Mutiny!: Islands
Brief
Mutiny! - Treasure Islands
Overview
Mutiny! is the multiplayer pirate brawler Hidden Armada are
currently developing.
Players form a crew and work together to defend their ship
against enemies as they traverse enemy waters looking for riches, while also
fighting each other over who gets to be the Captain of the ship and has the
most gold.
We will be adding 'treasure islands' to the game next year
which act as locations that can be found and explored during a voyage. Often,
these islands will be inhabited by an enemy pirate clan, and players will have
to battle their way through to steal their loot.
We'd like you to explore the content we could include in
these areas, and build an island stronghold that players can attack.
In particular...
To balance the ever-present threat of watery doom when you
are at sea, we'd like to see an equivalent exploration of FIRE when you are on
land. Fire as illumination (torches/camps), fire as a weapon (torches being
swung, flaming swords, Molotov’s), fire as a hazard (residual flames after an
explosion), fire as an entity (objects/buildings being set on fire, spreading
to other objects), or any other interesting uses/effects you might think of!
To expand on the content of the Mutiny universe, we'd like
to see how you think different types of enemy pirate could look and behave,
what their buildings would look like, whether their ships would be on/around
the island, and what kind of weapons they might use. Given the emphasis on fire
and raiding enemy islands, it might be a good idea to set the level at night.
To provide players with a suitable challenge, we want a
level to be constructed with layout and enemy placement in mind, ideally with a
distinct end point. There should be elements where players have to work
together as a team to benefit/progress, but also have plenty of opportunity for
them to screw eac h other over for gold.
To ensure immersion, the game should feature suitable audio
cues throughout. Music reflecting the action on screen, and SFX supporting the
player's actions.
Reference points
·
Mutiny! (obviously)
·
Castle Crashers
·
Fat Princess
·
Zelda: Wind Waker
Ultimately you are free to make this as hard as you like for
yourselves by taking on everything we mentioned and more, enjoy!
Over
view
I am a third year GDPM student and this is currently my
second year at Abertay. I returned to education as a mature student to study an
HNC Games Development at Dundee College. After successful completion I went on
to do a two year HND 3D Computer Animation as Dundee did not do a HND for Game
Development. I reasoned that this would stand me in good stead for applying to University.
I really enjoyed my time there and found a passion for animation and its
production pipeline.
As a team we got on well from the beginning and strengthened
that by going out to lunch a few times. The team members were mostly confident
in their roles, and Lynn Parker; our tutor, was encouraging and supportive.
This was a great start to the project.
I was very happy when the teams and roles were announced as
I really wanted to be in the designer position. The brief itself seemed like a
great opportunity to take a game that was currently in development and
prototype something new for it. As the
designer I knew it was my responsibility to build and maintain a vision for the
project. It was obvious from the first discussion that the rest of the team had
ideas and concepts to offer. I felt it was only fair to let everyone have their
say in the projects design and would hopefully help in bonding the team and getting
everyone emotionally invested in the project.
As designer I took the responsibility of collating and
making sense of the team’s flood of ideas. I made sure any and every decision
was run past and checked for viability with the lead programmer and the lead
artist and worked with them and Owen the producer to create asset lists and
priority schedules for prototypes.
On top of the Designer duties I made the art team aware
early on that I had a few years’ experience with 3D asset production and was
there if needed. Only one of the artist had much previous experience or
confidence in working in 3D, I was happy to help.
On the Audio side most of the team got involved in a
recording session for voices for characters which was a great experience. I
help out with some ideas for Foley effects and supplied reference material for
the games soundtrack.
Research
As research for the design of this project I started with
the sources cited by the client. The main sources were
Games
Castle Crashers (2008)
Mutiny! (demo available on Hidden Armadas website)
Happy Wars (2012)
Kung Fu Chaos (2003)
Gang Beasts (2014)
Project
work
Mutiny! Version 1 Concept
The Captains Hat and Crew will
spawn on the beach of the island. Camp fires and various crates will be already
unloaded onto the beach along with a pack animal, the chest carrying alpaca. It
is the crew’s mission to move through the islands interior to find treasure and
ultimately attack and take over the islands stronghold.
The pirates of the island will assault the
crew as they adventure on. Passing through a small settlement and climbing a
small incline the crew will be faced will be faced with their first obstacle, a
frozen waterfall and partially frozen river. A crew member will be required to
repair the sabotaged bridge and jump across the ice flow to repair the other
side to allow the alpaca to cross safely. The other crew members must defend
their crew mate as he performs his work.
