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Tag: TimeShift

  • The problems with game mechanics

    Hi all,

    So recently I’ve been thinking more about the structure of my game, and considering whether I want levels in the traditional sense (Like Mario, or most other platformers in the world.)  or whether I want one linear long journey (similar to limbo).

    Thinking about this comes up with a lot of problems most people wouldn’t dream of when considering how a game is made. I want my game to feel like the player has gone on a journey, that they’ve accomplished something, and I feel breaking the game down into levels would destroy that feeling as there’d be chunks of the journey the player never experienced. There are also disadvantages to having one long, continuous  journey though; players can get very bored very quickly, especially if there isn’t much difference in the scenes.

    My idea for ending the levels was that Jacob would have to board a train in the future dimension, which would carry his journey along. That’s where I came up with the snag that the player would miss out on a lot of land.

    I discussed this with my friends, and one suggested I still break the game up with end of levels, but I do so in a intelligent way e.g. Jacob comes across an abandoned camp site where he can then sleep the night before transitioning to the next level. I like this idea a lot, as it means I can make levels separate and independently of one another, but can still keep a journey going, allowing players to feel like they’ve accomplished something.

    This is definitely the way I want to go forwards with the game, I just now need to start thinking about level design, and actually implementing these levels.

  • The ideas behind project TimeShift

    Hi guys and gals! Hope everyone is all good and fine. I decided I should explore my concept more, and give it a proper working title, so that’s it! Project TimeShift! (working title)

    The project name gives a lot of the game away, but I hope to still keep quite a few secrets to keep the game fun and new for most people. If you don’t want any spoilers in this game, then I suggest you stop reading, as I’m going to be revealing a lot of the plot devices about project TimeShift.

    Firstly, I’ve named the main character Jacob McCarthy. He’s an 11 year old boy who’s being evacuated from London during World War 2 (much to his dismay). The year is 1940, and the Nazi’s have invaded and conquered France, so Britain initiates its second evacuation.

    Jacob comes under the care of an old, abusive man called Jack Prophet, where he has to work on his farm. Slaving day and night, and being hit at every opportunity, Jacob wants and needs to get away, no matter what the cost.

    Eventually, Jacob will stumble across a portal, which’ll teleport him to another time (The future) where the world is burnt and baron. After finding a device that allows him to teleport to a time period he’s previously visited, Jacob sets off on a adventure to get back to his mum in London, hoping that she’s alright along the way.

    The game will play with these time shifting abilities to mess with the player, making sure that they explore every time period before finishing a level. Some puzzles could include a canyon that can’t be crossed until Jacob plants a tree in the past, allows it to grow in the present, and die in the future to become a bridge. All these mechanics will feed into each other, and allow the player to explore all time periods whilst also gaining information about the world Jacob inhabits if they so wish.

    I want this game to be subtle, so I’m trying to be intelligent about all the decisions I have to make in design. For example the main menu. I don’t want to hold the players hand all the way through, or be so blatant about the controls that I stick a diagram up, I want to player to unconsciously learn the controls/mechanics just by playing. So the main menu will be a platformer (like the rest of the game) and selecting a option (like new game) will make Jacob teleport, telling the player that the button they just pressed makes Jacob teleport. It’s a clever way to portray the controls, without making the player feel like a 2 year old.

    I’ll update more on this in the coming days, I’m finally starting to get some concrete ideas that are definitely sticking, and would like the world to know. Any comments then please let me know, any feedback is welcome 🙂