ACROFLOW
Dive through dimensions with style in this upcoming 3D expressive platformer!
Details
Genre: 3D Platformer
Software: Unity, Visual Studio, Blender
Platform: PC
Roles: Programming, Design, Art, Audio
Status: In progress
Duration: October 2022 - Present
Features
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Expressive Movement - Master an open-ended and technical moveset to find new ways to conquer tight platforming challenges!​​
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Feel the Flow - Perform chains of stylish moves to raise the Flow Gauge and enter Flow Mode to blast through stages at turbo speed! Masterful movement is rewarded with speed!
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Replayability - Master challenging arcade levels across multiple worlds, earning fast times and high scores for the best ranks!
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Playable Characters - Choose between two playable space bunnies, each with exceptional acrobatic prowess!
My Contributions
This has been a solo project from the start. From the polished 3D physics, bouncy animations and cute character models to the dynamic music, challenging level design and dream-like environments, everything has been done by me.
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This project has been primarily an exercise in motivation and accountability. Through sticking to self-imposed goals, such as submitting to multiple showcases and expos, I have pushed myself to learn new skills to fit the needs of the game, such as learning to compose music for an adaptive music system. In spite of roadblocks and multiple design iterations in response to player feedback, I have never given up on this project and am just as determined to see it through to the end as I was when I started.
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Designing Wondrous Worlds
Hook the player in
The intense build up
When designing a world, which consists of 5 short back-to-back levels sharing a visual theme, it is important to consider how they will be paced when played together. To achieve my goals with the gameplay, I've found through testing that worlds should have a healthy mix of levels emphasizing the following categories:
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Environmental interactions/visual showcases
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Mechanical platforming challenges
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Thrill rides
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The meat of the game is meant to be platforming challenges utilizing specific moves that the player can replay to get better times at. However, to make the game more accessible, levels that focus on a "wow" factor as well as simple "toy-like" interactions and puzzles should be sprinkled in to keep new players engaged.
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For example, the Space Fleet world starts with a very simple level with a lot of explosions and speed boosters to hook the player. Then, the following 2 levels are designed around actual platforming. Then, the player gets another high speed level where they get to run down a slope and experience the game's momentum physics. Finally, the level ends on a high note where they press a button (which is a simple but juicy interaction with direct consequences) to fire a laser that explodes a giant ship in the background. Even though these stages are modular, they work together to tell a story of a tiny character taking down something much larger than them. That story is what hooks the player this early in the game, but on the backend, they are subconsciously building skills and getting used to the more technical elements of the game, which would turn away beginners if the levels were all just hardcore platforming. And even though not every level is meant to be hard, each one is interactive, so they are always encountering new things on their adventure.
End it on a high note - go in for the "kill"
Key Challenges
One of the major challenges that I've encountered in this project is balancing the difficulty of the mechanics. This is an advanced platformer designed around fast movement and combos. It uses a lot of buttons but lets the player push the boundaries of how they can move around a 3D space.​ However, new players are turned off by having to learn what each button does.
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One solution was better tutorialization. When teaching the moves, using videos to show the player what to do has been extremely helpful. These show up both as little pop-ups the player can activate in the levels, but also as an action guide screen the player can always reference in the pause menu.