On the other side the crew; still
under attack, will pass through a cave and be required to burn down any
barricades blocking their way. The last stretch to the reach Islands fortress
will be a perilous climb up a steep hill made even more perilous as giant
snowballs barrel down the hill towards them.
At the top of the hill is the
islands fortress, the pirated of the island will make a last stand at the gates
while the crew will try to break the doors lock mechanism. If successful the
crew will be faced with the Islands shark wielding warrior queen.
When designing for any project one
of the first things I do is get a sketch pad and get a visual of ideas. I feel
this helps me build a concept or character for the project early in
development.
The look and style of the island
and its inhabitant pirates was taken on by the art team to create concepts and
the team as a whole discussed what was taken forward and what was dropped. I
concentrated on the conception of game mechanics and features and then
discussed them with the team to try and get things everyone was happy about.
These pages are a mix of combat ideas and gameplay
mechanics. Fire to move the players through the level with speed or as a area
of safety. An electric eel as a weapon never went anywhere but the flaming
spinning ball on a chain would develop into a hammer and the melting ice would
be taken forward but then ultimately be dropped. 3 words, Peg, Leg, Shark.
The Alpaca
To echo the use of animals in the original game the alpaca
was born. It had to have a function within the game for it to work so combining
the use of the chest in the main game with the need of it being mobile on the
island, the alpaca became a mobile bank. To encourage co-op gameplay I
originally wanted 2 players to have to lead it through the level. To give the
alpaca character it needed to wander about when unattended and do its own
thing. The idea was it could be left behind but players would not be able to
bank there gold for safety. It was supposed to be a bit thick and a pain for
the players but worth the effort.
Further development of the special spinning flame weapon and
the concept of using boxes set on fire to melt ice barriers and allow players
access to secret areas.
One gameplay mechanic to compliment the mutiny bar in the
main game was the idea of traps. Players could use these to help or hinder team
mates.
Trying to add to gameplay and the character of the island,
these are concepts for environmental hazards
*The development sketches that were to be used in game were
passed to the Art Team. Proper concept art was produced by Tone Persson.
Gameplay concepts Version 1
Fire in the game will have the
ability to pass from one object to another object if they are in very close
proximity. Fire will deal damage over time and will destroy boxes, melt ice and
kill players and NPC’s.
2 types of fire will be featured in
the game Normal Fire and Magic Fire.
Normal fire will be present at the
beginning of the game suggesting that it is the fire the crew have created. It
will have the ability to damage Players, NPC, Boxes and Ice. The players will
be able to use fire to solve multiple problems, deal extra damage, destroy
barricades and open hidden treasure troves.
The player can interact with
campfires to acquire torches. Torches replace the current weapon and have a
chance to set enemy on fire (1 in 4 chance) and deal damage over time to
enemy’s that are on fire (¼ health per second).
The prompt (Burn Hold A) will
appear above the object. When the player holds this button the character will
strike the object setting fire to it. The barrier will burn (10 seconds) and
allow players to pass
Ice barriers hide bonus treasure
troves. In order to melt the barrier the player will need to have a torch of normal
fire and collect a crate to place in front of it. When the player is holding a
crate near the barrier the prompt (place crate A) will appear above the
barrier. When the player interacts with this the crate is dropped in front of
it. The player will then need to gain a torch to set it alight and melt the ice
opening the entrance and allowing collection of the bonus treasure. When the
player has create in place and is holding a torch the prompt (Burn
A) appears above the object. Magic Fire cannot melt Ice and crate will
burn as normal.
Magic Fire, which will burn blue,
will begin to show up later in the level suggesting this is magic fire the
pirates’ of the island use, it does not melt ice. This type of fire will burn
Players, NPC’s, and boxes as normal. The
players will be able to use this fire to deal extra damage on weapons and
destroy barricades.
Used for ‘banking’ gold in the main
game, the chest in Mutiny: Islands will be carried on the back of an alpaca.
The animal will have a basic AI pathing system and while the crew is fighting
it will wander the area.
Players will need to defend this
moving target from the attacking NPC’s. As NPC’s attack the chest coins will
spill out and will have a 3 seconds before they de-spawn.
To move forward through the island a
crew members will need to lead stubborn alpaca through the level.
When approached, the prompt (Lead
A) and (Bank X) will appear above the animal. Players will press the A button
to lead the alpaca or hold the B button to bank their gold.
When banking the players coin count
will lower and the crew treasure counter will raze; both at 10 coins per
second.
Player will use the repair mechanic
to reconstruct bridges or machines and to destroy barriers to pass some areas.
