Ideation
This was a prototype I made for a learning exercise based on a "In View" theme. I followed this theme by including a camera mechanic.
This game is different from my other games because of the size of the map, which is rather large, and also the blue color scheme. Below are some snippits of code detailing the camera function and documentation of my ideation process.
Emotions
The emotions I was trying to embue in this game were feelings of awe and curiosity in the creatures the player may come across. I wanted them to feel like the environment they were in was foreign in its intense spirituality. The soundtrack and environmental design were crucial to cultivate these feelings.
Environmental Design
I was interested in creating a mysterious, dream-like forest with a dark blue color palette and pitch black shadows. I gave the ghosts a bright glow in a variety of colors so the player is able to spot them in the dim environment and differentiate between different spirits.
Timeline
The timeline for this game was one week
For each of my one week prototypes, the timeline typically includes ideation, greyboxing, environmental design, and delivery. However, since the timeline is so short, the number of days I work and the day each phase is assigned to varies.
10/27: Ideation, Greyboxing
10/28: Programming, Environmental design
10/29: Programming, Environmental design, Instantiating animals
10/30: Add audio, Polishing
10/31: Game due
Responsibilities
Team size: 1 (solo project)
All assets are not my own
- Programming random ghost animals to instanstiate at a random distance and time from the player
- Programming camera function
- Designing aesthetics of environment
Playtest Notes
The playtesters wished that they could have looked at the pictures they took. In the game, you take the picture and it disappears after. I was hoping to include a picture book that the player could access as a reach for this project. However, I didn't end up having enough time in the end.
Challenges
For this game, I was interested in experimenting with different shaders and post processing. I used some hologram-like shaders for the ghosts, but the post processing ended up being more complex than I expected. I also had a small issue with the image once the player took a picture because it looked squished, so it looked a bit funky.