#benchmark creation

[kallomgaming]

[industry project] #2 - existing products

Challenge: How can I find some existing wildlife (ecosystem) management simulation games which support wild boar management?

Existing similar products will help to find a niche or unique selling point competitors are not filling and could be a source of good practices and inspiration.

Methodology

DOT framework methods used:

Products

Research prerequisites

I noted down the core functionalities and unique features of Ecosim in order to know what characteristics to look for while searching for existing products.

Core functionalities:

The player is a nature manager who carries out nature conservation work in a virtual environment with focus on the following three elements:

Landscape

Large amount of tiles that represent different vegetation types with ecological parameters 

Time is responsible for transformation of vegetation types like in natural succession

Nature management

Influences the landscape (In ecosim 2.0 it can also have a direct effect on target species)

Has effect on the vegetation transformation and ecological parameters

Used to influence the vegetation and its ecological features

Target species (plants and animals)

Response to changes in the landscape

The goal of nature conservation

Programmed in the landscape

The game designer decides where they occur at the start of the simulation

The population size and dispersion of the species may change over time and as a result of succession and nature management

Ecosim consists of two parts: the Ecosim software itself and the assignments (games) that can be played in the program.

Possibility to program you own target species

Design your own landscapes

Multiple ways to obtain information

In-game library which contains articles with background information on species, habitats, effective measures, maps of areas and links to relevant websites

Variety of research methods such as surveys and field research which are costly and the player has to choose the methods carefully

Stakeholders and newspaper articles that pop up in the response to the player’s actions

Unique features:

The software shows natural changes in time regarding the landscape and the populations of target species which makes ecological processes insightful

It is a good tool for education as it provides knowledge on ecosystem, habitat, species, niche, limiting factor and it makes it easier to understand the meaning of and the relation between these concepts than in textbooks

Ecosim can be designed for various levels of education – high school to university master studies, by enabling or disabling parts of the model and manipulating the shown data

The data can be edited by every ecologist in order to optimize the model and update it to the latest insights

A possibility to upload GIS based maps into the software which allows the virtual creation and simulation of nearby nature landscapes

Sources:

Research findings

Equilinox

Equilinox is a nature-themed sandbox game in which you transform a barren landscape into a diverse, dynamic, evolving ecosystem of plants and animals! Manage and nurture the ecosystems to maintain a balanced equilibrium, breed plants and animals to evolve new species, and complete tasks to unlock new content!

In Equilinox the player could build their own forest biome and evolve wild boar from sheep but the focus of the game is more towards entertainment which does not fully align with the goal Ecosim.

Sources:

https://equilinox.com/about/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/853550/Equilinox/

Eco

Eco is an online world from Strange Loop Games where players must build civilization using resources from an ecosystem that can be damaged and destroyed. The world of Eco is an incredibly reactive one, and whatever any player does in the world affects the underlying ecosystem.

Nothing specific for wild boar. Eco is used for educational and learning purposes. The students can learn more about ecology as they collect data in the game and use it as argumentation while having rich discussions about how to approach a given ecological situation. Another advantage of the game is that it provides an accelerated view of time and consequences.

Sources:

https://play.eco/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/382310/Eco/

Ecosim’s “Wolf in the Netherlands” module

Deals with a similar problem but with wolves. Could be used as a model on which the wild boar module could be based on and as a source of good practices and inspiration.

Sources:

http://www.ecosim.nl/node/9 

Research conclusion

While there are many existing wildlife (ecosystem) management simulation games which share the same or similar characteristics with Ecosim, I could not find ones that are specifically for wild boar management or support a feature for it. This means that the wild boar management module has to be developed from scratch but existing modules for management of other types of animals developed by Ecosim could be used as source of good practices and inspiration. Furthermore, the fact that there are not any existing products means that this module could be a niche for Ecosim and become a unique feature of the wildlife management simulation game.

Document with further research about client and product could be found here.

Next

Create a concept document.

[kallomgaming]

[my own game] #22 – malevolent architecture

Challenge: How can I create various malevolent platforms for my 2D elemental platformer that make the level progression challenging for the player in a way that the player has to be careful when stepping on these platforms in order to maintain a normal gameplay?

