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KYODT - Kill Yourself Or Die Trying
KYODT features 3 incredibly sad “Pals”, who have had it with life, and 1 Superhero, who never, ever wants them to leave him. The game is a 4-player asymmetrical multiplayer game, which features 3 Pals, who are trying to run into a Death Hazard. Every round, 1 of the 4 players is randomly selected to be the Superhero Pal, who uses his Supercharged Hair Dryer, to prevent them from killing themselves. |
Fact Sheet: Role: Design Lead, Level Designer, Systems Designer Date: February, 2015 - June, 2015 Type: Game Engine: Unity Platform: PC |
The Final Build - https://goo.gl/B3hDsQ
*Can only be played using controllers and is a 4-player only game.
My Experience
As per usual in our school, we had a 14 days period to develop this project. It went through A LOT of iterations in the concept phase. We started out with a platforming game and in the end got to this weird little game.
This game taught me a lot about developing concepts and mechanics and how systems work together. We did many playtests and kept on changing the project to accommodate feedback. This is described more in-depth in the Mechanics Design section. Designing an asymmetrical multiplayer game is very interesting, because it requires a lot of playing with different mechanical ideas to make it work. Both Gameplay and Level have to work together extremely well in order to make it happen.
Overal, this project was a good design exercise and turned out as a pretty neat little project.
Level Design
The First Iteration:
The 4 players all spawned at a corner of the map. The buttons in the each section, would lower the 2 closest bridges and raise the others. This meant, that each Pal had their own button and could mess with the other players' bridges, while the Superhero was running rampant. This led to a lot of fun chaos but also too much randomness and no real tactics.
The 4 players all spawned at a corner of the map. The buttons in the each section, would lower the 2 closest bridges and raise the others. This meant, that each Pal had their own button and could mess with the other players' bridges, while the Superhero was running rampant. This led to a lot of fun chaos but also too much randomness and no real tactics.
The Second Iteration:
The basic set-up is the same, but we changed the bridge mechanics. Now, their were 3 randomly placed buttons and they had to be pressed in a specific sequence. After doing that, the bridges would all lower. This turned the game into more of a 3v1 scenario and the Pals had to work together, to open up all the bridges. The downside was, that most Pals were just waiting around their button until they had to press it.
The basic set-up is the same, but we changed the bridge mechanics. Now, their were 3 randomly placed buttons and they had to be pressed in a specific sequence. After doing that, the bridges would all lower. This turned the game into more of a 3v1 scenario and the Pals had to work together, to open up all the bridges. The downside was, that most Pals were just waiting around their button until they had to press it.
The Final Iteration:
We kept the mechanics from the Second Iteration, except we weren’t randomizing the positions anymore. The Pals now spawned together, and the buttons were always on the other sides. Now, the Pals always had to be active in their playstyle, and from the the moment the game started, they could spread out and unleash the chaos of the game.
We kept the mechanics from the Second Iteration, except we weren’t randomizing the positions anymore. The Pals now spawned together, and the buttons were always on the other sides. Now, the Pals always had to be active in their playstyle, and from the the moment the game started, they could spread out and unleash the chaos of the game.
Mechanics/Systems Design
A lot of my time, during this project, was spent on figuring out how to balance the game. This asymmetrical multiplayer style was hard to get right in terms of making it fair and balanced for everyone. Here follow some decision making processes:
Problem #1:
The Superhero stood no chance against 3 Pals. He could only push them away and even with higher movement speeds, he had no shot.
Solution #1:
We decided to add an ability: A Grappling Shot. This allowed the Superhero to push Pals in close ranged, and try to pull pals away from their goal at long range.
The Superhero stood no chance against 3 Pals. He could only push them away and even with higher movement speeds, he had no shot.
Solution #1:
We decided to add an ability: A Grappling Shot. This allowed the Superhero to push Pals in close ranged, and try to pull pals away from their goal at long range.
Problem #2:
Even with this new ability, the Superhero still had a difficult time. The Pals also had very little interactive.
Solution #2:
I provided ALL characters with a Dash move. The Superhero got a super dash, which allowed him to fly all over the map. The Pals had a very short dash, but it could help them out when the Superhero was after them. This resulted in a much better balance. The Superhero now stood a chance, seeing as he could fly all over the place. It really enhanced the chaos of the game in a good way.
Even with this new ability, the Superhero still had a difficult time. The Pals also had very little interactive.
Solution #2:
I provided ALL characters with a Dash move. The Superhero got a super dash, which allowed him to fly all over the map. The Pals had a very short dash, but it could help them out when the Superhero was after them. This resulted in a much better balance. The Superhero now stood a chance, seeing as he could fly all over the place. It really enhanced the chaos of the game in a good way.
Problem #3:
The Pals have a very difficult time winning the match.
Solution #3:
I changed the goal around. Instead of the Pals all battling each other in order to reach the end goal, they now all win as long as 1 person wins. The person that reaches the goal first still gains some extra points though, which was done to create some untrustworthy player behavior from teammates.
The Pals have a very difficult time winning the match.
Solution #3:
I changed the goal around. Instead of the Pals all battling each other in order to reach the end goal, they now all win as long as 1 person wins. The person that reaches the goal first still gains some extra points though, which was done to create some untrustworthy player behavior from teammates.
In the end, we got to a decent game balance for experienced player, but not for beginners. If we had more time we probably could have made the balance better, but it was still a solid end state for a 14-days long project.