WELCOME BACK

We have wrapped up our second week of researching and more questions were answered. This week, we have started concerning ourselves with the meat and potatoes of our project: the level itself. Besides that, the question of art style needed to be addressed. 

As we began working on our art bible and tech document, we worked on our first level design prototype and discussed different features and mechanics and how they would fit into our game.

STYLE

We looked at different existing 3d platforming games and analysed their art styles to pick out aspects that we liked about them and that we felt fit into our game. 

We liked the contrast in scale between the characters and their much larger environments in games like Little Nightmares, It Takes Two, Journey and Sky and hoped to emulate an experience like that when the players climb a gigantic robot. 

Not only that, but we also looked at colour palettes and the way some games use atmospheric colour and lighting to separate foregrounds from backgrounds, or characters from the environment. Games like The Last Campfire, Animal Super Squad and Little Nightmares 2 utilize blues and greens and their different saturations to create depth and a unified background. 

As for the shape language and asset design, we wanted the robot and its platforms to visually contrast the background and characters, as well as the assets. 

We took note of how Animal Super Squad uses background assets in almost their pure silhouette form to indicate depth behind the robot. Stylized fog is used to separate layers and create a nice background effect. 

Character shapes will be rounded with soft curves and less small detail in the silhouette to contrast their environment. Games like Journey, Sky and The Last Campfire use their character silhouettes in a very clear and iconic way.

UI RESEARCH

Doing research into what makes a UI good, what to look out for when designing a UI and which games are considered to have a good UI. One should ask oneself, does the component exist in the game story and does the component exist in the game space? 

Non-diegetic components interrupt a player's sense of immersion in fast-paced games. In strategy games, they provide a player with assessment of resources and actions.

PLACEMENT OF THESE IS VERY IMPORTANT

• Stat meter, points, time, damage, resources

Diegetic components exist within the game story and space. Poorly considered diegetic components can still distract.

SCALE IS VERY IMPORTANT

• A map, when toggled, changes to a non-diegetic component

Spatial components are found in a game's space, but characters within the game don't see them.

Often visual aids, helping players select something, pointing out landmarks.

• A map, when toggled, changes to a non-diegetic component

Meta components exist in a story, but not in a game space. A player's avatar may or may not be aware of it.

• Damage
• Camera actions like shaking, blur discolouration

For TRASH ON TITAN this would mean: 

Non-diegetic

• NO Health bar - No, since you cannot kill on another, you can only impede on one's race to the top - stamina? Does the player have infinite grabs?
• Level map - Small scale on what ligament in the robot they are? Like a racetrack course, but upward and not circular

Diegetic

• Limitation when being grabbed by other player or when being smacked by the titan

Spatial

• Coloured outline on grabbed parts or when grabbing other player
• Highlighted line on where to go during the race
• (Text label for unclear parts on robot? As to not confuse the player and to keep him focused - though might be to chaotic for text labels - though see Persona 5 for ultimate chaos)

Meta 

• Camera shake when being slapped by robot, FOV change when grabbing

Start screen and end screen - pause as an overlay 

A game’s UI should be defined by the complexity of the game. A simple game should have a simple interface. 

The most important information should always be available with a quick glance. 

ASSET PRODUCTION

With a style set in mind and the art bible in the works, it was time to decide on the pipeline the 3D artists would use to create the different assets.

For this we took assets from Animal Super Squad, the game that we took as shape language reference, and tried creating them with different approaches and different software programs to model and texture them.

We found that natural shapes such as rocks and player characters would benefit from a pipeline that uses sculpted detail baked onto very simple meshes, while the hard surface elements of the robot could get away with simple modelling in Maya. 

Prototyping Game Mechanics

When developing a video game, one of the most important steps is designing the core mechanics that will drive the gameplay. So we made some prototypes to see if the mechanics we have are both fun and feasible to make in the given time. Character controller In all games it is important to make sure the primary gameplay loop is solid and fun to play with, and seeing as our game is a platformer at its base core this means the movement should feel solid and should feel natural with its controls. Though this end, we made a custom character controller in unity  to allow a player to move and jump in 3D and dash in 2D , making all the variables like movement peed and jump height and dash force adjustable to test what is right.

One Way Platform

When developing a platformer video game, one of the most important aspects of gameplay is the movement of the character, particularly jumping. To ensure that the jumping and movement mechanics are smooth and enjoyable for players, we made a platform that can be stood on, but also be jumped through from the bottom.

Trapped Platforms

Trapped platforms are a type of platform that can be activated by players, but they negatively impact other players. For example, a trapped platform might collapse or disappear once activated, making it more difficult for other players to traverse the level. This mechanic adds an element of strategy and competition to the gameplay, as players can use the trapped platforms to gain an advantage over their opponents.

Slippery Platforms

As mentioned earlier, trapped platforms are a way for players to negatively impact each other without relying on combat. The first trap you created is a platform that becomes slippery when activated. This trap makes it more difficult for players to control their characters, as the slippery surface can cause their character to slide or lose traction.

Disappearing Platforms

When activated, the disappearing platform trap will disappear, leaving a gap in the level that players must navigate around. This creates an obstacle that requires players to adjust their movement and jumping strategies to progress through the level. In addition

Jump platform

the jump platform is a helpful platform for the players , able to launch them upward higher into the level when jumped on ,these would be only active when below a certain amount of the screen to aid the last players in climbing up faster without making the first playing speed ahead even faster

UNITY VS UNREAL

To be able to choose the best game engine for our game, we did some extensive research into the pros and cons of both engines. 

Unity does not come with a lighting system like Lumen, multiplayer support, online servers, nor mesh customization tools, such as UV unwrapping, modifications and destructible model systems – though free plugins and addons are available. 

Based on the pros and cons of both engines, we have decided to go with Unreal Engine. 

ART-Bible

To help aid in the production of assets longterm for the project, the creation of an Art-Bible started coming into focus for the team, but before we could start writing down the set parameters and choices for the games style, the team had to be on the same page about the visuals of the game, and make sure that everyone had the same image of the world in our heads. To help with this, the team created a small piece of concept art to try to communicate the general aesthetics, colors and look of the game. After meeting in a call and going over the style exploration as mentioned early in the blog, and comparing it to the concept, the team now had a cohesive view and agreement on the direction of the game, and the foundations of an artbible could start coming together

Visual Direction Concept

The goal with the artbible for the current week was to lay out the fundamental rules and principals for our core Pillars, The Titan, The World and the Player Characters,  so that more visually expressive art could be made to serve as an example for the final Art-bible to be finished the following week, aswell as show as a team what specific other topics we might want covered in the Document.