Updraft is an intense speed running platformer. Explore, jump, grapple and slide around the world to discover the fastest path to the end!
Main Role: Level Designer
Secondary Roles: Gameplay Designer, UI/UX Artist, Programmer
Engine: Unity 5.5.0.
Genre: Third-Person Speed Running Platformer
Development Time: 6 months
*downloads: for Windows only. Please use Xbox controller.
*final build not shown
DESIGNING UPDRAFT
Main Menu Screen
Updraft was the most challenging yet most rewarding project I've worked on so far. Starting out with the base mechanics, I designed different types of levels for playtesters to mess around in, discovering what they wanted from the game and tailoring it towards that. Once I had a focused gameplay, everything else had to come together in only 3 months' time.
Introducing Jumping
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Created level prototypes, each with their own method of play to discover what the best gameplay would be
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Created 3 final levels within 3 months, each complete with multiple paths, a unique theme and a different play style
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Consistently iterated upon each level from regular playtesting sessions
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Programmed systems for a timer, collectibles, trophies, and menus
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Created all UI and a font specifically for this game
WHAT I DID
Movement Controls
CREATING NEW DYNAMICS
Coming up with new dynamics for Updraft was ridiculously fun. Sometimes I stumbled upon them by accident, but for the majority of the dynamics I implemented into my levels, I took two mechanics and tried to mash them together. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. The dynamics that did end up working made the game that much more fun, so I continued to experiment with this and eventually ended up with a lot of really awesome moments.
Line of Grappling Hooks
Grindrails Leading to Jump Pad
LEVEL 1
Level 1 was focused on mastering the charge jump and learning wall jumping. Wall jumping is taught naturally in this level with left to right jumping that leads into a tight section of walls. Charge jumping is used in different amounts -- shorter charge for quicker jumps, longer charge for bigger jumps, or charging on walls to get to paths higher up. Player choice is introduced in this level, but only 2 different paths are shown to the player at a time so they can make a snap decision instead of stopping and wondering which route to take.
Moving obstacles are also introduced here in a relatively safe zone, pushing the player back up the ramp they're trying to get down.
Track 1 Archway
Jumping Leading to Wall Jumping
Track 2 Archway
LEVEL 2
Level 2 was focused on mastering movement and introduced grappling hooks. I wanted players to go through this level how they wanted to, so every section had different ways to progress through it. Some paths were clearly faster -- they had more gems (-1 second) and jump pads. Other paths were slower but required less skill from the player, same as in Level 1. Designing this way increased replayability and encouraged players to master the game in order to reach the paths that they couldn't get to before.
Introducing Grappling
LEVEL 3
Level 3 was focused on making snap decisions and introduced grindrails. Since players had the movement pretty much mastered by the time they would get to this point, I wanted to increase difficulty focusing on the environment instead of focusing on player mechanics. I did this by creating moments in which the player would have to react quickly to a chain of events presented to them. I did this so players wouldn't need to avoid only one obstacle at a time before getting a short break, but they would have to avoid a line of obstacles and think fast in order to succeed. Creating a level this way resulted in a lot of competition from my playtesters.
Track 3 Archway
Hallway With Moving Obstacles
LOSING MY PROJECT PARTNER
Initially, I was supposed to be working on Updraft with a technical-focused teammate. When we formed a team, we had only the base player mechanics and a rigged model. After 3 months of work, gameplay had been figured out, new mechanics added, and a direction for level design was planned. Unfortunately (for me), my teammate got hired full-time at an indie studio right before my last quarter in school began. I had to pick up all the pieces I wasn't expecting to do, which was programming everything that wasn't done yet and attempting to fix the worst of a huge list of bugs by going through thousands of lines of code that I didn't write. So, I combed through over 20 different scripts in an attempt to make the game functional once again. Surprisingly enough I got everything to work, absorbing a huge amount of new information very quickly and discovering how to realistically continue building the game on my own. After this, I finally got to dive into the art style and level design for a few weeks. My time to complete a single level for Updraft got cut from 1 month to 4 days because of the intense time constraint, and once I had 3 levels done I moved onto creating and animating UI. I couldn't find any fonts I liked so I made one, as well as all other icons and UI found in the game. Despite the surprise of going solo on such a huge project, I had a great time making this game and I believe the end product was worth all the lost sleep.
CREDITS
Gameplay Music
Brandon Vix
Sound Design
Gabriel Clark
Physics Programmer
Cameron Gomez
