Enjoy an uncomfortable bullet hell game where losing is winning
Everything might not be as heavenly as it seems
GAME DETAILS
Platform: Windows
Tools: Unity, Adobe Photoshop, FMOD, Reaper
Development Time: 3 Days
Team Size: 5
My Role(s): Programming, Game Design, Bullet System
KYS IN ACTION
DESIGN GOALS
CAUSING DISCOMFORT
Since we had a game idea that was meant to exploit common game motifs (e.g. having health bars that go beyond the end of the screen to fill up the screen) we thought that we should enforce the discomfort that causes and make a gameplay experience that's generally uncomfortable.
Some ways in which we incorporated this goal was through the relative speed at which the player moves versus the enemy and bullets. The player intentionally moves a bit slower than the obstacles in order to cause the player some tension and more occurrences for "close-calls".
(Number Refers to MAX Speed)
Another way we aimed to cause discomfort was through our subtle underlying narrative and aesthetic. The heavenly world displayed a moist-looking, baby-faced cupid as your enemy throwing you a lot of love and occasionally a few teeth.
Every time the player hits a tooth (lowering their health), there would be a 50-50 chance that they could see a glimpse of the toxic world. Both the heavenly and toxic world are meant to be disgusting in their own way, as one is just a metaphor for the other.
Hover the mouse over the assets below to see their toxic counterparts.
.png)
CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONS
INCORPORATING THE TOXIC WORLD
Since our project timeline was only going to be over the course of 3 days, we had to come up with the solution of how we were going to incorporate the toxic world into our dodge 'em up arcade style game. The fact that our game was going to be relatively fast-paced we needed to keep in mind that we didn't want to break the gameplay flow.
Our first thought was to have a short introduction text explaining a rough idea of what the context of our game was about, however myself and another designer felt that a text introduction didn't fit the tone of the game.
Instead we decided to have the screen change for a short period of time once the player hits an object that would deplete health. This not only maintained the flow of the game but also caused players to question what they saw and also be slightly disturbed. The way the toxic world fades in and out of the game suggests that it's something that is not meant to be seen or is slowly trying to peer to the surface which is the exact feeling we wanted to emote from this gameplay moment.