Different types of platforms in platformers provide more variety in level design and make the level more challenging for the player because they have to carefully plan their next move while progressing through the level which results in a more interesting game play.

Methodology

I read a couple of articles about different types of platforms in platformers in order to get inspiration and learn about good practices. I managed to implement one type in a Unity prototype.

DOT framework methods used:

Resources

TV Tropes articles:

Malevolent Architecture

Temporary Platform

Floating Platforms

Fake Platform

Products

Crumbling platform work-in-progress

The code and other resources can be found on our GitLab Repository.

Next

Add crumbling effect to the crumbling platform and come up with more malevolent architecture for the game that would make it more interesting.

[kallomgaming]

[my own game] #33 – game prologue

Challenge: How can I create an introduction video about my 2D elemental platformer which tells the game story?

I wanted to create a short video which tells the story of the game and add it before the player starts the game. The goal of the video is tell the game story to the player so that they are aware of it while playing the game in order to have the full experience.

Methodology

The main inspiration for the way of telling the story was Galadriel’s prologue from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. I watched the beginning of the movie in order to see how she tells the story and then found the script in order to use some parts of it when telling our story. I tweaked the story we already had in our game concept document so that it sounds better when told after which I recorded myself telling the story. The audio file was edited by my teammate who removed any background noise so that my voice could be heard clearly. Furthermore, I edited the video in Adobe Premiere and added music and other background sounds which would fit the story and my intonation. After that, I created a new Unity scene where they video is played and added a skip button with confirmation message so the player can move on with the game if the wish to. Finally, I looked at community posts and Unity’s documentation about how to make the main menu scene start immediately after the video stops.

DOT framework methods used:

Resources

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Prologue Script

Unity forum:

How to Know video player is finished playing video?

Unity documentation:

VideoPlayer.loopPointReached

Products

Game story video

Video skip button and confirmation message

Start main menu scene after the game story video has finished playing

The code and other resources can be found on our GitLab Repository.

Next

The video now tells the story in a simple way and the main focus is on sound design. The visuals are black and white which I like, personally, but still I would like to add some suitable visuals such as concept arts which support the story in order to make the experience more impactful for the people who are watching.

[kallomgaming]

[my own game] #27 – character upgrades

Challenge: How can I create a character upgrades menu where the player can see and purchase upgrades for various abilities of the character for my 2D elemental platformer?

Based on the initial design of the game, the player should be able to purchase different upgrades from a menu which should be accessible from inside the game. These upgrades should make the character stronger in various categories.

Methodology

I approached this challenge by trial and error and by using the knowledge I acquired from my previous devlog entry about creating game menus in Unity. For the upgrades menu I was inspired by the Ability Tree from the game Ori and the Blind Forest for which I talk about also in a previous devlog entry.

DOT framework methods used:

Resources

Previous devlog entries:

Game menus in Unity - [my own game] #25 – game menus

Ability Tree (Ori and the Blind Forest) - [my own game] #18 – lo-fi prototype of core mechanics

Products

When the player presses E, the upgrades menu opens where the various character upgrades can be seen

The player cannot purchase an upgrade if they don’t have enough soul orbs

Purchasing an upgrade makes the character stronger

The upgrades are stored in a scriptable object which saves the player progress on game exit:

The Health Boost upgrade controls the Current Health and Max Health properties.

The Damage Enhance upgrade controls the Damage Multiplier property (initially, it is 1 and each Damage Enhance upgrade adds 5% to it; the Damage Multiplier property is used to multiply the damage dealt by the player).

The Ultra Defense upgrade controls the Defense Multiplier property (initially, it is 1 and each Ultra Defense upgrade subtracts 10% from it; the Defense Multiplier property is used to multiply the damage received by the player).

The player cannot purchase more than 4 upgrades of a type

The code and other resources can be found on our GitLab Repository.

Next

Implement sound design and start working on level design.

[kallomgaming]

[my own game] #20 – rotating spikes obstacles

Challenge: How can I create a mace-like obstacle that rotates either clockwise or counter-clockwise, deals damage and knocks back the player on collision for my 2D elemental platformer?

Our 2D elemental platformer will feature different element-based obstacles that deal damage to the player when in contact and hinder their progress while progressing through a level. I decided to create a rotating spikes obstacle which represents the Earth element as the first element-based obstacle because I had a general idea of how I want it to behave and how to implement it.

