Though our official studio time/core hours were cut short this week (we visited Cohort 3 on Wednesday to watch and critique their current prototype presentations), I still managed to get some work done.
The meta game and level design architecture are once again in flux as we've been considering how to teach new players the complexities of our various systems. I've been a key member of those meetings and discussions, so I've had to employ a number of communication tools to get everyone on the same page (adding information to blogs and websites, relaying information via email, and directing conversations as we've sat together face-to-face). As of the latest round of decisions, we've decided to add a series of mini puzzle-type levels before each free-form level, in order to teach players the nuances of individual traps. Doins (the currency) are also banked in a different way to encourage players to actually get better at different levels, rather than simply grinding those levels over and over to earn small amounts of money repeatedly.
My other main accomplishment this week has been writing all of the tips and tutorial text blurbs that will show up on different menu screens and on the various load screens. I made them all relatively brief (a sentence or two) and useful while maintaining a lighter tone. This should make the game considerably easier to grasp for new players, and, with that information, they should also be able to understand the subtler AI and environmental interactions.
To recap, here's what I did this week:
- Updated blogs and the public sites with new development information
- Played a key role in making and communicating the design changes that the team determined to be necessary
- Wrote the text blurbs for teaching rules and tips at various points in the menu screens and the load screens
- Updated our development process documents (we are currently managing our Agile process on Kanbanpad.com)
Next week we'll get the text into the game; we'll get a new color palette integrated into all the art assets; and we'll tighten up the balance for the level designs, trap effects, and Doin usage. More to come!
- Troy
No comments:
Post a Comment