Final Design Note

• The starting menu of our game has a huge change compares to last quarter. We focus on the user experience of the mobile. Thus, we have a very simple starting menu. There are only two buttons. One is the starting button (the red sword). If it is the player’s first time playing the game, the player will enter a tutorial. We have a back memory to check wheater is it the player’s first time playing the game. Another button is at the left corner (yellow star). It’s our credit button. Besides the buttons, we choose Chinese characters as our title since it fits our game’s background. The floating clouds also mean to achieve the same goal. We have an old design that makes the menu like a door open. By considering we have a fog effect in the game, clouds fit better than other physical objects.

• The tutorial is a simple level, we use finger UI to guide players’ action. We introduce all the game inputs in tutorial includes left/right slash, jump and rage system. If the player gets killed in the tutorial, it will restart until the player passes the tutorial. Our original idea also wants to include a text and picture combined introduction for each enemy. It will become our future updating plan.

• UI is also another big change in this quarter. We change the rage bar to a sword shape. Does it look very nice? The rage bar will be filled with red color. After the player killed 10 enemies, the rage bar will become a button for the player to enter the rage model. We also changed a road bar to track the player’s progress. Since we add a checkpoint system, we’d like to tell the player how far is the next checkpoint. Thus, each flag represents a new checkpoint and a level. The sword symbol represents the player himself. Down below the road bar is our kill counter. We used a skull UI to represent kills. It will show how many enemies the player has killed in the current life.

• Pause button; the pause is added to our game in this quarter. It pauses the game and allows the mobile player to change the input setting from fingers slash to tab. One thing we need to improve is added a 3 seconds count down after the player hits the “resume” button. The white box in the pause menu is a memory cleaning button. Since we record whether the player passes the tutorial or not, the button is used to clean this record.

• Rage model change: The rage model also changed, not only we add a cool visual effect but also change the effect of rage. For now, after players enter the rage mode, they could destroy everything (including blocks which cannot in the previous design). Although, there is a downside that makes the game easier for using the rage. Additionally, we add a visual effect to let players know when the rage will stop, it represents through both rage bar and the environment change.

• Animation; the new animation machine is like this:

• We deleted our straight down kill but allow players to jump and then use left/right slash. The visual and animation feedback is stronger than a forward straight down cut. The sideway cuts are more like war-dance. During our play-test, we have noticed several bugs that cause the animation backs to its idle state. For our final version, most of these bugs are fixed. 

• Enemy; The first big change we have done to the enemy is that we replaced all the enemy models from animals to soldiers. For now, we have sword enemy, greatsword enemy, stone golems and blocks. We also change some of the enemy’s effect to make each type unique. Since the player can pass the block when in the rage model, it makes the block has no difference to our stone golem (heavy enemy). Thus we changed stone golems’ effect as players can not jump over them to the differences. Additionally, in our old design, we plan to have spear enemies and heavy armor enemies, but we cannot find better animations, thus we replace them as greatsword enemies and stone golem. For our boss fight, we removed the boss design. The original boss mechanic only has a bullet time effect, it’s not really challenging or fun.

• Checkpoints system; This new system is introduced with our new level changes. Since creating more challenge levels take less work for creating more enemy. After seeking some feedbacks, we decided to make our level more challenging. For now, the levels focus on challenging player’s memorization for pattern and reaction times. In order for players to memory and find the pattern, there is a checkpoint at the beginning of each level. Players will have total of 3 lives for respawning at the checkpoint. After they used all the 3 lives, the game will restart at the beginning. Since the checkpoint is at the beginning of the level, we also plan a farming road for players before they meet the real challenge. The farming road is meant to help players to collect their rage. Besides using the road bar UI to tell players where is the checkpoint, we also have a flag model at the road’s side as a symbol for the checkpoint.

Changed designs:

• Add tutorial;
• Heavy armor enemy becomes stone golem and players cannot jump over them;
• More simple and straightforward UI;
• New starting and death menu;
• New rage bar and rage visual effect;
• New sword model;
• New enemy models;
• New checkpoint system, UI, and flag model;
• New mobile input change mechanic (slash to tab);
• New environment system: fog; temple; randomly generated trees;
• New score record;
• New soundtrack;
• Rage makes the player invincible
• Remove straight down cut;
• Remove boss fight;

Future plans:

• Adding the animals back as easter egg;
• New enemy types (enemy appears from the sideways or hide beneath the dust and then jump out);
• New environment change with levels;
• New levels around new enemy;
• Player model (arms? But it’s not necessary);
• Power-ups; The original design has a torch, which gives the player’s sword a fire effect and allows the player to cut the blocks;
• Text and image combined enemy introduction in the tutorial;