Aftermath

Aftermath is a 3D platformer greybox I created using a Unity package that came with some grey box assets, a character with a controller, and a couple other mechanics that I ended up editing.

This project was completed over a few weeks in September 2022. During this process I learned a lot about scripting and enemies, the process of teaching a player a new mechanic, and keeping them in the flow as I increase difficulty.

First minute of game play

Design Goals

Teaching a new mechanic

My first goal with this grey box was the process of introducing new mechanics to players and increasing the difficulty as they gained more skill. I learned quickly through playtesting and iteration that the introduction of a mechanic should be in a safe environment with little to no reprecussions for failing to use the mechanic. However the player MUST use the mechanic to proceed past that point in the level, that way I can confidently increase the challenge knowing the player has successfully used the mechanic to this point.

Introducing jumping

Ideally the player would successfully jump across the platform and on to the other side (Red Path). However if they fail, they don't die nor have to backtrack, they can continue forward and jump up the cliff (Blue Path). Either way, the player can only proceed by learning to jump.

Introducing the speed bridge

When the player first encounters the speed bridge, I have them placed on a walled off little strip with no enemies or obstacles so the player can freely grasp and understand the new mechanic without having to worry about anything else

"Show, don't tell" Method

My next goal was to use the environment to help convey information to the player. Even though this is just a grey box, I still had plenty opportunties to use the "show don't tell" method

Purple Sludge

Near the beginning of the stage, is a pool of lethal sludge that the player can completely avoid, within it I placed a face down corpse to indicate to the player, that the purple sludge is dangerous as it is a obstacle later in the game

Corpse Platforms

I placed little coin pick ups on the corpses in the sludge to help show the player that they count as platforms, as they will be present later in the game and can be helpful in navigating the area

Takeaways

Learned about the "teach, test, challenge" method of introducing new mecahnics to players
Failure paths don't always mean death, sometimes it can just be an alternate way forward
Coins and pick ups can incentivize players to perform a certain action that would usually seem unwise

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