These players will need to be defended by the rest of the crew from attacking
pirates.
When beside and object that can be
interacted with a prompt (Hold A) will appear on the screen above the object.
The player will hold the corresponding button for 20 seconds and the
construction animation will play. If the player is attacked the character will
be knocked out of the animation but progress will be saved. The player will
need to hold the button again for the remaining time.
Standard Pirate weapon. This
default weapon of the crew is replaced by any other weapon acquired and is
regained when that new weapon is lost.
6 strikes to kill an enemy
Torch
Torches replace the current weapon
and have a chance to set enemy on fire (1 in 4 chance) and deal damage over
time to enemy’s that are on fire (¼ health per second).
Molotov cocktail
Will be found around the island and
can be picked up by players. This item will not replace the current weapon but
can be thrown by holding the button when possessed. The Character will throw
this in an arc and it will explode on impact causing a pool of fire. Any
character caught in the pool will be set on fire and take damage over time (1/4
health per second).
Fire hammer
Attack animation will have the
player character spin with the weapon and will allow movement for 4
revolutions. After that point the player will lose control of the character who
will spin in random directions for another 4 revolutions.
The hammer will be able to be used
in this manner 3 times with a 5 second cool down period. One the hammer has
been used in this manner 3 times it becomes a regular melee weapon.
Rune Magic
The larger NPC’s will have the
ability to shoot balls of ice at the player due to the use of rune Magic. If a
player is hit with this they will be frozen to the spot for 5 seconds.
Traps
Traps come in 2 variety’s, one for
the crew and one for the enemy pirates.
Crew traps are found on the map and
can be picked up by the player. When placed the trap activates and the next
player or NPC to walk over it will set it off. The trap will light the
character on fire and deal damage over time (1/4 health per second).
NPC traps are scattered on the
level and will only detonate when a player character comes into contact with
it. The trap will freeze a character on the spot (10 seconds)
Characters
Crew Member: Jump (A) Button
Atttack
(X) Button
Interact
Hold (A) Button
Can pick up weapons found on
island and interact with fire, barriers and Broken bridge.
Pirate Grunt
The Grunt is the standard enemy
unit, numerous, fierce and ugly. This
Unit uses standard weapons and can fire magic balls of ice, drops weapon and
coins on death.
Basic attack- Melee hit with weapon
Pirate Captain
Larger, uglier and smellier than
the Grunt, the Captains can carry larger more devastating fire weapons, drops coins
and weapons on death.
Basic Attack- Melee hit with weapon
Ranged Attack- Shoots ice ball at
range
Pirate Boss
Queen of the Island and the
deadliest of foes, this cannon handed, shark wielding warrior will not give up
the island easily.
Basic attack
A.O.E
The Level
The team eventually settled on a
setting for the island and a theme for the enemy pirates.
Many concepts were drawn up by the
art team including steam punk pirates, skeleton pirates and volcanic ice island
as the contrast of fire and ice seemed appealing. This concept was streamlined
to an ice themed island where the enemies would use magic runes as a source of
power.
Island Concepts
First island concept design showing
enemy settlement platform and broken bridge section, barricades and pitfalls.
(Mutiny v1). The early concepts of the island would see the players traveling
between two or three arena battles before facing off against the boss. The
scope of this was too much and we decided on cutting it down in scale. I wanted
the idea of traveling through an area more than the arena battles as that is
what the original game was itself. To differentiate I thought the traveling
should take priority.
This level was far too large in scope for this project and
was quickly chopped down and simplified.
Simpler island
concepts
This image shows the concepts for the island as 2 arena
battles joined by a section moving through the island.
Level mock-up created in Maya for Mutiny version 1. Passed
to Art Team to create game assets. This was the final concept for the layout of
the island. Instead of traveling between arenas the journey would take the
players through the environment to the arena boss battle.
Shows placement of
barricade and snowball hill leading to boss arena and fortress.
It was this point we had to reconsider the scope of the
project. Time was ticking on without much progress on the art or code side.
After a presentation with the client we had to scale back the project severely.
Audio
The soundtrack for the project was outsourced to William
McCarter. After a brief description of the game he produced a sample track of
how he was going with the music. It did
defiantly sound like pirate music but it sounded like pirates on a tropical
beach. I showed him some concept art of level and the enemy pirates and
supplied him with links to tracks on You Tube that gave a feel for what the
project needed.
Greensleves.
Right kind of tone. But needs to be jauntier so as not depressing.
Greensleves (video file) available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5ItNxpwChE
(3 Feb 2015)
Antonin Dvoraks ‘New
World Symphony’. From about 2:00mins to 4:00mins.
