My Bachelor of Game Design capstone project. I acted as team producer, technical designer, bug and quality assurance tester and narrative designer. A third person cover shooter, players reprised the role of a space pirate infiltrating a high security space station to make the big score, utilizing the ability to change their personal gravitational pull to avoid enemies and find alternative routes.
The primary mechanic provided its share of opportunities and challenges. Initial tests proved to us that there was a great amount of potential in regards to player vs AI vs environment. Players could use the gravity switch to move to the walls or ceiling to avoid notice from the AI or dodge their movements. The downside was that it worked TOO well, as the player could avoid the vast majority of combat encounters by running along the ceiling.
Additionally, initial testing proved that the gravity switch was very disorienting and often confusing.
To solve these issues, we:
Increased the detection and firing range of the NPCs to include area above them.
Place more geography on the ceiling and walls to make certain areas less safe, encouraging players to change directions more often.
Bound each gravity swap to a specific place on the directional pad.
Reduce visual blur and include a cooldown.