Final 2D Platformer Writeup

During the second week of development, I focused on designing levels and balancing the difficulty curve. Additionally, the game had a complete visual overhaul – elements were designed to work together, and randomly generated stars were added to each scene.

Above: First view of the first level

The first level aimed to teach the core mechanics of the game – turning and boosting. To do this, I allowed players to control their pod before detaching from the ship – which gave opportunity to feel out the turn speed before having to use it. After pressing A (the button used to boost and to progress past the menu screen), the pod decouples form the ship, and players have freedom of movement. Because the controls alone are difficult to master, the player is provided with plenty of fuel cans so they don’t need to worry about fuel conservation just yet. The first level is simply a straight line to the goal, so that all the user needs to worry about is steering in a straight line.

Above: second level design

The second level is built to introduce the first game Component: the bounce pad. Players are guided by the same green line from the first level, and use the bounce pads to quickly correct their trajectory. Fuel cans are more spread out in this level so the player must become more conscious of their fuel conservation. After play testing, I realized that this level (as well as later levels) proved too difficult for most players. Moving forward, I’d like to think about how to introduce these elements even slower, providing more time to adapt to controls.

 

 

Above: levels 3, 4, 5

 

The 3rd level introduces the second game component: the magnetized fields. The draw the player in to the center, where the pod is destroyed. Players learn that they also can be used to generate momentum and change trajectory. The 4th and 5th levels are meant to combine the bounce pads and magnetized fields in different ways, all the while increasing in difficulty. After play testing all the levels together, I found that they all proved difficult for players. However, I also noticed most players were determined to continue progressing, and were never too frustrated that they simply quit. Most would get to the fourth level, which they all struggled to complete.

Other elements added to the game included a short death animation, sound feedback for fuel can pickup and low boost, tweaks to player controls – including a throttle-like boost system, a title and end screen, and a bunch of ambient sounds to add to the atmosphere of the game.

I received so much great feedback from everyone who play tested the game, both in class and at play tech. However, there were a few sentiments most users shared: they all wanted to see more game elements (asteroids, enemies, power-ups, varied fuel cans, etc.), and many wanted some way of validating the amount of work they spent on a level. Some players suggested a super meatboy-like replay screen where one can see all their failed attempts at a level. Others proposed adding a death counter, or even some sort of variance on level design from play to play. All in all, this “Low Fuel” is a game I’d love to revisit some day, I see it as a system which I could continue to add to and vary to see the different ways the game could be played.