Livelihood
Solo Project, 6 weeks, Game Engine: Unity
The Challenge
During playtesting, players had trouble with picking up on how the character moves during jumps, as well as the controls (i.e. a “sprint jump” was in the code, but never properly introduced).
I had to see how I could introduce basic and more advanced controls to new players, as well as manage the steep difficulty in the beginning of the game.
My Approach
I designed and tested a tutorial section that players of any skill level could play:
- Step by step introduction of game mechanics
- Easy, manageable jumps with downtime between jumps
- No hazards or pressure, no punishment for failing
Tutorial Level Design
Easy tutorial for keybinds
Jumps with lots of downtime
Level Layout Changes
To make this tutorial level fit with the rest of the game, I decided to revise the level layout on a macro level. This level layout underwent the following changes:
*Sections had design philosophies that made them feel more distinct from each other*Sections had transitionary areas to better separate them from each other.
Difficulty improvements
Planned level flow
Transitions between forest and cave areas
More vertical design for caves
The Result
Players were more engaged during play and less frustrated:
*Players picked up the movement better*Players felt more confident in their movement during play in later sections