Timeline:

• Tuesday Jan 30th: Tech demo submitted
• Sunday Feb 4th: Delegation & GDD meeting
• Sunday Feb 4th, Monday Feb 5th: Level design meetings
• Tuesday Feb 6th: Design presentation
• Thursday Feb 8th: Environmental design and programming meetings
• Friday Feb 9th: Game Design Document V1 submitted

Synopsis:

For the tech demo, we wanted to demonstrate our core gameplay mechanics - two controllable characters with different types of movement, the ability to switch between them, and a simple puzzle of sequential clicks, along with preliminary text pop ups for intractable objects. Here it is:

Other than the elements implemented here, we will be working on an inventory system, more obvious movement and visual differences between the two characters, 'cutscenes' and polishing all the mechanics.

A big focus between the demo and the game design document (GDD) was fleshing out the narrative, as the level design would need to follow that. I (Griffin) continued doing research with regards to stories and information in line with our character’s, and concentrated the experiences into three main events to detail in game and communicate to the player. Having done so, the level design team got to work creating puzzles that reflected the narrative. Having a more defined character also allowed more concept art to be made for them.

For our design presentation, we nailed down the elements of the game we would definitely be aiming for. We got a good amount of feedback about the clarity, interest and level of difficulty of the puzzles (and the narrative conveyed by them), which we attempted to incorporate into the GDD as we went. A few main things we added or detailed more were the way the puzzle solving involved both Jules and Wish, the more present threat of the antagonist Woe, and the clarity of the narrative to the player.

The first version of the Game Design Document (GDD V1) is now live!