Well, all of our hard work as finally come to fruition. Our game has been submitted for review in the XBLIG community, and we have officially been passed for release.
It was a tough process. We had to have a team get-together to squash bugs and to refine the game where we could before we released for review. Through it all, however, I feel we have a great game that is unique in its premise and game-play We had a press release event to help spread the word about our game, and we can only watch and see what happens from here.
If you're interested, you can find my game here (and it's only $1 to boot):
Avatar Trials: Ninja Uprising on XBOX Marketplace
I'm glad to have been a part of this team, and to lend my creative talent to help create this game. From gameplay to level design to music composition, I had a blast creating this game, and enjoyed working together with my team. What lies next is a mystery as I near graduation, but I'm hopeful that I can continue creating unique and entertaining games.
Adam Durant's Development Portfolio
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Level Building: Level 3?
After playing through all the levels, our team decreed that my Level 2 was more difficult than the current Level 3. Thus, I was tasked with taking my Level 2, and adding a bit more difficulty to make it a truly challenging level.
Therefore, I took the base of my Level 2 and modified it. I made a few minor changes to the beginning of the level, but I largely modified the last sections. By that, I mean I tore apart the last section and created a few new ones. These sections require a lot more skill that befits a final level, and should truly test a player's ninja ability.
Here's a picture of the new level (it's small because it's a much larger level than before):
As you can see, there have been a lot of changes towards the end, and many additional obstacles the player has to overcome. Fortunately, given the level of difficulty, I made it so that the island serves as a emergency landing platform should the player mess up (though this will not always save him from demise). Thus, even if the player messes up, there is a chance he won't have to start the entire level over again.
Overall, I'm quite pleased with how it's turned out, and hope it will challenge players.
Friday, April 5, 2013
Final Level Theme
Since, our last level is meant to be a truly challenging task, I thought I'd compose a final level theme that would suite this epic endeavor.
I wanted the theme to start out slowly, and then build up to a steady pace (thus building up the tension when the player is attempting the level). It's a suitably driven theme that should motivate the player to climb ever higher in the last level. Have a listen, and I hope you enjoy it!
I wanted the theme to start out slowly, and then build up to a steady pace (thus building up the tension when the player is attempting the level). It's a suitably driven theme that should motivate the player to climb ever higher in the last level. Have a listen, and I hope you enjoy it!
Monday, March 18, 2013
Level Building : Level 2
Here's the second level I've built in Unity 3D
I spent the better part of my break working on Level 2 for the game. This level takes off the kid gloves. The player can now easily die if he fails at an obstacle. Also, I started to combine obstacles, so the player would have to utilize multiple abilities to overcome them. For example, there's a part where the player will have to double jump to a wall, and then wall jump off of it to reach the platform. That said, there are some really enjoyable obstacles in this level, and some well hidden secrets as well. I also toyed with a new ability vanish (or rather my old attack ability turned into a platforming ability).
Now vanish allows the player to ascend in a cloud of smoke bypassing any platforms that might be in the way. It acts as a third jump as well, but the player has no momentum once it is activated, so the player will have to be precise. The ability to go through platforms allowed me to build some new puzzles, and I'm excited to see where I can go from there. I'll, of course, be tweaking it, so that it doesn't break obstacles unintentionally.
I recorded a run through on the windows version (yeah that means you'll have to stare at a block doing these obstacles instead of an avatar). Here's a preview of my second level (music in the video was also composed by me).
I spent the better part of my break working on Level 2 for the game. This level takes off the kid gloves. The player can now easily die if he fails at an obstacle. Also, I started to combine obstacles, so the player would have to utilize multiple abilities to overcome them. For example, there's a part where the player will have to double jump to a wall, and then wall jump off of it to reach the platform. That said, there are some really enjoyable obstacles in this level, and some well hidden secrets as well. I also toyed with a new ability vanish (or rather my old attack ability turned into a platforming ability).
Now vanish allows the player to ascend in a cloud of smoke bypassing any platforms that might be in the way. It acts as a third jump as well, but the player has no momentum once it is activated, so the player will have to be precise. The ability to go through platforms allowed me to build some new puzzles, and I'm excited to see where I can go from there. I'll, of course, be tweaking it, so that it doesn't break obstacles unintentionally.
I recorded a run through on the windows version (yeah that means you'll have to stare at a block doing these obstacles instead of an avatar). Here's a preview of my second level (music in the video was also composed by me).
Level Building : Level 1
We've had a change in game design. We're shifting our focus to obstacle course design for our game. The ninja theme is still intact as the player will still use ninja-esque acrobatics and abilities to complete the courses; however, we have decided to remove the combat elements from our game (i.e. attack abilities and enemy AI). We made this decision because our deadline is starting to creep up on us, and we need to focus on the elements of our game that we have implemented solidly. Our platforming elements have been constantly updated and maintained since the beginning of the project, so we decided to polish that mechanic.
That said, we needed to start building levels that suited this change in direction. Since we have little time left before the project needs to be completed, we decided to assign more people to level design. I was one such person enlisted for this task which I was agreeable with. I was excited to roll up my sleeves, and see what I could build given my extensive experience with 3D platforming games.
Fortunately, one of our programmers cooked up a level builder in Unity 3D, so I could place the assets created by our artists with relative ease. This proved invaluable as I could devote the entirety of my effort towards building levels with good flow, challenging obstacles, and general badassery (oh and secrets too).
After a good day of work, I finished my first level layout. It was meant to introduce players to the basic abilities they have at their disposal. Thus, each obstacle is fairly easy, and is made in a way that won't harm the player if he makes a mistake. I recorded a run through on the windows version (yeah that means you'll have to stare at a block doing these obstacles instead of an avatar). Here's a preview of my first level (music in the video was also composed by me).
That said, we needed to start building levels that suited this change in direction. Since we have little time left before the project needs to be completed, we decided to assign more people to level design. I was one such person enlisted for this task which I was agreeable with. I was excited to roll up my sleeves, and see what I could build given my extensive experience with 3D platforming games.
Fortunately, one of our programmers cooked up a level builder in Unity 3D, so I could place the assets created by our artists with relative ease. This proved invaluable as I could devote the entirety of my effort towards building levels with good flow, challenging obstacles, and general badassery (oh and secrets too).
After a good day of work, I finished my first level layout. It was meant to introduce players to the basic abilities they have at their disposal. Thus, each obstacle is fairly easy, and is made in a way that won't harm the player if he makes a mistake. I recorded a run through on the windows version (yeah that means you'll have to stare at a block doing these obstacles instead of an avatar). Here's a preview of my first level (music in the video was also composed by me).
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