Methodology

For this challenge I got inspired by the rotating spikes contraptions in Ori and the Blind Forest. In order to get familiar with it, I played the part of the game that features them in order to see how the mechanic feels like. While implementing the mechanic in a Unity prototype, I brainstormed on how to achieve the desired behaviour. Furthermore, I did some playtesting in order to ensure that the mechanic works in a similar way to the one in Ori and the Blind Forest. In the meantime, I looked at some forums for problems that others have encountered in order to incorporate what they have learned. I also checked the Unity documentation to see how certain methods and classes work. I validated the game design and game technology aspects of the challenge results in separate peer review sessions with two teachers.

DOT framework methods used:

Resources

Game concepts:

Dangers (Ori and the Blind Forest) - Ori and the Blind Forest Fandom Wiki

Unity documentation:

Transform.Rotate

Rigidbody.AddForce

UnityEvent<T0>

Unity answers:

What exactly is RelativeVelocity?

[2D] Can't AddForce to x but y works fine.

Using AddForce for horizontal movement doesn't quite work the way I want it to (2D)

Products

The rotating spikes obstacle prefab is composed of 3 GameObjects: a circular base, a rectangular body and square spikes. The body and the spikes are put under the circle object in order to achieve the desired rotation. The rotation logic is put in a script which is attached to the parent object, whereas the knock back damage script is attached only to the spikes object which also has a 2D box collider component since this is the part of the object that the player can collide with.

The desired way of rotation - make the body and the spikes rotate around the base

If all 3 objects are put under one GameObject, the rotation would look like this which is unwanted behaviour

When in contact, the obstacle deals damage to the player

Configuring the rotation speed to be similar to the speed of the rotating spikes in Ori and the Blind Forest

Desired behaviour of the knockback - push the character away in a direction that depends on the corner that hit the character

As far as I managed to observe in Ori and the Blind Forest, a hit by an outside corner would push the player away from the obstacle, whereas a hit by an inside corner would drag the player inside the rotating obstacle where the player can stay without being hit.

For playtesting purposes, I turned off the damage dealing functionality.

The player can be knocked back by the obstacle

After some playtests, I discovered I had to tweak the knockback power because it pushed the player too far away in the air or on the ground.

Push the player away from the obstacle when hit by an outside corner

Drag the player inside the rotating obstacle when hit by an inside corner

Adding multiple rotating spikes obstacles with clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation directions

Game technology validation:

I did 3 iterations on the implementation of this mechanic and each was committed to our GitLab repository.

Iteration 1: Initial working implementation of the knockback functionality

In order to implement the knockback mechanic, I had to change the velocity of the player GameObject with Rigidbody.AddForce when it collides with the obstacle. I had some troubles doing that because I set the player velocity in the Update() method for the player movement which resets the velocity on every frame and omits the changes that AddForce did as mentioned in [2D] Can't AddForce to x but y works fine. and in Using AddForce for horizontal movement doesn't quite work the way I want it to (2D). In order to fix this, I decided to “pause” the movement for 1-2 seconds, apply the force and reset it back. This workaround solved my issue and also provided a logical explanation for the gameplay - the player gets hammered for 1-2 seconds after being hit by the spikes which totally makes sense.

This version of the code can be found on the following links:

PlayerMovement.cs - attached to the player GameObject; defines the knockback functionality

ElementalObstacle.cs - attached to the obstacle GameObject; triggers the knockback functionality

Iteration 2: Make the knockback functionality be triggered from the player instead from the obstacle

After I achieved the desired results, I showed my progress to Jack. He said that my knockback workaround is a good and not problematic approach since it is okay to do one thing in the Update method and then pause to do something else for a certain period of time. Furthermore, he gave me some nice advice about the current code structure - it is better to trigger the knockback functionality in the player rather than triggering it in the obstacle because if I want to create other obstacles with the same behaviour, it would be easier to handle the knockback in the player since the script will be already attached to the player instead of attaching the script with the knockback functionality to each obstacle GameObject.

