Night Light Heights (2012)
High Concept:
"A 2D, side-scrolling, fast-paced, rail platformer set in a high-tech cybernetic world." Other Info: Development time: 8 months Team Size: 7 Role: Game Designer Engine: Custom Made (C++) |
About the Game:
The initial idea for Night Light Heights came to me when I was watching a talk on bioluminescence which inspired me to make a game that would use lights and particles in an cold, dark and remote environment. Later on, with the addition of the idea of having electronic music to play an important component, it became clear that the right thing to do was to go a little more abstract adopting the high tech feel which blended nicely.
It wasn't until a third of the way through development that the idea of combining everything into a rhythm game, a sort of Guitar Hero or Rock Band in which you interacted with a world adding a subtle narrative feel to it. Mixing all of these design elements together seamlessly was a tough challenge but the final result paid off.
What I did:
As the only game designer on the team, I was responsible for the overall design vision as well as creating and iterating on mechanics and level design for most of the development cycle. With the small team we had, I also had the chance to work hands on programming some of the features in the game including the input system and game logic.
What would have done differently:
By far my biggest regret on this project was not playtesting early enough in the process. Early on the development of the game we had major ideas in regards to where to take the game to which proved really hard to blend together. When we finally came around to start gathering data and feedback it became clear that most of those early concerns could have been solved easily by collecting data and focusing on what would really have an impact on the player.
The initial idea for Night Light Heights came to me when I was watching a talk on bioluminescence which inspired me to make a game that would use lights and particles in an cold, dark and remote environment. Later on, with the addition of the idea of having electronic music to play an important component, it became clear that the right thing to do was to go a little more abstract adopting the high tech feel which blended nicely.
It wasn't until a third of the way through development that the idea of combining everything into a rhythm game, a sort of Guitar Hero or Rock Band in which you interacted with a world adding a subtle narrative feel to it. Mixing all of these design elements together seamlessly was a tough challenge but the final result paid off.
What I did:
As the only game designer on the team, I was responsible for the overall design vision as well as creating and iterating on mechanics and level design for most of the development cycle. With the small team we had, I also had the chance to work hands on programming some of the features in the game including the input system and game logic.
What would have done differently:
By far my biggest regret on this project was not playtesting early enough in the process. Early on the development of the game we had major ideas in regards to where to take the game to which proved really hard to blend together. When we finally came around to start gathering data and feedback it became clear that most of those early concerns could have been solved easily by collecting data and focusing on what would really have an impact on the player.
Sample Music
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