Antonin Dvorak-New World Symphony (full). (video file)
Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETNoPqYAIPI
(3 Feb 2015)
Mutiny! Islands version2
In order to continue with the
project and have a finished product in the timescale we were asked to re pitch concepts
of simplified versions. I drew up 3 proposals based on the feedback received
and these were sent to the client for final decision.
The version 2 proposals
In all suggestions various features
have been cut. Player interaction with boxes. Secret areas, dynamic fire, power
weapons.
Suggestion 1
Scenario: Arena battle with Boss.
Features: Fire: Primary use is Boss ‘Area
of Effect’ attack.
Player
held torches used as weapons.
Camp
fires. Spawn Points for torches.
Team Requirements
Level
clutter, Fort finished and implemented. Boss
character Model, textured and animated and implemented. Player movement and
combat refined. Enemy movement and combat refined. Cannon spawn mechanic
refined. Fire mechanic refined. Play tested for balance and fun factor.
Proposal:
Players spawn in last area of the
existing map, the fort arena section with basic weapon.
Players can retrieve flame torches
from campfires to use as weapons. Campfire only spawn 2 torches then is
inactive, Torch breaks after 10 uses.
Enemy pirates will spawn in waves
from ‘spawn closets’ around the outside of the arena.
Five waves in total, each triggered
when the last enemy of previous wave is defeated.
Wave 1: Basic Melee enemy, 5
enemies per player (PP), spawning 1 PP in 3 second intervals
Wave 2: Melee and Ranged enemy, 5
enemies PP spawning 1 PP in 3 second intervals
Wave 3: Basic Melee enemy with
faster movement speed, 10 PP spawning 1 PP in 2 sec intervals.
Wave 4: Melee and ranged enemy,
hits harder, more health, 5 PP spawning 1 PP 3 second intervals.
Wave 5: Basic melee enemy, 15 PP
spawning 1PP every second.
Boss Wave: Boss emerges from fort
to attack, supported by basic melee and ranged enemies.
Players trigger end of level by
entering Fort once all enemies are defeated. Entering fort will trigger results
screen.
Boss: Female Boss
Character
Moves: Dash Attack, swinging
shark.
Area of Effect Attack, kneels and shoots into
ground fire spreads in rings.
Existing: Rig, Basic
animations
Required: Model, texturing
and special attack animations.
TO DO:
Programming
-
Boss AI
-
Refined Enemy AI
-
Lighting
-
Animation Integration
-
Audio Integration
-
Pause and Options screen
-
Drop-in multiplayer
-
Particle emitter
-
Torch/fire interaction
-
Weapons that do different damage/sets enemies on
fire
-
Enemy on fire
-
Ragdolling
Art:
-
Minor player/enemy animation tweaks
-
Arena modelling + texturing
-
Clutter modelling + texturing
-
Fortress modelling + texturing
-
Boss model sheets
-
Boss modelling
-
Boss texture
-
Boss rigging and skinning (simple, just changing
the player rig slightly)
-
Torches
-
Spawn closet w. animation
-
Camp fire
-
Weapon textures
-
UI: end stats screen
-
UI: options screen
-
Fire particles
-
UI: Boss Health
Sound:
-
Fire sounds
-
Boss yelling/grunts
-
Dash forward with shark sound
-
Shoots ground sound
-
Victory music
Suggestion 2
Scenario: fight through level and boss battle.
Features: Fire: Primary use is Boss ‘Area
of Effect’ attack.
Player
held torches used as weapons.
Camp
fires. Spawn Points for torches.
Snowballs: Environmental hazard
Players ascend hill avoiding snowballs rolling
downhill
Repair
mechanic: fixes bridge to allow alpaca to cross.
Team Requirements
Level
clutter, Fort finished and implemented. Alpaca, textured animated and
implemented. Player movement and combat refined. Enemy movement and combat
refined. Cannon spawn mechanic refined. Fire mechanic refined. Snowballs
refined. Play tested for balance and fun factor.
Proposal:
Players spawn at beginning of map
with basic weapon.
Players meet alpaca dialog box asks
alpaca question. Alpaca responds with silence. Alpaca must be guided through
level.
Players can retrieve flame torches
from campfires to use as weapons. Campfire only spawn 2 torches then is
inactive, Torch breaks after 10 uses.
Enemy pirates will spawn in waves
from ‘spawn closets’ along the path.
Players ascend hill avoiding
snowballs
Final Battle Five waves in total,
each triggered when the last enemy of previous wave is defeated.
