Own Time Own Target (OTOT)

Platform used: Custom C++ Engine​

The Team

• Designers: Joel and Germaine

• Programmers: Rayner, Edwin, Bryan, Syaakir

Responsibilities​

• User interface design 

• 3D models and rendering 

• Animation in environment

The Process​

During the ideation process, our initial idea was to allow our player to have multiple "ghost" duplicates of themselves to aid in their escape from the research facility where the main character was in. Additionally, the player would be able to transform into various shapes and objects, such as a platform, to assist their future self in traversing the map. The primary mechanic revolved around the player being able to travel back a predetermined amount of time to their previous location. Upon travelling back in time, a clone of the player would be created, replaying the actions leading up to the moment when the player decides to initiate the time jump. This mechanic is used to trigger objects and solve puzzles within the environment.  Through playtesting and feedback, we decided to narrow down our focus and streamline the gameplay experience. Instead of juggling multiple mechanics, we concentrated on refining the core mechanic of the game. This allowed us to allocate more time to designing engaging levels that fully showcased the potential of the core gameplay mechanic. 

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User Interface and Design 

For the feedback design, we implemented a straight forward user interface to indicate the amount of lives the player has left, having each life deducted from being hurt by obstacles or by enemies. A visual representation of the player's clone is also displayed, replaying the actions of the players within the designated timeframe leading up to the moment the player chose to travel back in time. Control stations were incorporated as indicators, these stations were red by default and turns green when interacted with. These control stations controlled a variation of doors and platforms and these provided clear visual feedback for the player when they have successfully interacted with an object. Moving enemies were also visually highlighted by a bright red button, indicating danger. For most enemies, apart from those moving along the walls, the player is able to temporarily disable moving robots by jumping on top of them. To show the temporary deactivation of enemies, visual cues were used. While immobilized on the ground, the red lights on the enemies would start blinking instead, signifying that they were still alive despite their current state. There is also a short animation for when the enemies would get back on their feet. The use of color, visual and animated elements served to enhance the overall gameplay experience for the player.

Choice of Art

As a team with only two designers, I took on the role of being the lead artist. This entailed 3D modelling, unwrapping, texturing, rigging and paint weighting of models. For this assignment, we were constrained to a 2D space. We initially explored the art direction through 2D concept art to help envision how the environment and laboratory would look. I later decided to do a test by rendering mockups of 3D art assets in orthographic view to gauge if it would fit the look we wanted for our game more. Following team discussions, we agreed to that the implementation of 3D assets achieved the preferred aesthetic we wanted for the game. This decision also helped my fellow designer, Joel, to create animations for each character with more ease. 

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Post-mortem 

Throughout this project, I gained insights to the significance of feedback design, visual cues, playtesting and the iterative process. These elements played a crucial role in shaping the user's experience. One notable issue we identified during playtesting was when players mistakenly perceived background objects as interactive elements. This confusion affected their gameplay. We reevaluated the visual presentation of background objects to better ensure a clear distinction between interactive elements and background objects. We highlighted interactive objects and adjusted the appearance of foreground and background objects to eliminate any ambiguity for the player. Another challenge we encountered was related to players struggling with triggering the time jump to control the player clone effectively. Since this had a direct impact on gameplay mechanics and the overall flow of the game, we revisited our level designs to not only implement clearer visual feedback to aid players but to also adjust the difficulty of the puzzles. By involving play testers and collecting feedback, we were able to iterate and refine various aspects of the game, resulting in a better overall user experience.