Toy Trooper is a 3D side-scroller platformer game created using Unreal Engine as a Level Design assignment back in 2020. With the lack of experience with this game engine, there was a lot of limitations to what I can achieve but before getting into that, this is the gameplay video of Toy Trooper and a summary description of the game.
Summary Description:
My design intention is to create a nostalgic atmosphere where players have a sense of achievement upon completion while still reliving one's childhood, think Toy Story 1. With the aim to let players feel what it is like to be a tiny toy trooper in a world that is filled with toys twice its' size. Toy Trooper is a 3D side scroller where players must navigate their way through a light, cheerful but ‘sometimes’ frustrating obstacle course to the finish line. Forms of fun used are advancement and completion and application of a skill. The PPI of the level is Practice.
The level starts off with instructions on how to move, how to wall climb on a pencil, how to jump on the logarithmic board and showing players that they can walk through a hidden path. Red Lego bricks, hollow cubes, Jenga blocks, wooden blocks and domino tiles are used as an obstacle and a jumping platform.
Besides that, there are beach balls that bounces up when the player is on top (moving platform) which player can use to get to higher platforms. Furthermore, Xylophone sticks are used as a cross platform as there are 2 directions the player can go, with both sides having something to obtain or discover. There are 3 hidden trophies around the level which players can look for to complete the set but need not collect to finish the game. It is more of a side quest for 100% completion personal satisfaction. If player makes it to the end successfully and reunites with his fellow trooper, a won scene will be shown.
Touching lightly on the level mechanics, before going with third-person side scroller, I tested the game using first-person controller, third-person controller, and top-down controller. Top-down controller made the gameplay feels less immersive and does not align well with my design intention. First-person and Third-person were a more suitable choice, however, due to the limited time given to finish the game, it would feel less impactful if the game world is on the small scale. Hence, a closer camera angle combined with third-person side scroller gives players the perception that the level is much bigger than it truly is. Other mechanics used are common mechanics used in most platformer games, the reasons are fairly straightforward, if it ain't broken don't fix it.
The level mechanics used are:
Third-Person Side Scroller
Wall Climbing
Moving Platforms
Pick Up Items
Destroy on Triggers
Trigger Movement Hints
Fall Off Level Detection
Win/Lose Screen
The first design process was determining how would I portray a childlike atmosphere and the movie Toy Story came into mind. With that I started out by selecting pastel colour schemes as it helps the level feel more lighthearted and having a more contrasting colour for the obstacles would make them pop out more. I also went to look for children's room decorations and found sweet wallpapers and things that most of us would perceive as something from their childhood.
It was difficult to search and import assets into Unreal Engine as most assets needs to be purchased and children toys isn't exactly a common asset to be found. Thus, I decided to create the assets myself by looking for suitable textures and merging shapes together to create the children toys.
With the assets ready, the next step is to form the motivation for the players to explore the space. Since I want the game to have a form of discovery and let players reminiscence and immerse themselves in this nostalgic game world, hidden trophies were the chosen solution. Additionally, I decided not to include a timer as it would undeniably make the game a speed runner. The hidden trophies are then strategically placed so that players would have to explore every inch of the space before being able to finish the game with all three trophies.
Red circle highlighting the position of the hidden trophies
Moving onto object placement and game flow which is the process that took the longest time to get to the point that I am more satisfied with. At first there wasn't any clear direction in the game path, a lot of the paths cross among each other, play testers would often get lost and confused on where they were located in the level. I was under the assumption that making the level more maze-like would make the game more challenging yet interesting. In hindsight it was an overlook on my end as I found it extremely easy to beat the game due to being the one who designed it. Unfortunately I do not have any copy of previous alterations but the current level overview is the 5th alteration based on player feedback and trial and error evaluating player experience. With that, large obstacle centerpieces and wall arts were placed in key areas across the level for better game flow as it could be used as landmarks for better item hunting and location indication.
Logarithmic board and pine trees wall art would indicate players are at the ground floor
Beach ball and Princess Jess wall art would indicate players are directly above the ground floor
Xylophone sticks was used to create a branching path (left - carousel wall art & right - hot air balloon wall art) to different areas.
Hang decorations wall art to indicate the second to last part of the level
Sun wall art to indicate the final stretch to the goal
Kite wall art to indicate the hidden path to one of the hidden trophy
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