This version of the code can be found on the following links:

PlayerMovement.cs - attached to the player GameObject; defines the knockback functionality

PlayerHealth.cs - attached to the player GameObject; triggers the knockback functionality

KnockBackDamage.cs - attached to the obstacle GameObject; empty script, only used to identify whether the obstacle GameObject has it

Iteration 3: Refactor Unity Events

Jack also advised me that it would be cleaner and more flexible to use Unity Events to handle the knockback functionality so I refactored my code like so.

This version of the code can be found on the following links:

Player.cs - attached to the player GameObject; defines the knockback Unity Event

PlayerMovement.cs - attached to the player GameObject; listens for the knockback Unity Event and defines the knockback functionality

PlayerHealth.cs - attached to the player GameObject; invokes the knockback Unity Event which triggers the knockback functionality

Game design validation:

My duo project teammate and I showed our current progress to Mina - our game design semester coach, who was satisfied with our progress so far. She told us to think about ways of informing the player what each thing in the game does so that they know what to expect while playing the game. This also affects the rotating spikes obstacle - how to inform the player that this obstacle would deal them damage?

The current version of the code and other resources can be found on our GitLab Repository.

Next

The next steps are to add spikes on the current square part of the obstacle in order to indicate to the player that this part of the obstacle is harmful and implement more obstacles.

[kallomgaming]

[my own game] #18 – lo-fi prototype of core mechanics

Challenge: How can I create a digital prototype to show some of the core mechanics of my 2D elemental platformer?

Since basic versions of some of the mechanics of our game were already implemented, my duo project teammate and I decided to combine them into a simple Unity prototype that shows the completion of an example level. Furthermore, we wanted to show a prototype of the the character upgrade menu as well and I decided that it would be best to digitally sketch that.

Methodology

I brainstormed about how to show that the player can kill enemies and implemented this in a low fidelity prototype in Unity. I already had basic versions of the mechanics implemented there and it was easier to show a Unity prototype recording instead of other type of prototype. I used the game Ori and the Blind Forest as a reference and source of inspiration for the character upgrade menu. After that, I created sketches of it in Photoshop. In the end I combined them into a video prototype created with Adobe Premiere Pro showing the whole character upgrade flow.

DOT framework methods used:

Resources

Ability Tree (Ori and the Blind Forest) - Ori and the Blind Forest Fandom Wiki

Our ten-page game concept document which could be found here

Products

In order to show the core gameplay, I implemented the following temporary solutions in the prototype:

Bandits are killed by clicking with the mouse over them once

Elementals are killed by clicking with the mouse over them three times after which they drop a single Soul Orb collectible

Digital sketches of the character upgrade menu:

Start screen

Select Soul Orbs

Select Health Boost

Select Ultra Defense

Select Damage Enhance

Upgrade Damage Enhance for first time

Select Health Boost

Upgrade Health Boost for first time

Upgrade Health Boost for second time

Video prototypes:

Video prototype showing the character upgrade menu

Video prototype showing the gameplay (recorded by my teammate)

Final video prototype showing the core game mechanics

The playable prototype could be found here.

The code and other resources can be found on our GitLab Repository.

Next

The next steps are to pitch the prototype, apply the received feedback, improve the implementation of the current mechanics and continue with the development of the rest.

[kallomgaming]

[my own game] #10 – game mechanics iteration

Challenge: How can I decide on the final game mechanics of my 2D elemental platformer?

I approached this challenge because I wanted to make choices from the ones I created together with my duo project teammate regarding ideas for game mechanics of our 2D elemental platform game. In order to decide on the final game mechanics of our game, my duo project teammate and I decided to choose which mechanics we want to keep and have in our game for sure, which mechanics we have to let go because they would unnecessary overcomplicate the game we want to build for the time we have and which mechanics we want to change.

Methodology

In order to finish this challenge, I mostly brainstormed together with my teammate on the game theme, setting, story and how the mechanics we initially defined would fit those. We checked how some mechanics work in similar existing games for inspiration. Furthermore, we took into account the storytelling aspect of the game and limited it so that we don’t end up forgetting about the story. In the end, we reprioritised the mechanics and structured our game concept document. The work was divided equally.

DOT framework methods used:

Resources

We used the game Ori and the Blind Forest as inspiration for deciding how our wall jump mechanic would work.

In this example, by holding D and pressing space, Ori can fully climb the wall on the right.

