Design Process and Playtest

In terms of our design process, the project constraint only allowed us to use a single method of input, so we had to design around that constraint. In our initial brainstorming process, we considered the game 'Canabalt' in which the character there is in constant motion and all the player can do is press the Jump button to jump over obstacles as they come. In viewing this game, we liked the idea of a constantly moving character and decided to build off of that. As such, we decided to create a vertical game after also being inspired by 'Icy Tower' in which you jump and bounce unto platforms in order to reach the highest point of the tower you are in to gain a high score. 

After this we decided to center around the theme of an ant climbing on falling leaves to reach the top of the tree. The ant would be in constant motion back and forth along the base of the tree until the player decides to jump. Initially we began with a single jump whenever you press the Space button but then decided to add more juiciness to this by giving the ant a prolonged jump once the player held down the Space button. This also made it easier to climb up the leaves faster since before with the single jump it was mostly hit or miss due to the randomness of the spawning falling leaves. 

On to the leaves themselves, we programmed them in a way that they generated in multitudes in timed waves to make it appear that they were constantly moving downwards in the play area. The randomness of the leaves as such offers a different play experience every time as well as making the game frustrating due to the fact that you cannot see each falling leaf unless you move upward. This means that it is very easy to lose progress and fall down, making the game frustratingly hard which is what we were aiming for to make this more interesting. To add to the difficulty of the game, we also added Fly enemies that move back and forth as you travel upward to inhibit the player further. Of course the ant was given an extra mechanic where holding down the Space bar for approximately 3 seconds allowed for a stick to be thrown at the flies upon release, killing them in one hit. This also added to the complexity of the game as the player now needs to also decide whether they want to have a longer jump and fire or just a single smaller jump.

In terms of playtesting, we had one single playtest in which the person appreciated the dual mechanic of the shoot and jump that we created and also found the game interestingly captivating. Nevertheless, upon seeing them play and hearing their comments, they felt that the jump itself was too unrealistic and artificial as the ant itself did not have much gravity and weight acting on it. This created a very floaty effect where the ant stayed in the air for too long upon jumping. As such we decided to add weight to the ant and a larger force of gravity acting on it to make the gameplay feel better and have it be more satisfying.