
- Crash Bandicoot
- spyro
- tak
- Ratchet and Clank
- Voodoo Vince
- Scaler
- ty the Tasmanian tiger

Just to name a few...



When I was a little kid, these bright and colourful worlds acted as fantasy playgrounds to freely wander through while completely avoiding any objectives. They achieved this pleasant hyposis largely through their presentation, primarily saturated, low-poly assets featuring strong shape language,

I do not want to work in a PSX style; I need to expand my avenues.
That being said, I still need the style I choose to be quick and effective to work with, allowing me to prototype ideas rapidly.



Character design was a huge aspect of these games. Both with the main characters and enemies, it is common to see colour theory and shape language heavily used to push desired ideas and feelings at every opportunity. This was especially important considering the hardware at the time was low resolution, with a limited range of colours and much lower processing power. Despite that being the case, I remember these games featuring incredibly satisfying sound design and UI while sticking to their themes very well. always enjoyable to hear, view, and use. Finally, in terms of design that stood out in this genre, which I will be attempting, aside from the movement and camera...

The Level design appears to be the most challenging factor when creating a 3D platformer game.
These developers manage to pull off a balancing act of providing players with an obstacle course full of puzzles, enemies, collectables, story elements, secrets, tutorials, and for it to all make sense WHILE LOOKING GOOD!



WEEK 8

RESEARCHING CORE CONCEPTS


Because I am making a platformer focused on somewhat complex movement, I will need to dedicate my vertical slice to being a tutorial for the player. conveying the controls, themes, rules, and quirks.


I began by watching walkthroughs, developer commentaries and reviews on the starting areas of each 3D platformer between 1995 and 2008 of any relevance to an absolutely OBSESSIVE degree in order to get a strong idea of what I am to consider when designing my level and how it is to reflect the characters' movement abilities. as well as consuming any other resources on what makes a 3D platformer good


What I discovered, which is seen in Mario 64 and practically any platformer of the time, is that the starting area gives players a large safe open space to test out and learn movement. There is no way to die, meaning there is no risk to experimenting with the buttons on the controller, resulting in the freedom to get comfortable with gameplay.


A level design philosophy found among the most successful of these games is Koichi Hayashida's 4-step design, which he developed through co-directing several of the 3D Mario games. It is most notably inspired by Kishotenketsu (起承転結), also a 4-part narrative structure which is most commonly seen in East Asian media.


As opposed to the three-act structure primarily used in Western media (Setup, Confrontation, Resolution)
Kishotenketsu, while having the same first act as its western counterpart (KI), during the second act (SHO), there is a much greater focus on developing what has already been introduced. Whereas the three-act structure will execute its primary confrontation by the 2nd stage, development continues up until the halfway point of the piece with Kishotenketsu. This is where the 3rd stage begins: THE TWIST (TEN).


where the western media structure reaches its slowest point of comfort and has a “meeting with the goddess”, which is a term for the common stage of the hero’s journey that represents a place of comfort, where revelations are made, and the player is encouraged to continue the journey. This is where the story truly begins for Kishotenketsu, which at this point does the opposite and pulls a huge TWIST, flipping everything on its head and making you rethink everything you invested in, resulting in a far stronger emotional response. yet slower initial buildup.



(KETSU) After a plot-altering and earth-shattering twist, the protagonist must reconcile what they learnt during the first 2 acts, combined with the deep revelation they made in the 3rd. This means coming to grips with the reality of the twist. In this structure they aren’t driving the story; the story is driving them; they must now make sense of it. In the 3-act western structure, the story would be wrapping up with a happy ending at this point.


To summarise the main differences between these two ways to structure media.

Kishotenketsu features a huge twist at the halfway point and features an ending fully reflecting the previous 3 stages, causing a storytelling style that features significantly more tension compared to a structure lacking any by the end.


