LevelDesign_3 - ITERATIONS

Concept 3 for CART315: Ninjutsu Game Mechanic

At its most basic level I am trying to experiment with a mechanic where a player must deliver a sequence of keys before being able to use a power. Taking inspiration from the Naruto world, ninjas must deliver a series of hand signs before being able to use their power. In this game prototype, you must use the "focus mode" + a sequence of digits to activate you fireball jutsu.

Although a free fireball is available right away, to recharge you must deliver the sequence shown at the top left corner. Hold Q and press the keys 1, 2 and 3 respecitvely to charge another fireball.

Design Journal

For this game prototype I decided to build a gameplay mechanic based on the powers of a franchise anime called Naruto. I wanted to explore the possibility of incorporating "hand weaving" mechanics to summon a special power, sort of like how a wizard would read spells from a book.

Example of hand signs or hand weaving mechanics

There was no level design, the environment was simple because I wanted the focus to be on the "jutsu" mechanic. From today's playtest I've learned that the game mechanics needed to be explained better, a simple tutorial scene ought to suffice to explain the mechanics. I've also learned that using the same hand for entering the key series and shooting the jutsu is cumbersome so I will figure out a way to have the player enter an input combination using a more comfortable manner, such as holding the right mouse button and using your left hand to enter the keys such as Jason suggested.

I will most likely be continuing this prototype as my iterative project, so the things I'd like to get done before next week are the following:

Build a basic environment or level for the player to navigate in, set a series of objectives for the player to stay engaged, animate my character model with more game mechanics such as jumping, dashing, and some basic light attacks.

Design Journal for Iteration

I've incorporated some basic running animations plus added some more color in the level to make it look nicer. Some changes to the lighting and camera FoV made the game seem wider and more interesting visually. Next I'll be working on the fireball jutsu effect and add a fighting mechanic as well as a simple UI menu to bring up for jutsu or controls.

I've progressed quite a bit on the game. I've improved the effects on the fireball jutsu, I've added some UI to help players better understand how the game mechanics work. As it stands there's no actual "Objective" to the current prototype, however I am looking to add a game objective on the second iteration of the game.

Design Concept Questions:

1. Does the third person camera distance and sensitivity feel correct?
2. Does movement feel correct?
3. Are you able to use and re-use the fireball jutsu?
4. Does the key sequence resemble what you may have seen in Naruto?
5. Does this game mechanic work well with a mouse and keyboard?
6. Are in game instructions clear?
7. Is the current aesthetic of the game suitable?
8. Any visible bugs or anomalies found in the game?

Design Journal for Iteration (After playtests)

A lot has been learned from the testers for this iteration on mechanics, aesthetics and game design.

First, on the mechanics front, most testers reviewed the game mechanics overall to be adaptable and easy to use. There were a few kinks that have been pointed out by some testers that are worth mentioning such as the fact that the fireball shoots where the player's avatar is facing and not where the camera is aiming. This is a good point, since in high-stakes, fast-paced action the player would not want to turn the character around before attacking, that's too many steps. Another thing mentioned was the fact that engaging in a jutsu combination would hinder the movement of the character since, they would have to use their left hand to type the number combination on their keyboard. There would have to a better way to achieve this such as using the WASD keys instead.

Second, on the aesthetic front, there was a lot of requests for sound effects upon using the Jutsu or the Focus Mode. This would make the game more satisfying in general and would provide clearer feedback to the players when engaging in these mechanics. Visually, there were some hints to also have more effects that add to the player's feedback when using the powers and game mechanics. I've also had some comments about the environment and how it should have more elements such as buildings or artifacts that tailor more to the world.

Finally, the game design, or lackthereof. The scene provides no goals, there's only a character and a Cube to bully around with fireballs. I have gotten feedback that instead of a Cube, maybe some kind of AI or dummy enemy would be more compelling. This may be complicated with the weeks left to iterate. Some have suggested that I create an obstacle course, where the player is challenged to traverse as fast as possible and hit all of the targets before time runs out.

From the testings, I would probably put sound and visual effects as priority, then work on a game goal (obstacle course) then potentially change the game mechanics for aiming and changing the jutsu combination keys.

As for the visual aspects of the game, most testers are