My Game Design Journey

Our first idea seemed really good in our heads. But when we prototypes it and did a few tests we released that our game was just no fun at all. We scraped that idea, and so we had almost wasted half a day.

After a quick discussion we came up with a new idea, this one seemed heaps more fun and everyone in the team was exited. But we only had 1 and a half days to complete it. We prototyped and tested as hast as we could.

By the last day we had a card game, all the art was complete all we had to do was print the cards and cut them out. 

BASICS 101

When you first wake up, you are in a secluded room with nothing inside. Just you and the controls. This allows the player to be in a safe environment in which they can get somewhat familiar with the basics of movement.

MORE FREEDOM / INTERACTIONS

In the second room you come to, you are given some chests to open, showing the player how to interact with chests and how to equip clothing. You are also given some boxes to push around and throw. Again all in a safe environment.

SPRINT / CLIMB / JUMP

In this third area, the player gets instructions on the bottom of the screen on how to jump and sprint. This is crucial as no previous 3D Zelda game has had a dedicated jump button. You also hold sprint while running down the hallway, this not only shows the player that they can sprint, but also that your stamina is depleted by using it and what happens when you run out. The hallway is long enough so that you can not reach the end with a full stamina bar.

FRAMING / VISTA / WEENIE

OK so I will address the elephant in the room, what is a weenie? A weenie is from theme park terminology, its a large individual object that can be seen from most of a theme park and is used to give a theme park goer a sense of direction (look it up). Now that that’s out of the way. As you reach the end of the hallways you come to this opening. Which frames perfectly (what I can only assume is) the area to which you will complete the game. The final area in which the boss is slain. This gives the player a sense of direction as it looms over all the lands.

FUTURE ADVENTURE

When you walk out you a given a scene which shows the vast lands you will be exploring. Getting the player ready for an exiting game. Giving them drive to explore.

DIRECTION

The camera pans to the right and show a man standing down the hill. The camera then stops at this point below, showing a nice green pathway down the hill leading you to a campfire where the man is sitting. The red of the fire stands out from the green of the grass and trees, giving the player an objective/direction without using any words. 

ITEMS

As soon as you start heading down the hill you see something sparkle catch your eye. you walk to it and are prompted to pick it up, showing the player how to pick up items and interact with the world.

For example, these spots here.

For a long time during my childhood, I would be playing games by myself. I had a Gameboy SP when I was growing up. This was good however I didn’t have any friends with one nor any games that were multiplayer. Then I got a N64, this was an exciting day and one of the major turning points in my life in terms of gaming.

The N64 came with 2 controllers. This meant my brother and I could play together! As a kid this blew my mind, I cannot imagine how many hours we played Super Smash Brothers. 

When I was about 10 or 11 I met my best friend. We would go to each other's houses every weekend and play Crash Bandicoot and Ratchet and Clank on the PS2. These games offered experiences that I will remember for ever. Then my friend asked if I wanted to play Half Life Decay. This was the first time I had ever heard of the franchise. I said yes, not knowing what I was in for.

This game was multiplayer, which I understood, but it was co-op multiplayer. I had never encountered a game like this before, one where you work together in order to complete the game. This idea blew my mind, the fact that you could have the experience of a single player game, with the entertainment of sharing it with another person at the same time. All my previous games that were multiplayer would be fighting against each other. But this one you would work together the fend off enemies and solve puzzles. We spent so many hours trying to complete the game. For some strange reason we didn't know you could save or at least didn't see the option. So each weekend we would start all over again. This actually made the game better. We would remember where enemies were and what the fastest way to complete each level would be. We became masters of the game. We became Dr.Cross and Dr.Green.

P.S.

Blowing up this guy with a grenade, failing the mission and hearing in the background “I seem to be injured, but I can go on” was my favourite part.