Platformer Post Mortem
Wow, it’s amazing to think about how much work goes into a video game, and mine was just a simple prototype! I really fell in love with the way I could create something from nothing. I’ve always had a very logically minded brain, so the ease at which I could craft rules and interactions between sprites helped me create a game which I enjoyed playing! Inline with what Fullerton suggested I pushed graphics to the side and used the default animations & sprites provided by the workshop content and focused solely on creating gameplay. I found iterative testing to be extremely helpful in the crafting of this game, and I could break it down into clear releases based on player feedback and testing, each one feeling significantly more enjoyable than its predecessor.
However, although I enjoyed playing my game it was far from perfect.. If I could change one thing about my prototype it would be to add more dramatic elements to my game and an invitation to play. My lack of dramatic elements such as story, proper premise and character made it very difficult for players to engage with their character and motivate them to complete the game. My prototype lacked any kind of onboarding, introduction or explanation of both how to play and why to play. This really didn’t give gamers a clear understanding of the controls and also a motivation to play the game. I think a short introduction just like we can see in Jetpack Joyride would have been the key to bringing my prototype together.
If I had to change the design of my prototype I would like to have made a larger level with differing challenges, and power-ups. Currently my game had a number of enemies on platforms and a health potion to heal you. I would love to have created another consumable that perhaps gives you the ability to double jump for a short time. I think this could have really opened up the possibility of flow, as introducing an advanced method of jumping which players have already mastered as well as an increased difficulty in obstacles transforms their jumping into a challenging activity that requires skill. This would also have added another objective for the game : Race against a clock, as players would have to double jump through platforms before their powerup ran out.