In this example, by being right next to a wall, when trying to double jump, Ori jumps back off the wall on the second press of the space button.

Products

Mechanic we keep

We decided that we want to keep the game mechanic that allows the player to fight enemies with elemental swords because it fits the elemental theme we defined for our game. Another idea we had was to have element bending range attacks instead but we chose the swords because they seemed more practical and logical for our story. The main villains are corrupt bandits who overexploit natural resources – nature’s gifts. When eliminated, a bandit could drop an elemental sword – artefact enhanced with nature’s gifts which the Bandits apparently possess excessively.

Mechanics we ditch

Some game mechanics we decided to let go are having additional sword slots as a character upgrade which can be unlocked by spending Soul Orbs, sword durability and independent sword upgrades.

Having additional sword slots would have allowed the player to collect and possess multiple elemental swords throughout the game. This would have made the player feel safer that they would have the right sword for the right moment.

Making the picked-up elemental swords wear off after certain amount of hits would have balanced the idea we had that the character could possess multiple elemental swords throughout the game because this would have made the player collect new swords.

Allowing independent elemental sword upgrades (e.g., upgrading the Fire sword would allow it to deal more damage on inflict burning, showed by a cooler animation for example) would have given the player the possibility to define a unique playing style by choosing their favourite element to develop and improve.

The reason for letting go these mechanics was that our current focus is to make a short game and usually these mechanics would require more playing time in order to allow the player to collect enough Soul Orbs and max the stats on each sword.

Mechanic we change

We changed the game mechanic that allows the player to fight with elemental swords by adding rock paper scissors rules to the elements that the swords are based on. We wanted to deepen the elemental concept we had and thought that this would be logically linked to the elemental creatures that the character fights with using those swords. Now Water extinguishes Fire, Fire consumes Air, Air erodes away Earth, and Earth absorbs Water which means that a Fire sword would deal more damage to an Air elemental and an Earth sword would deal less damage to an Air elemental. We thought that this addition would make the game a bit more challenging but also fun because the player has to be careful when deciding which sword they want to pick up throughout the game.

Our current ten-page game concept document with applied changes could be found here.

Next

After (hopefully) finalising the game concept of our 2D platformer, we can now validate it by prototyping the gameplay. We will probably change a thing or two about the concept if we come up with something or receive feedback. Furthermore, I would like to focus on implementing more game mechanics and work on the game aesthetics by experimenting with pixel art. ^_^

[kallomgaming]

[my own game] #9 – exploring game concept

Challenge: How can I decide on what the game play of my 2D elemental platformer will be?

Together with my duo project teammate we worked on developing further the game concept for our 2D elemental platform game in a ten-page game design document format. I wanted to ideate on exactly how our game can be played and what the player can do and experience in order to make the concept less abstract.

Methodology

I approached this challenge mostly by brainstorming with my duo project teammate on the game design document elements taking into account the storytelling aspect of our game. I researched existing concepts and took inspiration from existing games in order to incorporate best practices. We created a mood and inspiration board in Pinterest where we saved aesthetics inspos. Furthermore, I did some sketching of game mechanics and level design.

DOT framework methods used:

Resources

"Ten"-Page Game Design Document - template & tutorial - From Scott Rogers - Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design

Concepts:

Elemental swords - World of Quest Fandom Wiki

Ability Tree (Ori and the Blind Forest) - Ori and the Blind Forest Fandom Wiki

Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors - All The Tropes Fandom Wiki

Rock paper scissors game in Avatar: The Last Airbender TV series:

Products

Sketching possible swords with mechanics

Sketching game overview and example level design

Sketching Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors. To be honest, the version from the RPG game MARDEK sounds the most logical so perhaps we will go with it. It is not in the sketch above so I quote it here: “MARDEK RPG actually had a sensible explanation for all four interactions: Water extinguishes Fire, Fire consumes Air, Air erodes away Earth, and Earth absorbs Water.”

Our Pinterest mood and inspiration board could be found here.

Our current ten-page game concept document could be found here.

Next

After working on the game concept, I actually feel more familiar and comfortable with the game I want to create. I came up with new ideas for the game, improved old ideas and brainstormed on how the game will actually be played and what the player can do and experience in the game. This will help me during later phases such as implementation because I already have the rules of my game.