Design Blog 5

The past two weeks have been, literally, pivotal. Design, level design, and programming all worked together to reorient the project towards the round-based gameplay outlined in my previous design blog. Round based gameplay takes the form of party mode, a ruleset in which players compete in a series of races or battle royales to accumulate more points than their opponents. I spent much of my time producing directional content or meeting with the disciplines to ensure a smooth transition to the new gameplay.  Additionally, I have updates on the new art asset workflow, level mechanics, and kinesthetics. Unfortunately, due to the shift in design and extenuating circumstances, no external playtest was held this sprint. Overall, the team’s display of adaptability was impressive, and I am excited to see the impact of these changes play out.

New Level Design Workflow

Round based gameplay had a major impact on our approach to levels. After all, the whole point was to create a greater number of smaller levels such that the playing field is reset more frequently. Addressing this, I created documentation akin to last sprint’s art guidelines. The documentation pack includes 3 key pillars:

1. A video tutorial, showing the process for setting up levels in detail. It covers folder structure, naming conventions, items required in scenes, how to add a scene to the build, and how to test in editor. 
2. The written documentation covers the same content but in written form. Also included is a table of key terminology for the new workflow.
3. Lastly the scene checklist shows all steps from the video in order so designers can check off steps as they go.

Level designers also met with me periodically, ensuring that everything transitioned smoothly, and feedback was still being addressed within the levels themselves.

Reflections on Level Design

At the risk of delving into postmortem territory, I would like to briefly reflect on the progression of level design throughout the project. In every sprint we made some radical change to the level design process. Originally very unorganized, we introduced modules in sprint two in hopes of giving some structure to the process, then in sprint three tried to shift the purpose of the one pager back towards being an annotated map. This time however, we won't be changing the process for level design again, so I felt comfortable making more comprehensive guidelines for it. In the future there will be another video covering scene lighting, but this will not affect the organization of other content. With the release of these types of videos for art and level design, I’ve noticed a reduction in questions and more consistent output, so it is an approach I will continue to use. I will explore the shortcomings of my level design leadership in the postmortem, but for now I want to close this section by acknowledging the adaptability of our level designers to evolve alongside the game throughout development.

New Art Asset Import Workflow

Last sprint I discussed our new art documentation and workflows. A quick update for these is in order. There is not much new, I did find some assets in the wrong folders or with the proper setup according to their asset type. However I was able to bring this feedback to the artists and noticed a subsequent reduction in errors, so the process is still working well.

Jack in the Box

Speaking of assets, a particularly unique asset newly added is the Jack in the Box. A level designer proposed this idea, and I approved it with the condition that the level designer would document it as a one pager. That documentation was created and the work got assigned, but I noticed a major issue a little too late. Our artists and animators created a beautifully rigged and animated Jack in the Box, at the same time our programmer began the logical implementation of this feature. Due to a lapse in communication the programmer created a “Jack in the Box” by increasing the scale of a collider when the player pressed a button. But we needed an animation to trigger. I took responsibility for not ensuring clarity in how the different components needed to fit together and took time to work with the programmer on adapting his code to accommodate the animated asset. I am very pleased with the end result and excited to see it used by the level designers but have taken note to avoid even seemingly small gaps in communication moving forward.

Rigidbody Physics

Earlier I had promised the level design team support for rigidbody physics, specifically so that the stumblebumps could push around bouncy balls or pieces of dollhouse furniture. Due to the complexity of this feature, I implemented it myself to save time over documenting and waiting for someone else to finish it. Basically, the character controller is applying an impulse when it collides with physics driven objects. Rigidbody dynamics do not affect the player itself, ensuring a stable simulation. Much time was spent adjusting values on the controller and different physics objects to achieve the correct feel. Ultimately, I am not the happiest with this work but decided it meets standards of functionality, and we do not have time, at the moment, to polish further. The changes were submitted, and our level designers have since integrated the feature into their designs.

Camera Kinesthetics

Kinesthetics changes continue to get smaller and smaller with each passing sprint. This time around the only adjustments I made were to the camera. This was partially in response to feedback we got from players saying it was hard to see where they are jumping sometimes. The other reason was my own dissatisfaction with how limited the camera was. I had no particular process for these adjustments, I just started experimenting with different parameters for the camera sensitivity and tracking distance. Using Fall Guys as reference, I began with drastic changes then gradually honed in my values until I got the feel I was after. The camera was not a major issue, but I am satisfied with the changes made.

Conclusion

While we are still waiting to see how these changes and additions fully play out, I am impressed with the versatility of the team to bring this all together in such a short period of time. Between round based gameplay, deeper level mechanics, and an ever expanding pool of visually appealing art, the team is starting to see how the final product will shape up. There is still a lot of work remaining though. In the last few weeks I will be focusing heavily on user experience while also working to make sure all of our content is in place and finalized.