Project Timeless
Genre: Metroidvania
Platform: PC Engine: Unity Skills Used: Systems Design, Level Design, Documentation, Scripting, Testing Team: Xinyi "E" Wang (Lead Designer), Jed Myers (Level Designer/Developer), Kevin Knutson (Level Designer/Developer), Chloe Janowski (Artist), Shelbie Willhoite (Artist), and Samantha Wright (Artist). A project combining a customizable combo system, Metroidvania, and a 90s anime aesthetic. |
Project Genesis
I was one of the three initial team members. I was approached by Xinyi during Spring as a potential candidate for the position. He gave me a challenge: Make a game in a short amount of time and show him what I had made by the end.
I had some inkling of what Xinyi wanted to make (or rather the game I hoped he'd make) and so I made a prototype for a side-scrolling fighting game in a personal game jam while balancing my current job. Overall, I spent 38 hours and it resulted in the game below. I was hired by Xinyi in Austin during the summer of 2018 and my first day of work was my birthday.
I was one of the three initial team members. I was approached by Xinyi during Spring as a potential candidate for the position. He gave me a challenge: Make a game in a short amount of time and show him what I had made by the end.
I had some inkling of what Xinyi wanted to make (or rather the game I hoped he'd make) and so I made a prototype for a side-scrolling fighting game in a personal game jam while balancing my current job. Overall, I spent 38 hours and it resulted in the game below. I was hired by Xinyi in Austin during the summer of 2018 and my first day of work was my birthday.
Initial Prototypes
The tiny game I made indeed aligned with Xinyi's idea: A Metroidvania with a diverse setting throughout time and space. The code and assets I used to make my game jam game was modified to be an initial, testable prototype. Me and my colleague, Kevin Knutson, adopted an AGILE Sprint approach and completed a first version in two weeks. We then sent the initial build out to our friends in the game industry. Shortly after, we hired on our first artists, Chloe. |
Designing a Tutorial Level
Consulting Xinyi, I was responsible for the design of the first level. I put together the original design with him on his whiteboard and translated it to a PDF document, which I mapped, numbered, and keyed. The initial level design was meant to introduce each mechanic individually, preventing the player from progressing until they learn the mechanic required. This was accomplished through the geometry of the level itself. In order to learn double jumping, we made a jump too high to single jump over and made proceeding beyond the hook tutorial impossible without learning how to use the hook. |
We made a number of changes to the Level as development proceeded, making the levels more open to save on the tile-sets needed. The platform placement remained relatively consistent and instead we changed the boundaries of the walls. The final boss room, where you chase the boss up a tower was also conceived by me and expanded from the initial design by Xinyi.
Creating Dynamically Shaded Sprites
I wanted to give the game a distinctive cel-shaded look. After some research into games like Dead Cells and Forgotten Anne, I was able to to cobble together a cel-shading method in which I tricked the Unity Engine into believing the 2D images were 3D models. And using a software called Sprite DLight, we managed to make dynamic normals that reacted to light. This process involved a pass of shading and a ton of experimentation in conjuction with our monster artist, Shelbie to make the contours react well to lighting. I hope to improve on this in the future. |