A Colorful Escapade is a 3D platformer inspired by A Short Hike, A Hat in Time, and Super Mario Galaxy 2.
The story follows Amy and Sarah, who, while playing tag, discover a cave that leads to the heart of a volcano in the middle of the island. Inside, they find a giant colorful sphere. When Amy touches it, the sphere shatters, draining all the color from the island. Amy is thrown out of the volcano and lands on a beach, discovering that her sister is trapped inside the volcano.
Amy's goal is to collect colorful spheres scattered around the island, restoring its color and saving Sarah. The player's character emits color, which can trigger events - like dead stumps turning into trees. All puzzles are built around the concept of losing and regaining the ability to emit color, creating dynamic and engaging gameplay.
GAME DESIGN
LEVEL NARRATION
I was responsible for the game design for this project. I created a document describing the level narration. In this document, I detailed every obstacle the player would encounter and the difficulty level it represented.
I also linked each obstacle to a specific location in my level designs. By connecting each obstacle to a spot on the level layout, I was able to create coherent and engaging level designs. This approach made it easier to visualize how each puzzle would fit into the overall level design.
Additionally, I documented the narration of the different puzzles present in the game in the same document.
TRELLO BOARD
I had to refine every game mechanic and break it down into tasks that detailed the work required to make them happen.
So, to organize and lead my team, I created a Trello page that uses the User Stories structure to separate the work.
MECHANIC DESIGN & BREAKDOWN
I used tags to prioritize which mechanics were needed first. I detailed each design decision so the team could fully understand their responsibilities and really take ownership of the work. I also provided visual examples to clarify my concepts.
I used 'kid' user stories to help organize the project from the start. This also helped me deconstruct each mechanic into smaller tasks for the programmers and the artists.
Trello Attachments
Tasks
LEVEL DESIGN
I created documents to help visualize the level design from a bird's-eye view (top-down). I used the described obstacles and placed them into this simplified representation of the game world.
I also created the levels using Synty's Island asset pack! I had to build the layout using Unreal Engine's landscape tool.
I made sure the obstacles I placed were not too difficult to complete, since my target audience was around 9 to 12 years old.
Beach Design
Forest Design
Beach Implementation
Forest Implementation
GAMEPLAY PROGRAMMING
I created a whole character in C++ using Unreal Engine's 'Character Movement' component. I implemented a rope-swing system, a wall-jump system, a double-jump system, and a sprint system.
I made sure every part of the character's movement had matching sound, VFX, and animations.
PLAYTESTING
I partnered with Saint-André School in Granby to playtest this game with a class of children aged 9 to 12 on June 19, 2024. I was able to get feedback from my target audience, and it was positive! However, several bugs and poor optimization created a frustrating experience for my testers. Still, I received a lot of constructive feedback and a better understanding of how to run a good playtest!
WHAT I HAVE LEARNED
A Colorful Escapade was a wonderful game development experience. Serving as full creative director was deeply rewarding, and seeing the musician (Thomas Lachance), the artist (Alex Filion), and the programmers (Louis Monié and Hugo Mora) genuinely enjoy the project made me fall in love with teamwork and with working in the video game industry. I wish I could have pushed the project further, but life got in the way. Still, I'm proud of the cute result we were able to create.