From Singleplayer to Multiplayer

So for the past days I've been working a lot on the gameplay in Unity. If we look at the schedule I made at the start of this month we see that my actual plan was to be patient and first think out the world and characters but I just couldn't wait to see and feel if my idea for gameplay would work. So I made a movement script, trying to have a bit of physics but also giving the player time to react, and created a few layers to climb.

I've also investigated quite a bit into making multi-player games in Unity and was relieved to find that Unity has a built in functionality for networked multi-player, making the process a lot easier. After an experiment or two I got it working right and found my next challenge: camera placement.




So why are we talking about multiplayer?
After playing for a while I realised that the game would be a bit static if there wouldn't be an element to push the player. That's when I started brainstorming over how I could push the player to finish the jumping challenge fast. The most simple solution would be to just give the game a time-limit, but this seemed to me like a mundane and annoying solution. If the player wouldn't succeed they would feel like it's impossible and play something else. With this in mind I came to a different solution: make the game a multiplayer game.

There are multiple advantages of multiplayer over a solution like a time-limit, but the most important one for me is the confirmation that it's possible to beat the game (or the other player actually). As a player you know that the other one playing is following the same rules and thus you losing is a fair outcome of the game: it's within your power to win next time. Besides this reason there are of course a lot more advantages like the competitive factor and the general fun of enjoying a game together.

But how does one beat the other player?
I've decided on a mechanic where the sole purpose will be to be faster than the other player. So as long as both players are equally fast or slow, both players will continue playing, but if one is significantly slower than the other, he will lose. This will be achieved by a system of crumbling steps. Every time the fastest player reaches a new step the lowest level will crumble apart and with it the players still on that step.

And what was that about camera placement?
This is a big issue for me: I myself like to see my own character and it's surrounding from up close so I can best assess my current situation, but on the other hand I want to know how my opponent is doing. As you can already imagine this creates a problem not easily solved. I'll be honest with you and admit that I haven't found the solution I like best, but for now I feel like the game is still very playable with the camera on a distance showing all players. This will probably still change when I get to testing the game and seeing how various people react to it.

One Page Design

After a long day at my music education, some composing for a client and finishing up work for a seminar I finally got around this evening to working on JumpMania. I decided to first create a One Page Design to get a better feel for the game and that way make some fast design decisions. 



As I am a bit of a fan of Japanese language and culture I was contemplating to use a bit of oriental influence in my design. While doing a few quick sketches I really liked the temple idea; a stair-like building that emphasises the feeling of climbing up to a higher goal. A first idea for a color-palet is also included in the design, though a lot will probably still change on my journey to completing this game.

Start of development

Today I've officially started working on JumpMania. To give myself a good way of self-reflection and to give others insight in my work and progress I'm going to try and keep this blog alive and kicking with updates and explanations of decisions I make along the way.

First of all, what is JumpMania? If I would describe the gameplay, I'd say it is a free-running game. For me, JumpMania is about perceiving,  preparing for and overcoming obstacles. It's a game of jumping puzzles and speedruns to achieve a higher goal in both a literal and figurative way. 

Second, why am I making JumpMania? To answer this I need to tell you a little about myself. For as far as I can remember my greatest passions have been music and games. In the first part of my life this was expressed in taking drumming lessons, being part of multiple bands, composing some music for myself and on the other hand gaming throughout the night. Music was my greatest outlet for creativity and gaming was my source of relaxation and distraction during hard times. The past two years I've tried to combine these passions and started my journey towards being a game-audio composer and sound designer. I've learned a lot and have had the honour of working with various (aspiring) game developers. These experiences have been a lot of fun but they also helped me realise something I hadn't before: I could actually make games myself. So since this year I've also started to learn how to develop games myself, and finally we get to the answer of the question: why am I making JumpMania? I've found an educational institute that helps you and educates you to become a more proficient individual in the gaming industry, and to enter this I need to make a game about myself and the education.

From Assignment to JumpMania

post-it brainstorming

Using a method I really love, thought to me by Leonard Eilander, I did a brainstorm session after receiving the assignment using post-it's to scribble down every idea and thought I had regarding myself, the education and games I want to make. After an initial session I like to leave the ideas just hanging on the wall for a while so I think about it from time to time and at the same time have the chance to take a little distance and see if I'm still happy with it. Since then a week has gone by and I've had my time to think about the different concepts in my mind. At this point I have exactly one month to complete the concept to a working prototype, and the concept I've chosen is JumpMania.

Rough Schedule

As a month is a bit of a tight period to develop a prototype I try to make and keep to a rough schedule so I know where I stand.

Planned Date	Goal	Finished Date
06-April-2016	Finishing up gameplay-design and world-premisse	00-00-000
09-April-2016	First draft character(s) and research movement calculation	00-00-000
13-April-2016	Movement development in Unity	00-00-000
16-April-2016	Movement and character finished, first prototype testing	00-00-000
20-April-2016	Improvement movement based on testing, starting on rewards	00-00-000
23-April-2016	Focus on feedback and rewarding the player, add sound	00-00-000
27-April-2016	Replace temporary/prototyping assets with own assets	00-00-000
30-April-2016	Feedback and assets finished, second prototype testing	00-00-000
02-May-2016	Improve second prototype based on testing, end polish	00-00-000
03-May-2016	Submission Date HKU

A few Words on Vision

Even though this short time period doesn't allow for a lot of dwelling on vision and personal preference I'd like to shortly express myself on this subject. In my thoughts, expression and work I try to always have three main visions in mind when (talking about) creating.

1. I want a recognisable product.
   This is to me a very important point. You can't always be original in every aspect, but in my opinion you always have to try and stand out in at least one aspect of your product to make sure that you will stand out and people will recognise your work. This could be done with a unique art style, innovative gameplay or a striking soundtrack or a combination of those and others.
2. Story and gameplay need to complement each other
   Needless to say, we all want a game where all elements connect, but for me story and gameplay need to have a strong connection to work. For example, if the main character is supposed to be smart and all you do is shooting bullets directly at your enemies I feel like someone just wanted to make a shooter and took a random backstory.
3. You should strive to be socially relevant
   This is of course harder to achieve in every project, but even if it is not directly reflected in the end experience I try to have some relevance to the world outside, even if only in the designing process.

With this the introduction of this blog ends and it's time to get to it!

Cheers!

Ruben Bergshoeff