Koichi Hayashida's adaptation of this 4-step design structure used for designing games…

Step 1 (INTRODUCE)
of course, starts by introducing the concept in a safe environment. Like mentioned before, games can do this using open space, absence of game-ending mechanics, and MOST IMPORTANTLY… SIGHT LINES! Anyone that reviews or plays games in a more philosophical manner will tell you that sight lines are an absolutely imperative design consideration when it comes to making a 3D game and are a great example of how a developer can visually provide the player with information. An example in many games of the genre is including a huge landmark in the centre of levels. This could be a tower, a mountain, or even a hole/body of water. This, in combination with various levels of elevation, allows the player to orient themselves competently. Whenever an obstacle or enemy is able to affect the player's health, it must be visible from a far enough distance to make the correct selection of movement which avoids it. Whenever there is a task that is not yet able to be overcome by the player, they must be able to read so via the sight lines; otherwise, the player is not to blame for their punishment, which results in frustration and ending the game experience early, meaning the job of the game designer has failed.

Step 2 (DEVELOP)
Just like Kishotenketsu, Koichi spends half of the level developing what has already been established in the first quarter. Sightlines/effective composition in partnership with colour theory and strong shape language is the secret sauce in effectively guiding the player without making them feel friction, which is the biggest focus for the designer.
Think of how important composition and the placement of key elements are in mediums like photography, videography, painting, drawing, and surprisingly even music, because truly when it comes down to it, music production is just readable pattern production!

Design is a universal language which speaks through composition, using principles like leading lines, thirds, balance, contrast, framing, and proportion to raise readability significantly and, in turn, the quality of the product, creating unity in unity!!

Step 3 (TWIST)
The next portion of Koichis design features a massive twitst using the previous 2 elements, flipping the game on its head, and expanding the way you percieve these mechanics, showing the the rules that can be broken and cannot. and preparing you for the forth step

Step 4 (CONCLUSION)
And finally, just as Kishotenketsu directs, You must now use everything leant in one final test to prove yourself and show your mastery of the concept!

It’s marvellous to me how both psychologically and artistically involved this medium is. I am grateful for this combination every single day. I love the job I am aiming to have. A loop of self-directed learning and newfound expression! A way of living where growth is always at the forefront. My dream.

next week I will focus on designing the aesthetic of the game!




WEEK 9



MAIN AESTHETIC GOALS WITH THE PROJECT


These are the visual motifs which interest me and that I would like to replicate for the project

cell shading with thick outines






saturated primary colours, with clear iconic HUD





Surreal theme, expressive proportioning, 2000s visual design.



AESTHETIC DEVELOPMENT


These are the notes I took this week which outline What I liked and disliked about the design of these games after sitting down and spending some time playing them again myself over the past week.

- SuperMario 64
range of colour and scale. tight corridors, and every possible colour pallete, ALWAYS a mountain or something similar in middle. Often asymetrical to improve orientation.


dislike its lack of telling you what to do, sometimes stars are genuinely impossible to find organically. (use wall jump star video)

- psychonauts XBOX
I absolutely adore the character designs of this game, i love the main menu, i love the psychological themes
I dislike the way the world is opened up. very unclear and got stuck because I didn’t interact with an 1 NPC that was SUPER out of the way

- LittleBigPlanet PS3
interesting use of material textures, general vibe facilitates childlike wonder, very polished
I dislike the sideways perspective, it feels lacking in depth, imagine if the same game was third person

- Crash Bandicoot PS1
beach level perfection. tribal vibe, music design incredible
I dislike the linear nature of the camera, i hate that theres a whole portion of the game which requires you to not be hit for the entire level

- spyro PS1
beautiful fantasy aesthetic, gems create a large pattern that flows around the entire map, open nature rewards player exploration (top area in first level), bright colours, change of colours between areas only short distances from eachother
I dislike the more tank like nature of the movement, lack of fluidity

- tak XBOX
character proportions, tribal vibe in the assets, angular shape of everything, jimmy nutron esque artstyle, ui is awesome
I dislike the repitition that was used to fluff up the length of the game

- Ratchet and Clank PS2
satisfyng collection of currency + sound design
i dislike its lack of unique style, it feels so medium in the way it presents itself considering the time period

- Voodoo Vince XBOX
colour pallet, artstyle, tone, time passing level, height
i like the idea of the puzzles but dislike taking part in figuring them out, and completing them through  

