Inspired by the comic book industry and Amnesia Fortnight from Double Fine Productions, Inc. we had the idea to work in fast sprints to come up with viable game project demos. Once we had the rough demos, we would get user feedback and determine if the idea is worth pursuing. The challenge was to have a short deadline so that we do not get caught up in the details. We came up with a game design idea and gave ourselves 10 hours to create a demo.
The Game Idea
Dylan Caldwell asked the question: Would it be fun if the player controls two independent characters, at the same time, with a single controller? I was intrigued and off we went down a design rabbit hole.
What do we mean when saying, “control two players at the same time“? We want to see if keeping track of two separate players, that move independently of each other, would be fun? We are not suggesting that the second character just follows the first character but needs to be fully controlled by the player.
Immediately, I have questions that I would like to get answers during user testing. First, would there be too much cognitive load regarding what is happening on the screen for the player to have any fun? The second question, can legitimate multitasking be fun? Or would it be similar to patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time?
But before we can answer any of those questions we have to figure out what will we have these ‘independent’ characters do within the game?
Initial Designs
Genre:
A 3D platformer game with Portal inspired level design.
Playable characters:
There will be two playable characters. One character will be bigger, heavier, and slower moving. The second will be smaller, lighter, and much faster. For now, we will be very simplistic and create cylinders to represent characters within the Unity engine. A red character and a green character.
Control Scheme:
With the use of a connected controller, at this point we are using Xbox controllers, each character will be controlled by either the left or right side of the controller.
Player Character Movement:
Red Character – Left Stick
Green Character – Right Stick
Player Character Jump:
Red Character – Left Trigger button
Green Character – Right Trigger button
Level Design:
The two characters need to navigate the level and open the door by standing on the two weight-sensitive buttons. Once both buttons are activated the door will open and the player characters can exit the room.
The result after 10 hours of development
At the start of this design challenge, we asked ourselves: “Would it be fun if the player controls two independent characters, at the same time, with a single controller?” For me, the answer is yes. Undoubtedly, we have a lot more to do in the process of making this a viable game. Yet, I am optimistic and very motivated to move on to the next stage of our development.
Next Steps
We are going to complete a post mortem for the initial challenge, this will be shared when completed. Then we are going to spend another 10 hours focusing on gameplay improvements to the first two levels. For instance, making certain buttons activate only when a specific character is standing on them.
Thanks for reading. Keep an eye out for our next update.
-Jay Johns
Founder/CEO of 3r Interactive, LLC