Final boss is revealed as the
Alpaca through a dialogue box. Alpaca grows in size and enemies spawn from
chests.
Wave 1: Basic Melee enemy, 5
enemies per player (PP), spawning 1 PP in 3 second intervals
Wave 2: Melee and Ranged enemy, 5
enemies PP spawning 1 PP in 3 second intervals
Wave 3: Basic Melee enemy with
faster movement speed, 10 PP spawning 1 PP in 2 sec intervals.
Wave 4: Melee and ranged enemy,
hits harder, more health, 5 PP spawning 1 PP 3 second intervals.
Wave 5: Basic melee enemy, 15 PP
spawning 1PP every second.
Boss Wave: When last enemy is
defeated dialogue box appears on screen. The Alpaca reveals as boss of island.
Players have fell into trap and will be enslaved to its crew.
Players trigger end of level by
entering Fort once all enemies are defeated. Entering fort will trigger results
screen.
Boss: Alpaca Boss
Moves: Dash Attack, Runs at
players dealing damage and knocking them over.
Area
of Effect Attack, rears up and stamps front feet. Fire spreads out in rings.
Existing: Rig, model.
Required: UV, Texture, Basic
animations, special attack animations.
TO DO:
Programming:
-
Camera zooming
-
Refined Alpaca AI
-
Boss AI
-
Money in alpaca chest
-
Refined Enemy AI
-
Lighting
-
Animation Integration
-
Audio Integration
-
Pause and Options screen
-
Drop-in multiplayer
-
Particle emitter
-
Torch/fire interaction
-
Weapons that do different damage/sets enemies on
fire
-
Enemy on fire
-
Ragdolling
-
Bridge repair function
-
Snowballs (close to done)
Art:
-
Minor animation tweaks character/enemy
-
Weapon textures
-
Alpaca rig finished + skinning
-
Alpaca texturing nice +
evil
-
Alpaca animations (walking, running, rearing)
-
Level Model finished
-
Fortress Model finished
-
Texturing level done
-
Texturing Fortress
-
Level clutter modelling
-
Level clutter texturing
-
Bridge model
Broken/Fixed
-
Bridge textured
Broken/Fixed
-
Spawn closets w. animations
-
Campfire
-
Torches
-
Alpaca attack stomping +
dashing
-
Fire particles
-
UI: Options and audio screen
-
UI: Victory screen
-
UI: Alpaca talking nice + Evil
-
Snowballs textured
Sounds:
-
Fire sounds
-
Victory music
-
Evil alpaca noises
-
Footsteps alpaca dashing
-
Alpaca stomp
Suggestion 3
Scenario: fight through level.
Features: Fire: Player held torches used
as weapons.
Camp
fires. Spawn Points for torches.
Team Requirements
Level
clutter finished and implemented. Alpaca, textured animated and
implemented. Player movement and combat refined. Enemy movement and combat
refined. Cannon spawn mechanic refined. Fire mechanic refined. Play tested for
balance and fun factor.
Proposal:
Players spawn at beginning of map with
basic weapon.
Players meet Alpaca. Alpaca must be
guided through level.
Players can retrieve flame torches
from campfires to use as weapons. Campfire only spawn 2 torches then is
inactive, Torch breaks after 10 uses.
Enemy pirates will spawn in waves
from ‘spawn closets’ along the path.
Level ends when players enter fort
at end of path. Will trigger results screen.
TO DO:
Programming:
-
Camera zooming
-
Refined Alpaca AI
-
Money in alpaca chest
-
Refined Enemy AI
-
Lighting
-
Animation Integration
-
Audio Integration
-
Pause and Options screen
-
Drop-in multiplayer
-
Particle emitter
-
Torch/fire interaction
-
Weapons that do
different damage/sets enemies on fire
-
Enemy on fire
-
Ragdolling
-
Bridge repair function
-
Snowballs (close to done)
Art:
-
Minor animation tweaks character/enemy
-
Weapon textures
-
Alpaca rig finished + skinning
-
Alpaca texturing nice
-
Alpaca animations (walking)
-
Level Model finished
-
Fortress Model finished
-
Texturing level done
-
Texturing Fortress
-
Level clutter modelling
-
Level clutter texturing
-
Bridge model
Broken/Fixed
-
Bridge textured
Broken/Fixed
-
Spawn closets w. animations
-
Campfire
-
Torches
-
Fire particles
-
UI: Options and audio screen
-
UI: Victory screen
-
Snowballs textured
Sounds:
-
Fire sounds
-
Victory music
Client Feedback on
Proposals
The client responded to our
proposals quiet positively as said that the final choice was ours to make. The
team decided to go cut further aspects.
