ARIS
Aris Gameplay Video
Aris is a single-player puzzle platformer where players control Mover-bot, a robot reactivated in a long-forgotten lab. With his magnetic abilities, Mover-bot must navigate through a maze of dangerous obstacles and hostile bots to escape the lab and find the last robot sanctuary.
Game Engine Used: Fireworks Engine (Custom Engine)
Game Genre: Puzzle Platformer
Roles: Level Designer, Narratives, Props Designer,
DESIGN PROCESS
Inspiration and References
We set out to create a game that delivers a fresh and exciting platforming experience by blending unique mechanics with captivating game play. Inspired by the stunning camera work and inventive spirit mechanics of Ori and the Blind Forest, we explored how dynamic perspectives and versatile abilities could bring new depth to our game.
We also took inspiration from Unruly Heroes, where players can switch between four different characters, each with their mechanics, to overcome challenges and explore the world. This idea of constantly changing up the gameplay to keep things fresh and engaging was exactly what we were aiming for.
Puzzle
Solving
Discovery
Achivement
Design Pillars
The Key Design pillar that the game would have would be puzzle solving as that would be the way that the player can achieve the player fantasy of accomplishment by having the design pillar of discovery, we can draw the player deeper into the game by introducing new mechanics for the players to learn and master.
Player Fantasy
The player fantasy that we want the players to feel is the feeling of discovery as they explore the dystopian world that we crafted and the journey of self discovery as they learn more about their character's back story
Storyboarding
We then dictated which level would we use as a tutorial to introduce a new mechanic into the overall game then have a merged mechanics level to test the player on the difficulty of the game.
Mechanics Exploration
We tried to explore the different ways that the magnet mechanic can be used within the game such as wall climbing, pushing or pulling objects,
Level Design
Based on the mechanics we explored, I thought of a few ways these mechanics can be tested by gimmicks and catered for each level according to their overall story.
Prototyping
Using the game engine that has been created by the tech team, we then tried to recreate the game within the game engine.
Playtesting
Firstly, we would look at the player and ask them to voice out their thoughts as we record and take note of difficult areas
Secondly, we would have a survey asking the users about the qualitative experience of the game
Finally, we have a short interview on what he users wish to see more of in the game
Polish
Taking the feedback from the players, we added several feedback given by the players such as reducing the difficulty of certain puzzles
We also added various art assets, sounds, screen shakes and Climatic events at the end of the game
Stretch Goals
One of the stretch goals was to ensure that the levels were interlinked to provide an open-world feel to the game. All of the level has alternate routes
For example, the breakdown on the right shows 4 possible routes (each path represented by a different colour) to complete the level.