- KAO the kangaroo XBOX
kaos is adorable espeially his voice
I dislike how unpolished it feels cheap, lack of checkpoints

- Scaler XBOX
-i love the world, and mechanic of changing creatures, the concept art, the ui
-i dislike the repetitive nature in challenges, kind of boring, not engaging game play

- ty the Tasmanian tiger XBOX
I like that its australian, and i like the way elemental weapons are used
i dislike its rapid switching of 1 off game modes, the car is horrible, i feel mostly the same way about its style as i do for rachet and clank



FINAL MOOD BOARD CAPTURING THE ELEMENTS I ENJOYED FROM EACH GAME


CLOSE UPS OF INDIVIDUAL SECTIONS







WEEK 10

First attempts at achieving my design goals


Custom Shaders
I purchased flatkit custom shader https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/vfx/shaders/flat-kit-toon-shading-and-water-143368 to achieve a cell shaded art style. And after extensive tinkering with settings i achieved a look i was seriously impressed with. everyone i showed it to especially liked the enemy designs and framing of the boat shot above!

ISLAND LEVEL (5 BIOMES)


issues with map during testing
Though the map was impressive on first impression based on its size, when I was building out and testing the more detailed mechanical elements of the level I found myself running into issues in making the area feel authentic. Instead it felt like an uncanny trumanshow-like movie set, designed only for the player and nothing else. it felt overly barren, lacking detail, and direction.


(MAIN CHARACTER)


I spent a day or so working on an indoor cave area to take my mind off things and whatever I did, I could not create something which looked organic and real. This made me start panicking, what was I missing?? What was I doing wrong? why didn’’t any of this feel right?

(NARRATIVE TWIST)


Essentially I succumbed to scope creep and made the playable space far too large and empty, lacking the ability to cover it entirely in platforms and other interactive elements. I was spending too much time trying to get a nature looking right, and it hit me!

(STYLISTIC SURVEILLANCE ENEMIES)


I shouldn’t be wasting my time on this!
I decided to spoof the first chamber from portal instead, scrapping everything so far for the greater good, it was over scaled, I thought I was saving myself trouble, I was so wrong.

I spent at least a day recreating the first test chamber from portal in a cell shaded style, it felt wrong so I enlarged the scene, I REALLY ENLARGED THE SCENE, it felt better but still wrong....

Painfully, I bit the bullet and reset AGAIN
I found myself playing mario 64 instead of working. I needed to figure out a way to not be distracted from a game but still be able to take in a new perspective.

Noclip Website


Then I found this incredible resource!
https://noclip.website/




This allowed me to fly around numerious game levels including okami in drone view to gain a greater understanding on the way these levels are layed out as it is incredibly hard to visualise certain parts of the design being locked within the player controller.



such an awesome website, If the person reading this right now lectures classes you should definitely check it out to show your students if you don’t already know about it.



Reflecting


I was beating myself up thinking I was lacking the ability to create something of value which was well designed. all of the research I did had me comparing myself to huge companies...

But while I was listening to a developer commentary for jak and daxter 2, One of the developers described that his entire job consisted of changing the colour of the area lights in levels. every day, every week, full time. His desk has 3 different tvs of varying brightnesses and he tweaks all the hues of levels to achieve a harmony where it appears the same on all 3 types of screen the players will have while playing.

This is when I realised how expandable and resource heavy these teams are, and that I of course should not be comparing myself to them AT ALL!

I WAS TRYING TO BE THE COLOUR GUY AS WELL AS EVERY OTHER GUY!
ULTIMATELY I REALISED THAT I WAS OVERTHINKING AND I NEEDED TO TRUST MY SKILLS, AND BE FREE WHILE IM STILL A STUDENT WHO CAN WORK ON MY ABSURD OWN PROJECTS FOR FUN.

I AM FREE
I LET GO AND NOW I AM FREE




WEEK 11



DELVELOPMENT OF GAME



















WEEK 12





FINAL  WEEK

FINAL LEVEL BLOCK OUT