Version 2 would use the alpaca as a
‘white rabbit’ that the players are following through the island to get the
treasure it carries. The boss character would still be used but the players use
of fire would be cut along with the level clutter.
Final concept for Version 2
Scenario:
The Crew will spawn on the beach of
the island catching sight of an Alpaca with treasure chests strapped to it. The
crew's mission from then is to chase the alpaca through the island to claim its
booty.
The pirates of the island will
assault the crew as they adventure on. Chasing the treasure through a small
settlement there fighting off enemy pirates.
The last stretch in the capture of
the alpaca will be a perilous climb up a steep hill made even more perilous as
giant snowballs barrel down the hill towards them.
At the top of the hill is the main
island settlement, the pirates of the island will make a last stand to protect
their Alpaca. If the crew successfully defeats the pirates they will have to
the hammer wielding, cannon fisted Pirate Queen Broomhilda.
Features:
Combat: Fun combat
and lots of enemies to fight
Fire: Primary
use is Boss ‘Area of Effect’ attack.
Snowballs: Environmental hazard
Players
ascend hill avoiding snowballs rolling downhill
Alpaca:
Crew chase the alpaca across the island to get its gold
Team Requirements
Alpaca, textured animated and
implemented. Player movement and combat refined. Enemy movement and combat
refined. Fire mechanic refined. Snowballs refined. Play tested for balance and
fun factor.
Proposal:
Players spawn at beginning of map
with basic weapon.
Players see the alpaca and alpaca
runs away, players follow.
Enemy pirates will spawn in waves
from ‘spawn closets’ along the path.
Players ascend hill avoiding
snowballs.
Final battle is against Broomhilde
the Pirate Queen and spawning enemy pirates
Boss: Pirate Queen
Broomhilde
Moves: Basic Melee attack
with hammer
Area
of Effect Attack, Fire spreads out in rings.
Existing: Rig, model.
Required: UV, Texture, Basic
animations, special attack animations.
TO DO:
Programming:
-
Camera zooming
-
Refined Alpaca AI
-
Boss AI
-
Refined Enemy AI
-
Lighting
-
Animation Integration
-
Audio Integration
-
Pause and Options screen
-
Particle emitter
-
Fire interaction
-
Rag dolling
-
Snowballs (close to done)
Art:
-
Minor animation tweaks character/enemy
-
Weapon textures
-
Alpaca rig finished + skinning
-
Alpaca texturing
-
Alpaca animations
-
Level Model finished
-
Texturing level done
-
Spawn closets
-
Fire particles
-
UI: Options and audio screen
-
UI: Victory screen
-
Snowballs textured
Sounds:
-
Fire sounds
-
Victory music
Mutiny Islands V2 Map
The map stayed pretty much the same
for Mutiny version 2 but the game had to be streamlined. A lot of features had to be dropped, Player
use of fire, barricades, ice blocks weapon pickups and the broken bridge repair
concept were cut. The alpaca was repurposed as a White Rabbit instead of a pack
animal and game mechanics like the mutiny bar were dropped.
Weapons
Swords
Sketched and passed to Art team to create assets.
Swords for Player and NPC’s
Clubs
Players and NPC’s
Hammer
Power Weapon for Players (Mutiny v1)
Boss Weapon (Mutiny v2)
Helping the Art Team
From the start of the project I had
let the art team know that I have experience in 3D asset production but my
texturing was not the best. I was willing to help if needed.
Tone asked if I could create some
assets for use in the game. Spawn Huts, boxes and barrels etc…
In the end these assets were never
used as the concept of level clutter was cut in Mutiny V2
Drift wood, boxes and barrel
(with lower poly variant)
Spawn closet based on
classic outhouse with door.
Larger variant of spawn closet with door
Barricade mock up and
icicle variants
Level Arrangement and
Spawn Placement
With the change in project scope
after the second client presentation a lot of the level clutter we had planned
was cut. The only assets we are left with to make the island look interesting
is the rocks and the spawn cabins.
To give the island more personality
and features to break up the ground texture of the island I have duplicated and
rearranged the few rock formations that existed. Rocks have also been placed in
the water to give the coast line a more natural look. These suggestions were never applied.
Screen shot showing
the beach area where the player and alpaca spawn.
Suggested clutter
First settlement Area
and Spawn Points
Suggested placements
Second Settlement Area
Camera
Camera angle mock up
showing view angle and scope. Barrel shape object represents player.
