Intracranial Symphony
: 2D local-multiplayer Co-op Game
ArtCenter College of Design Game Jam | Best in Theme
Theme: 1 + 1 = 3
Role: Game Designer / Level Designer / Developer / UX Designer
Duration: 48 Hours
Team Member: Demi Liu, Linka Guo, Issa Zhang, Yixin Xiao
Tool Used: Unity / Visual Studio
> Overview <
This is a local coop 2d platformer game. Two players are two minds in a little girl's spirit world. all their movements and actions will be applied to the movement and the actions of that little girl. The players goal is move three of them to the end of the level.
> Highlights <
Player Co-op
Little will jump higher if two players jump at the same time
Challenging Level Design
There are lots of traps on Level Design that players should co-op together can be aware of
Handle Co-op Mechanic
One player can hold the handle while another player moves forward. If the little girl is grabbing the zipline, she could slide using the zipline to avoid spikes
Kicking Mechanic
On Level Three, a kicking mechanic is introduced.
Player could use this mechanic to pass some obstacles
> Gameplay Video <
> Theme Interpretation <
Game Mechanically speaking, it’s a two-player game, but actually, players control three avatars in total.
> Game Mechanic <
WASD to move
F key to grab the handle
G key to kick the other player
Arrow keys to move
Enter to grab the handle
H key to kick the other player
> How to play <
When P1 and P2 move in the same direction, the little girl moves in the same direction but double the velocity.
When P1 and P2 move in the opposite direction, little girl stop moving and stand by.
When only one player moves, the little girl will move to the same direction using same speed.
When one player is moving forward and another one is jumping, the little girl jumps & moves in the direction that the player is moving to.
When one player is holding a zipline and another player is moving, if the little girl is also holding the zipline, then she will move in the direction that the player is moving to.
When a player kicks another player, another player will fly and drop. The little girl will not move.
> Design Process <
I am a big fan of Baba is You, so I tried to reference this game and tried to get some inspiration from this game’s mechanics at first.
It doesn’t work that well, so the idea of PLAYING WITH CODING LOGICS is being scraped.
The idea of playing with combining elements just feels not right. It’s a bit CLICHE to me.
Also, after evaluating the detailed mechanics and imagining how the gameplay experience could be, it just doesn’t sound fun enough to me.
After hearing all the people presenting ideas, nothing feels right and fun.
I started to think about the ideas my first instincts came up with. Funny enough, I didn’t even present this idea to my team.
I presented this idea while designing the detailed mechanics.
It’s just the Plus & Minus Vector mechanic.
Polishing game Mechanics and Game Controller.
Kicking Mechanic
I add more mechanics to make it more fun. Also, these new little mechanics can give this game a more puzzle-solving side.
Zipline + Handle & Kicking Mechanics
> Level Design <
Adding difficulties when the game progresses
Fun Collaboration (Design a level that players are easy to make mistakes! That’s the fun part!
Encourage Communication! Players need to talk with each other to pass the level!
> Playtest Observation <
Some players don’t follow the tutorial.
Based on the level design, if players don’t read the tutorial, it’s hard to pass the level. However, it also added frustrations.
POSSIBLE SOLUTION
Teach the player step by step - they can only do what the tutorial asks them to do at the moment. After they finish this action, the tutorial will ask them to do the next thing until it’s done.
Players Rarely Use the Adjusting Position Mechanics
The initial idea was to ask the players to adjust the 3rd avatar’s position when this avatar walked too far.
POSSIBLE SOLUTION
When the avatar is too far away from the player, its movement is limited to the edges of the camera.
Make this ADJUSTING POSITION mechanic more closely tied to level design and gameplay so that players will sometimes have to do this to pass levels.
> Reflection & Summary <
My group and I are still very happy with this collaborative project. We each did our job, played to our strengths, and came together to produce a great piece of work.
This Game Jam, for me, also changed my design philosophy. Before, I was a designer who focused a lot on narrative design. I always hope what I design can be meaningful. I would force my thoughts to the player, and I would sacrifice a lot of gameplay for the narration aspect - even in 48-hour game jams.
After this game jam, when I see my players enjoying the pure fun of the game, I feel that my transformation is successful.
This experience also made me start thinking again about why I like games, studying game design, and what kind of designer I want to be.