Maxime Delansay
Narrative & Game Design
Skills put into practice :
My approach.
1.)
The first stage in my work as a game designer was to take into account the constraints imposed in the specifications in order to produce the game design document.
We had to retain the basis of the game Zool, developed by Gremlin Graphics Software and published in 1992: a 2D platformer. I began by analysing the mechanics of this game and choosing the ones we were going to keep (in particular, the swap between the left and right sides of the screen when you reach the edge of the map).
2.)
Secondly, as with all my work, I did research to create a WorldBuilding for the game. For this project, I chose the Mayan civilisation as my theme.
3.)
Finally, I moved on to the concept and production of the game design document. The main mechanics are based on the change of form according to the action performed.
4.)
Once I'd finished the concept phase, I moved on to the level design. I had to start over several times. In fact, I tested several configurations to integrate Zool's swap mechanic as well as possible.
However, a vertical level design would have created a disparity in the quantity and quality of the assets. We were in a jungle, and if the level had been vertical, we'd have ended up with nothing but clouds, which wasn't very interesting.
The Game Design Document.
Areas for improvement.
The areas for improvement are a set of elements that I needed to improve for my future projects.
1.)
Use tools to facilitate project management (task list, task allocation, work time allocation). Make a blocking before the level design to manage the player's movements.
2.)
Be very careful with randomness, especially when the player has little or no time to react. This can lead to frustration.