Testing
Tests for bugs and issues were done throughout
development, every build was played with and broken. The results would be
raised with the code team and addressed for the next build.
I had compiled forms for bug
testing and tracking but these were never used as we were fixing as we went.
Bug Fix
Mutiny! BUG DOCUMENT
Proposal
BUG DISCRIPTION-
BUILD VERSION-
DATE-
ISSUE NO.-
PRIORITY- HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW
DEPARTMENT-
ASSINGED TO-
FIX DESCRIPTION-
FIX DATE-
SECOND PASS
DATE-
VERSION NO-
ISSUE RESOLVED-
FURTHER ISSUES-
Proposed headings for
the bug tracking spreadsheet during testing (never used)
Issue no.
Description
Version
Priority
Department
Fixer
Proposed fix
Fixed date
Tester
Fixed?
Further issues?
Playtesting
As with the bug fixing, playtesting
mostly happened within the team with every iteration. With the redirection of
the project and the schedule we had, the playtesting became led of a priority
as the build had bigger issues. Development of the boss ate up the time put
aside for proper play testing.
At this point I convinced friends
and family to play the game and let me know what they thought. Defiantly not an
ideal resolution but I think it did help a bit to get some new eyes on the
game.
This is the general feedback
received.
Camera
Angle needs to be higher, cannot really see what is going on during a
fight.
Will help for multiplayer and player movement.
Will suggest camera moved to near 45 degree angle. Raised with code team.
Status: Fixed
Snowballs
Slower roll speed?
Too
fast to avoid them. Suggest they are slowed a bit.
Raised
with code team.
Status:
Fixed.
Snowball get too big.
If
a snowball gets stuck it grows to huge proportions. Need to limit max size.
Raised
with code team.
Status: Fixed
Player
Jump seems slow and delayed.
Known
Problem. The character takes two steps at the beginning of the animation. Jump
has no use in game, can be removed.
Have raised with code team and art team.
Status:
Still an issue
Baddies just keep running at player, even when right up against them.
Not sure what causes this.
Raised with code team
Status: Fixed
Can’t see if I’m hitting baddie or being hit.
This
is partly animation partly code. There is no visual hit reaction and the
animation is not obvious enough at the distance the camera is at. Also ties
with previous problem.
Raised
with code team. Asked them to reduce enemy health for 1 hit kill.
Status:
Improved.
NPC
Baddies just keep running at player, even when right up against them.
Not sure what causes this.
Raised with code team
Status: Fixed
Evaluation
Design
Now the final prototype is finished looking at the game as
an experience it is slightly lacking. The centre piece of the game was to be
the combat, getting the combat right would find the fun factor. I think what we
have ended up with has potential but I do not think it is there yet. A number
of factors feed into this. The animations of players and enemies could have
done with a second pass to refine things and iron out problems that we found
while playtesting.
At the scale of the camera and the amount of people on
screen, moves need to be big and obvious. While the animations we have are
pretty good they do not really work on the scale we have. A second pass of the
combat animations to exaggerate moves would help players see what is happening
in the melee. Similarly, there is no hit reaction on the characters so the
player has a tendency to get swarmed not knowing what is going on. Having a knockback
animation would lend a lot more dynamism to the fight and again help the player
keep track of what is going on.
If we had developed
more complex AI for the enemies we could have set it up so that if there were
multiple enemies on screen only 2 would actively attack the player. The rest
would stay just out of reach and wait their turn to fight. This would stop the
players being so swarmed and stop the enemies from bunching up. I have no idea
how complicated that would be on the code level but if it was done I think it
would have greatly improved the combat experience.
Another important aspect of the game is the concept of
travel or exploration. To differentiate it from the base game where it all
takes place aboard a ship, the idea of traveling through an environment was
important. The map was designed with features along the path to help with this
idea of discovery. Starting off on a sandy beach area player’s move through an
enemy pirate settlement, across a bridge with a frozen waterfall, past a second
settlement, up a treacherous hill and into the final arena to face the boss.
While it sounds more interesting in writing, I think the beach, settlement hill
and arena work to varying degrees. The biggest problem I think that the game
has in this area is level clutter. Level clutter exists to add depth to an
environment and give it character. A room with a window is just a room with a
window until there is something in it to tell you what it is used for, then it
becomes something. It could be a bedroom it could be a living room it could be
a playroom. Without signifiers the beach looks barren, there is not much to
tell you it’s a beach. Moving on to the settlement area it has two shacks. A
small settlement would have more signs of life like a wood pile or campfire for
cooking, something to signify people stay there. In the waterfall area because
the waterfall looks just like the ice wall surrounding it, it does not stand
out as a landmark. If the bridge was an actual bridge instead of an ice slab
again it would mark it as a feature unfortunately as it stands it is a piece of
the same ground just shaped differently.
