MONTH 1: GAME DESIGN PREPRODUCTION
MILESTONE 2 - DESIGNING GAMEPLAY MOMENTS
Having a couple of mechanics to work with, we decided to stop development on the test dummies feature and shifted our focus on iterating on the weapons and treasure chests. We removed the ammo pickups and added the ammo itself to every weapon pickup which means that if the player picked up the same weapon again, more ammo was added, but if the player picked up a different weapon, the new weapon would be equipped. Once the special depleted then the base weapon would be automatically equipped. For the treasure chests, we decided to add a little bit more of a challenge by adding two types of keys, a blue key, and pink key. Both keys would open their respective chests.
During Milestone 2, I worked on Audio SoundFXs, ParticleFXs, as well as Lighting, Environment Design, UI/UX Design, Music and background ambiance. I also fixed issues with the colliders that kept pushing the player around and made them a little bit more visible. We wanted at least one more trap that would instakill the player so I created a mine when activated, a sound would let the player know they are in danger. If the player did not act, the trap would instantly kill the player.
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My teammates focused on introducing an immortality pickup. This pickup gave the player infinite health on pick up for x amount of time, but once the timer ran out, the effect was gone and the player was awarded full health. They also made the camera a lot smoother and made the speed and angle accessible from the editor.
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While iterating and adding new features we created two action blocks so we could begin designing fun gameplay moments. Action block #1 was a semi-inaccessible area for the player due to trap placement. We used this block as a testing area to see what type of engagements worked best with each weapon. We would test how the player would handle each weapon and which traps were worth activating to gain rewards. We used Action Block #2 to test the challenge level of the main boss, as well as to gauge the right amount of enemies needed to give the player a progressive challenge. It also helped us determine which weapon and layout worked best and made the game fun and exciting.
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While iterating and adding new features we created two action blocks so we could begin designing fun gameplay moments. Action block #1 was a semi-inaccessible area for the player due to trap placement. We used this block as a testing area to see what type of engagements worked best with each weapon. We would test how the player would handle each weapon and which traps were worth activating to gain rewards. We used Action Block #2 to test the challenge level of the main boss, as well as to gauge the right amount of enemies needed to give the player a progressive challenge. It also helped us determine which weapon and layout worked best and made the game fun and exciting.
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This milestone helped me and the team get a sense of what our game would look like at a high level, giving everyone the motivation and inspiration to push forward and continue working creatively. From here, we now knew which mechanics needed to be refined and how our current mechanics felt together, giving us a lot more to work with going into our final the next stage!
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KEY THINGS I WORKED ON THIS MILESTONE:
Audio for Menu button selection
Selecting Background Audio for Main Menu, Credits and Game Music including background ambiance
Volume sliders that adjust the Sound/Music volume
In-game Options menu with Volume sliders that adjusts the Sound/Music volume
SFX for the menu, options, and gameplay.
Designed and blocked out entire level/environment with scripted events that trigger upon Player interaction
​Designed Gameplay moments for pacing giving the Player opportunities to learn and practice new mechanics