The Lab Rat Grapple
Type of project
University FMP
DESCRIPTION
This game was my university final major project. It focused on creating a single mechanic and finding as many ways as possible to iterate on and use this mechanic. I did this by creating variations on how the player used the mechanic and then putting the player in different levels where they must use the mechanic in differnt scenarios.
YEAR
2023
GENRE
Puzzle
PLATFORM
PC
Photos
LEVEL DESIGN
The level design on this game focused a lot around progression and introducing new mechanics, I wanted as little unavoidable UI in the screen as possible so I opted instead to make the levels very intuitive to follow. Each mechanic is first introduced in isolation so that the player understands in, then later on the player will be required to solve a puzzle that uses two or more of the mechanics they have already been introduced to. From there out the levels will progressively get harder and combine new and old mechanics to create more complex puzzles.
Level Design Planning
I planned out my levels using mental maps, these allowed me to visualise the level layout and what would be in each room. They also helped me visualise the players progression and made sure that each room follow on from each other in a way that is intuitive but while also keeping a level of challenge especially later on in the level. I annotated specific parts of the layout so that I could look at it at a later date know exactly what it means. These acted as rough drafts for the level and gave me something to work off, however in engine the levels were changed a lot from the plans.
Project Presentation
This is a video that goes through the processes that I used to create this FMP project. It talks about how I made the game, what went well, what was difficult and things I would add in the future