The snowball hill I think is the most effective as a
landmark. The change from the players running left to right to running away
from the camera is really effective. This alone even without the level clutter
or stand out landmark I discussed before gives the idea of exploration, of
finding something new.
One aspect I was disappointed about losing in the cut was
the Fortress. I think both gameplay wise and aesthetically changing the
fortress into the line of non-descript shacks took away from what could have
been an impressive sight and goal for the players. If you were to enter that
area and see a large fortress guarded by the boss you would want to defeat her
to claim it for yourself. On the game
play side having a fortress door gives the Boss something to protect, a centre
for the battle and something for the players to see mentally as a goal.
Vs the Brief
Looking
back over the Brief now that the project has finished, I think Mutiny: Islands
meets the brief requirements fairly well. Even with the scaled down scope of
the project late into development. I believe all the key requests are accounted
for.
One of the
main requirements was to include fire in a meaningful way. We had some grand concepts for the fire
initially but we decided to scale it right back and have it as the boss’s
special attack. In the context of the game this is something that would take
the players by surprise as it had never been seen until that point. It gives a
new dimension and danger to the boss fights itself. The fire not only doing
damage to the player effected but leaving a trail of fire behind the players
adds some nice visual effects and some comedic moments to the game.
Ideas for
pirates and the island setting were other things requested in the brief. The
concept of the ice covered island was to contrast with the bright tropical type
setting that exists in the original game. While not visually the most exiting
setting for an island that pirates were to invade, the original idea was partly
to get some nice effects with player held torches and campfires. Unfortunately
the torches and campfire were dropped late in development but the ice and magic
island setting was received well by the client who went on to say; after the
last presentation’ they were now looking into that themselves.
The brief asked for a distinct end point which I believe we
have in the end level boss fight. Unfortunately something that undermines that
is the fact we do not have an end game screen when the boss id killed. It was
designed to show time taken, gold collected, gold banked and leader board but
again was cut in order to concentrate on the game itself. I think although the
game is very playable not having an end game screen means that the game loses a
lot of replay ability.
Feedback
Feedback from Hidden Armada was on the whole pretty
positive. There was a bit of a concern on how much we were wanting to put in
the game. Something that would rear its ugly head later on. But at the time we
were confident and exited to get to work on it. On the design side, I was
trying to work fire into a puzzle mechanic and when I mentioned this there was
a bit of concern as doing puzzles is hard, doing puzzle well is even harder. I
took this aboard and started working on other simpler things to do with the
fire mechanic.
The lowest
point in the project for myself and probably the rest of the team was after our
second presentation to the client. I think everyone kind of knew that a lot of
time had been lost and the project was nowhere near where it needed to be. In
retrospect Owen as producer and myself as designer, should have had the
gumption to bring it to a head and scale back the project. Unfortunately it took
the client to point out the obvious, an embarrassment I never want to repeat.
Our last Presentation
to Hidden Armada again was very positive. They were happy to see how far we had
come from the disaster of the last time. I think on the whole the wakeup call
we received in the last presentation revived us. I think we were kind of
getting lost in the project. I am grateful that it happened like that and they
were so honest about the state of the project I would hate to think the state
we would be in now.
If
If the team was to go forward and develop this project
further I would like to see some refinements and some changes. I would insist
on creating prototypes for anything we might want to include.
As stated before there is some more avenues with the AI I
would like to attempt. The idea of adding to the AI to stop enemies bunching up
or swarming the player. I would also like to see another class of AI. In the
early stages we talked about an enemy that would use ranged magic attacks. I would like to see this implemented as I
believe it would help mix up and give some variation to the combat.
Weapon pick ups
On the game play side I would like to explore further and
implement some of the features that were dropped like weapon pickups and power
weapons. I would like to try more prototypes to further explore the potential
of the fire mechanic or the repair mechanic. I think if used correctly, the
repair mechanic with the other players protecting, would bring a more
cooperative experience to the game on top of the combat.
My biggest disappointment was the repurposing of the alpaca.
The banking mechanic in the main game could have been ignored but I think we
found an elegant way combine two things Hidden Armada had in the base game.
Animals and the bank mechanic. My main goal when designing for this game at the
start was to bring more co-operative elements and the alpaca would have helped
toward that. If we were to carry on with this project, I think this is the
first thing I would want done.
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