Spark Game Design

I have recently became aware of GameCareerGuide.com’s game design challenges. In their latest challenge, they ask readers to come up with a better crate for a (most likely) science fiction game.

The rules are below:

“Given what you do know, make a list of 10 items that could replace a standard “crate” in a video game that your new friend can pitch in the next design meeting.

Consider what information you do have:

1. The company is called Sci-Fi Games Studio. This might tell you something about the kinds of content the company is likely to be working on.
2. You want to provide a range of ideas, since you really don’t know what the game will be.
3. “Crates” need to be simple objects which, in and of themselves, don’t take up a lot of memory (read: low poly count).
4. Crates are used for storing, blocking, building, climbing, throwing, smashing, and more! The object needs to be versatile, movable, stackable, and stable when situated on the floor.”

Below is what I came up with:

1. Corporate Product Box – The environment in which the player resides may be controlled by a monopolistic corporation which provides all of their products in boxes with the same corporate logo.
2. Compacted Space Junk – Because it is compacted, it does not need unique recognizable pieces of trash within it.
3. Modular Shelving and Drawers – Crates are often placed in environments which they do not necessarily belong. For instance, if you look around your room, you won’t see your belongings in crates or even boxes, but usually in drawers and shelves. The idea of modular shelves allows for a reusable storage item which makes more sense.
4. Layered Stone Walls – Crates could be replaced with walls made out of large block stones. Stones can be removed and placed in many patterns which gives the designer a great amount of freedom while keeping the object simple and low-poly.
5. Experimental Animal / Alien Enclosure – If the designer needs to instill fear into the player, these enclosures could be mostly empty boxes. A few could have walls ripped off because of escaped mutant animals. In some instances, an animal or alien could jump out and attack the player while he or she is near it.
6. Old Computing Equipment – This solution may be easier on the artist if these computers are located in a lab or office which purchases only one type of computer.
7. Lab Instruments - Similar to the computers above, the instruments could be similar and form the same company.
8. Decorative Stone Blocks – Science fiction environments often contain abstract structures outside which may have a purpose or could just be aesthetically pleasing.
9. Volumetric Solar Energy Cells- If the game take place outdoors, the power of the sun or nearby stars could be harnessed with the use of Solar Arrays.
10. Small Space Craft – While not necessarily good for stacking, these craft would be a great source of blocking for the player that breaks up some of the monotony. This may be good to mix in with another idea.

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It is time for part three in the journey of making a fun puzzle game. Be sure to read both post 1 and post 2 before this one.

The Fourth Try

Reverting To Old Gameplay / Adapting the Constellation Idea

One of the big problems with constellations that it really limited the player on what parts of the game board he or she could change.

I changed the game back to simpler rules. I brought back the system used in the first version of the game. Players had to arrange stars into rows or columns. Instead of the previously needed 5 stars, the player only needs 3. Three is more practical since it is very difficult to arrange rows (horizontal lines) as it is.

It is still difficult to plan out horizontal moves, and much easier to get vertical lines. This problem still needs to be addressed.

I did not want to scrap the idea of constellations altogether however. For now, I want the player to arrange white stars on the constellations, one at a time. Only seven white stars exist on the game board at all times making the task more difficult. However, with the current rule set, I fear it will still be too difficult to plan how to get the white stars on the constellations and will be too reliant on luck.

A New Twist: Locking Rings Together

The player needs to be able to lost the game. In this game, that happens when there are no more moves. With the current system, it will be nearly impossible for that to ever happen. So, I introduce dark stars.

After the player completes a turn (hits space bar), if there are any dark stars touching each other in adjacent rings, the rings lock together. Trying to turn a ring that is locked will turn all of the rings that are locked together. This feautre is not yet implemented, so I may have to tweak it a little.

Sadly, while this will make getting vertical lines more difficult, it still does nothing to increase the ease of getting horizontal lines.

New Colors

In the original version of the game, I had the idea of light colors in order to looks similar to bright stars. However, I want the player to be able to clearly see the differences amongst the stars. I decided to make the colors more distinguishable.

Secondly, in order to make the game more challenging, I decided to increase the number of different colors from five to seven. With only five colors, lines would be clearing when not expected. It felt more like luck than strategy.

The new star colors:

1. Red
2. Orange
3. Yellow
4. Green
5. Blue
6. Turquoise
7. Purple

Scoring

The scoring is definitely not yet implement, but I have a good idea of how it will work. Instead of being based on points, it will be based on how much the player can get done in the least number of moves.

