ArtGamesProgramming

March 28th ’18, #1: Our first DevBlog!

After a long break, we are back with a lot of updates on the evolution of our game.

After the Barcelona Games World event, we have studied all of the feedback of the people who came and played on our stand and we considered possible changes to improve the game. Very few have been spared from these changes and improvements, let’s get started:

  • Level design

            The setting that was used for the exhibition was specially designed for it in order to be able to show different elements that we considered representative of the type of levels we wanted. However, it was very linear and simple, which is something we weren’t interested in. That’s why it was completely redesigned thinking about the game as a whole, and the entertainment in each level.

– Platforms:

In the level we brought to the BGW, the platforms were elements used to illustrate their appearance in our Beat ‘em up and see if they were accepted by the public. With the new design, the platforms are more useful are entertaining than before.

 

It also helps us create different levels/paths and with that make our game less linear.

– Less linearity

In the design we made for the Barcelona GW we broke linearity with direction and camera changes.

Now, in addition to that we have height changes: the level does not exist only on two axis anymore, as we can see in the image above. The height difference also helps us to highlight different paths in the level.

– Dynamism

The main problem we had in our BGW prototype was that it lacked the dynamism we wished for: gameplay was a little slow at times (and mainly in combat). To correct this issue we augmented some animations speed, we made controlling the character more fluid and we improved the A.I.

  • Control:

 

From a design point of view we decided to prioritize responsiveness and fluidity instead of the visual and realistic aspect of the game. To achieve this goal we eliminated animations and limitations that made movement more realistic so we could obtain a nicer game feel. For example, the characters don’t skid when they are done running, giving more freedom to the player when he wants to change directions. In the same way, we removed the “contact” animation that took place after a jump. This allows the player to move or jump again immediately after a jump.

 

 

Moreover, fighting in our BGW prototype was really difficult because the player had to aim almost perfectly at an enemy to hit him. Now we want the game to make what to player wants to do and not what he actually did. With that in mind, we implemented a redirection system (that works in position and rotation). This system makes it so that when a player pushes the hit button and an enemy is nearby, his character is automatically reoriented towards said enemy.

 

  • Cameras:

 

In order to obtain a more fluid experience, we wanted to improve camera behavior.

Our cameras always worked with a node system in which the camera travels from a node to another depending on player position. In our prototype, movement between modes was only linear, limiting camera possibilities and overall fluidity.

Now, we implemented a new curve system using Bezier splines. This allows us to manage our nodes in a way that makes all the camera transitions/movement smoother.

We also decided to make a change in the core design of our camera system, removing invisible walls that prevented players going out of frame. Now, nothing blocks the player (except in combat, where walls are still being used) but if she goes out of frame for some time, he loses a little bit of life and is transported to another player.

  • Enemies:

 

Our main focus concerning enemies was to improve his mechanics and the way they organized to attack the player, in order to make them more fluid and more threatening for the player.

We added two “hit” animations to the enemies so fighting them is more interesting. Now, the enemy “chooses” randomly between animations before attacking.

We also amped up enemy aggression, making combat more difficult but more entertaining.

  • Player Characters:

 

Our main issue regarding PCs was that players lost track of where they were since characters weren’t highlighted in any way. To solve this we implemented a shader that makes you able to see characters through walls. We decided to highlight only the silhouette as it was less intrusive than showing the whole body and it made the character easily visible to the player.

We are also working on colour studies for each character to make them stand out when you are playing.

Finally, we worked on making animations smoother and cleaner.

 

And so this is all for now, we hope you find it interesting. These are the main changes we have been introducing in these months.

If you want to know more about the project or some aspect of it, feel free to leave a comment here or on our social media and we’ll be glad to answer you.

 

Thank you for reading, have a great day, and keep being yourself!