Prism’s Core Mechanic Design
Developing Prism’s core mechanic to serve as the foundation for Prism’s gameplay and level design.
Role: Game Designer
Timeline: 8 weeks
Tools: UE5
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Prism had been in the planning phase of development focusing on ideating the game’s design pillars and narrative. Though aspects of the plot have been established, Prism’s core mechanic and gameplay loop had yet to be defined. This prototype developed over 3 sprints aimed to develop a solid core gameplay loop, the crucial foundation for shaping Prism’s plot and level design ahead of pre-production.
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Identify and iterate potential gameplay features
Validate mechanics through play test feedback
Design a core mechanic and game loop
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A ‘Magnetic Throw’ mechanic with similarities to other popular mechanics such as Krato’s Axe and Captain America’s shield but with its own unique identity inspired by magnetism.
Game Development Process
My process for designing and iterating over Prism’s core mechanic.
Page section links:
Planning
Planning
Defining sprint goals and development tasks
Adapting deveopment plans
I routinely reassessed the project timeline and made adjustments based on project blockers to work around and insights player feedback. In the prototyping section I explain why I refocused the project to focus on combat instead of player movement after discovering how fun the magnet throw mechanic is.
Timeline and feature iterations
Select images to enlarge them
Defining user stories
When first creating user stories, I was only focusing on what players are doing and why. This was enough to design mechanic ideas from but my user stories were too specific, therefore limiting what the gameplay could be.
Initial user stories
“As a character being chased, I would like to be able to defend myself, so that I can get away from enemies if they surround me.”
“As a character with unique powers, I would like to be able to use my abilities to navigate places my enemies can’t, because it would make it easier to avoid enemies.”
“As a character escaping, I would like to be able to understand where to go next, so that I can keep moving towards my exit.”
Updating user stories
After reviewing my user stories with my mentor, he explained how focusing on what I want the player to think, feel and do will help me consider the player’s entire experience when designing mechanics. I then developed user stories for each of those thoughts to help me design features that support what I’d like players to focus on.
Think
Which metal object should I use next?
How will the enemies react when I do ‘this’?
What else can I do?
Do
Defeat all enemies
Feel
Powerful
Resourceful
Humored
2nd iteration of user stories
Which metal object should I use next?
“As a character with the environment at my disposal, I want to be challenged with which metal object to use, so I can create strategies to defeat enemies.”
How will enemies react when I do ‘this’?
“As a character with powers that impact my enemies’ behavior, I would like different metal objects to have varied effects on them, to enjoy how powerful I feel.”
What else can I do?
“As a character with the environment at my disposal, I would like my attacks to have some spontaneity to them, so as I play I can explore what else I can do.”
Making user stories high level
After reviewing my user stories with my mentor again, he said I needed to make them more general and treat them as filters to parse my feature ideas through. He suggested focussing on how players use the environment to react and make decisions based on different scenarios. Focus on the environment also aligned with my contextual research findings. Throughout the game’s development I’ll continue to adjust these user stories to eb and flow with the game design intent and players’ experiences.
Think
What do I need to react to this scenario?
How will enemies respond when I do ‘this’?
Do
Defeat all enemies
Use their environment
Be reactive to different scenarios
Feel
Powerful
Resourceful
Humored
3rd iteration of user stories
What do I need to react to this scenario?
“As a player with the environment at my disposal, I want to have creative control over how I use the environment, to react to challenges in my own unique way.”
How will enemies respond when I do ‘this’?
“As a player with influence over my enemies’ behavior, I want to experiment with how using the environment effects enemies , to explore what else I can do.”
Next Steps in Process
Extend mechanic into gameplay loops
Play with Prism’s magnetic abilities to discover what affordances they intuitively provide players to design meaningful systems.
Develop a combat gameplay demo
Demo Prism’s gameplay in a battle arena level to showcase her abilities and platforming.