Game info
Two players takes the role as either Spark, the electric bug or
as Kling, the metal blob. They have to work together and use their unique abilities to solve puzzles!
Activate machines, magnets and generators as Spark by shooting sparklings. Use the Metal gel as Kling to lover scales and levers to get through different obstacles
Your powers can also be combined, Spark travel throughs Klings Metal gel, and Kling can do a double jump when he is shot with Klings small Sparklings.
Engine
Genre
Co-op
Puzzle platformer
Team Size
10
Describe your image
Describe your image
Describe your image
Unity
Project info
This project started as a school project, we had two themes we wanted to achive with the project; Work Together and Use Ones Abilites On Eachother
We worked on the project for a ariybdof 3 months. The first month we worked on it as group project, and after the group project was done we decided the later months we decided to continue as a side project.
We decided later to release the game on steam, which the group made small updates and while I handled most of porting to Steam
Work Together
We wanted the player to have indidual abilites to use to each others to progres
Group Project
Side Project
Time: 1 Month
Worked 6h per day
Time: 2 Months
Worked 2h per day
I had two roles during the production, both as a the lead designer/system designer and as product owner
Use Abilities On Eachother
We wanted the players to use their individual power on each other to progress
Steam Release
Worked sporadicly
30m per day
System Designer/Lead Design
Product Owner
Worked with systems of the main mechanics, including pitching the abilites of the game, diagraming the mechanics, holding design meetings, and working with the team what workes
Worked with a more produceral role, trying to keep the vison of the project, and working to keep track on different deadlines we have set up
System Design/Lead Design
I worked with trying to lead the design team, I took that role because i had experience with working on a co-op puzzle game with elemental characters
I would lead design meetings, map out the abilities in diagrams, be in communication with rest of the team how the abilities would work.
Each ability went through three stages, Pitch, Diagram and Imlemitation.
Pitch
Which I or another group member would either pitch a mechanic.
Diagram
Which I would make Diagrams exlplaining the ability for the ability
Implementation
Which i would be in communcation of the team for making the mechanics
When designing the abilities i pitched them iniiatly with each abily to have a dual function, an individual and a symbiotic
Individual
Symbiotic
A mechanic that the player can use themself
Used with/on the other character
Kling can metal gel levers to open doors
Kling can create paths which Spark can travel through
Link to the other game
Initialy most mechanics was designed with having their function and limitation, similar to how i developed mechanics from my other game, however as development went on the game went on that became less of a focus.
Example of an early mechanic: Throw Metal Gel
Pitch
Example from my orginal pitch document i made. For this mechanic focused on the function and limtations, and i added some refrences to other games to talk about ti
Diagram
From our Miro-board, here the format is from another designer, howerve i deatailed the information.
Implemitation
The Final result: not all of the intended ability was in it, however thats probebly for the better as we had already plenty enough for the game
Example of a later mechanic: Spark Possesion
Pitch
Here is a picture from the white board during an design meeting which we discused the mechanic
Diagram
Using my own diagram, i tried to show more the step by step process of them
Implemitation
The final result: most of the function of the ability came in, and thanks to the puzzle and level desingers they where used in an intresting way
Product Owner
As product owner i worked with setting the goals for each week of the project, and trying to keep track on what we have finished and what needs to be done.
I would also be the one to prepare and hold different presentations when it was a Group project, and primarly wright, undertake or give task to wright documents for most of the various competitions we sent our game into.
We worked using semi-scrum, taking some aspecects of scrum of having Sprints, Sprint planning, Daily Stant-ups and Retrospecctives. However we would modify it for our needs and wants, and how we used varied form when the game was group project to when it became a side project.
Group Project
Most organisation and being in communcation with the team was quite easy, as through the process was quite easy as we decided to always be in the discord one of our discord channels
Setting goals was quite easy, i would make list based on the ertain goals set by the school and what we wanted. We had our hand-in by the fridays, so we based our sprints on weeks.
We would have two main meetings* Sprint Planning and Set Expectation Day
*plus the daily stand-ups lead by our then Scrum master
Sprint Planing
I would present the list to the team, talk if these task would be possible to be done by the week. If not then we would re-plan or cut the feature.
The list would be divided between what is a must and and what would be nice.
List for the Alpha Sprintplanning
Set Expectation Day
We would go through the list again, see what is done, what is missing, and if that missing stuff is critical to be done for this week, or if we could wait for the with that feature (or if that feature needs to be done)
if people had nothing to do, then i take a task from a list i prepared during the week
List for the Release Sprintplanning
Problem: Bad Faith Team Member
During the project we had a team member that did not contribute to the project. As it was a school project, I in communcation with the head teacher to what to do about the team member, and she gave him two chances to make the least effort to the project and show good faith.
Solution: Kick him of the project with teachers blessing
After he did not do the work we asked him to do, I had a conversation with him that we don't expect work from him and that he will not be in the credits of the game as it would be disrespectful to the other team members
Side Project
As Side Project, we had a set goal to be finished before we where going for our third big game project for the school (GP3), so i made a schedule and marked the most important dates. I also gave each sprint a theme representing what we would focus on.
During this time, our scrum master steped down and i be the one to organise and hold ald the meetings of the group from then on. We also dedided to have two weeks sprint instead of one, and we skipping having daily stand-ups.
However we added two critical meeings that was important for moral, weekly lunch and celebrations after each sprint.
Weekly Lunch
Sprint Celebration
Which we would have lunch together and discuss the project and everyones progress
Which we would celebrate that we succeded with the sprint. Could vary from having a gaming night to going to a bar.
The Grand Schedule
