In the current game industry, different sized studios (AAA, mid-sized, indie) look for team members with different levels of expertise in specific areas. For example, AAA studios consist of teams where each member specialises in a specific area, like Level Design or UI Design. This is due to very large team sizes. Whereas small teams at indie studios, team members usually have a wide variety of skills, as there would be only a few people in any discipline (Mahesa, 2017).
As I would want to work in a smaller studio, or with a small team, I want my portfolio to show off that I have experience with various skills in different areas, and show off these skills in many different game genres.
Currently, my portfolio includes a variety of different genres of games, including puzzle, hack-and-slash and tower defense, however is primarily dominated by 3D games. I also believe that my portfolio does not showcase all the skills I possess, and is lacking in both storytelling and level design.
To expand my portfolio, I would develop a 2D game, in a genre different to those I have previously worked in. These would include a platformer, to show off my level design skills, or a basic RPG/story game to show off my writing skills. Due to the time frame of this project, I believe that a simple platformer would be the better choice.
My idea for a 2D platformer would comprise of two screens, a simple introduction to the mechanics of the game, and a difficult application of these mechanics. The mechanic I am going with is a twist on traditional platformer, instead of standard, boring jumping, the player will control which direction they fall in.
The idea stems from ice puzzles in video games, such as Pokemon, in which the player has to figure out the correct path in order to proceed through an area. However, the player will have the ability to change their direction at any time while 'falling', giving them more freedom. However, the game would not be focussed on finding a path to proceed, the player is unable to stop themselves, and can only stop by coming into contact with a wall, as such, the game would focus more on precision movements, typical of platformers, to allow the player to reach the goal at the end of the room.
The game will include many obstacles to stop the player from reaching the goal. Within the time frame, these would have to be mechanically simple objects. These obstacles would include:
Spikes: which kill the player on contact, in the air or on walls
Floating spikes: spikes that move around, either in the air or on walls
Doors: which block the path of the player
Keys: which are used to open doors
Moving platforms: which get in the way of the player
Lock down zones: which prevent the player from changing their falling direction
As the game is intended to be a precise platformers, the player may die a lot. As such, it is important to consider the penalty for dying. Having the player restart the room would be too harsh, especially for longer, more gruelling levels. So I intend to incorporate checkpoints, whenever the player comes to a complete stop (when they hit a wall), the player will be checkpointed there, and will return there if they die.
In order to create the game, I would be both designer and programmer, and I would use simple coloured objects to create the world, or use pre-existing assets off the unity asset store. The visual style of the game reflect a cartoon castle, with walls of bricks, spikes, and big wooden doors with golden keys.
To complete this task, as a list of mechanics has already been defined, production would begin with developing these mechanics as objects that can be used as building blocks for levels, and make sure that elements work and major bugs are sorted out early. After this, or while programming, the two screens will be designed. Having building blocks at this point will allow for quick prototyping and testing of levels, allowing for a more relaxed approach to designing, faster failing and more room for improvement. Once the levels have been built, final polish, such as simple animations and menus, can be done, and playtesting levels to ensure fun will round off the production, and make the game publishing ready.
References:
Mahesa, R. (2017, October 2). The Difference Between Working in Indie and AAA Game Development. Retrieved from Packt>: https://hub.packtpub.com/difference-between-working-indie-and-aaa-game-development/
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