• At the top of this high score list will be players who have completed the most goals.
• If multiple player have achieved up to the same goal achieved, the list then gives preference to whomever got there in the least number of moves
• If multiple players have achieved up to the same goal and their total moves are the same, whomever did it first takes the higher spot.

I have yet to test this new version of the game, because I have not implemented the locking rings. Once I do, I am sure I will find more things to tweak.

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In Part 1 of this series of posts, I introduced you to a new game I am working on called Starlight Shift. In this post, I will discuss some changes I made in the second version of the prototype.

Problems With the First Try

The Basic Rules

The original rules listed below have some problems.

1. Get five or more stars of the same color in a row, column, or spiral.
2. Hit “Space” to clear them.
3. Once cleared, the stars shift inward or outward to fill the gaps. This is dependent on whether or not the universe is expanding or contracting.
4. After the new stars are present, if any more rows, columns, or spirals of same-colored stars exist, they, too, will be cleared.

Problem 1: It is very easy to clear vertical lines (columns)
Being able to rotate every row allows to very easily make a horizontal line that using every row.

Problem 2: It is difficult to plan ahead
Since it is so easy to clear vertical lines, the player can often create a large one. After clearing it, the pieces shift up, and new pieces come onto the game board to fill in the space of the old ones. That is the problem. The player does not know what those pieces are. Making strategies becomes extremely difficult.

Problem 3: It is difficult to plan horizontal lines (rows)
Getting five in a row in a horizontal line is no easy task.

Problem 4: There is not much of a reason for spirals
Spirals are practically the same thing as vertical lines, except each consecutive piece is shifted over one. Considering the ease of achieving a vertical line, there is not much of a point to having spirals.

The Second Try

Little was changed in the second version of the game. In order to give the player more time to plan, I limited the rows in which he or she could manipulate. When the universe was expanding, the player could only manipulate the outer five rows. When it was contracting, the player could only manipulate the inner five rows.

Though this helped, most of my problems from before still existed. It was back to the drawing board.

The Third Try

Constellations Are Fun

I decided to scrap the rows, columns, and spirals idea completely. I replaced it with constellations. You can see them in the image above. Players would now have to arrange the same color of stars on each point of a constellation. After doing so, those stars will clear.

The Ring

A new goal I added was “the ring”. The player must try get a whole row of the same color of stars. I am not sure what it would do, but it would somehow be vital to success.

While solving some problems, more were created with this method. Check out the next post in the series in which I will talk about the fourth version of Starlight Shift, and how I solved some of the problems.

Part 1

Part 3

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Recently, I begin working on a new game using C# and XNA. It began around 5 in the morning a couple of days ago. I was perusing the internet when I cam across a music video by a band called Straylight Run. I misread “straylight” as “starlight” and my head filled with images and feelings that I wanted to convey in a game. The game, Starlight Shift, is a puzzle game similar to Tetris or Columns. Below is an image from the first version of the game. This post is about the rules of the game and how they have evolved to make the game more fun.

The Controls

• The “Up” and “Down” arrow keys are used to select an active ring of stars to manipulate.
• The “Left” and “Right” arrow keys are used to rotate the currently selected ring of stars.
• Finally, “Space” is pressed to clear any stars.

The First Try

The Basic Rules

1. Get five or more stars of the same color in a row, column, or spiral.
2. Hit “Space” to clear them.
3. Once cleared, the stars shift inward or outward to fill the gaps. This is dependent on whether or not the universe is expanding or contracting.
4. After the new stars are present, if any more rows, columns, or spirals of same-colored stars exist, they, too, will be cleared.

The Stars

There are five basic colors to the stars

1. Light Yellow
2. Light Green
3. Cyan
4. Light Pink
5. Light Violet

The Universe

The universe will expand or contract.

• An expanding universe will cause pieces to move outward after a line is cleared.
• A contracting universe will cause pieces to move inward.

The Winnable Game

I wanted to make this game winnable. In order to do this, I put 5 white stars on the screen. If the player can manage to clear those five white stars, a black hole appears. If the player get the maximum number of black holes, he or she wins.

While much of this seemed like a good idea to me, I ran into many problems. The next post in this series will discuss several of them and offer the second iteration of gameplay design. Stay tuned for the new post!

Part 2

Part 3

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I hope you enjoyed the first comic. If not, learn more about skyboxes.

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