Space Dungeon - Global Game Jam 2018
Space Dungeon is a asymmetrical exploration adventure for VR. With one player first person in VR and one outside on a 2D map, the second player uses a map to direct the VR player through the abandoned spacecraft, the ESS Defiant (yes, I stole that from Deep Space Nine).
Space Dungeon was the product of the Brisbane chapter of the 2018 Global Game Jam, my first ever game jam. Produced by a multi-disciplined team of 8 over the course of 48 hours, Space Dungeon was created for two players on the HTC Vive. On this project, I acted as producer/project manager and UI designer & artist. Keep reading to see a wrap-up of my role on the project and my experiences.
STARTING OUT
Being my first game jam, I didn't come in with any preconceived notions about what kind of game I wanted to make. However, I did come in with a few basic goals for myself during the jam, and these were as follows:
- To work in a team of people I had never met before
- To practice my project management and production skills
- To practice my UI design and art skills
- To create something I'm proud of to include on my design portfolio
After learning our theme for the jam, "transmission", we spent the next hour or so breaking into teams. As a self-named "utility", I spent a bit of time approaching each group to see what they needed. Eventually, I found a larger group that looked like they were in need of direction and I started out by facilitating some ideation around our theme. Next, I helped the team get to know each other and delegated roles based on each team member's abilities. After creating a rudimentary breakdown of the game elements that would be required, we headed to bed for the night.
On Saturday I started early by creating a map of what our level should look like. Once this was complete I passed it on to a developer so he could start creating the level in Unity. The final level changed somewhat significantly from this original design, so I developed a "blueprint view" in Photoshop based on what my team member made in Unity at the end. This would become the screen interface that player 2 reads from to help player 1 navigate the spaceship.
DAY 2
Next, I spent some time designing the different UI elements for the player in VR. Since I wanted to try and avoid having information on the screen in a HUD display, I had the idea to attach UI elements to the player's hands, similar to a Pip-Boy in Fallout. I started with the right hand, which would typically be holding the weapon (assuming the player is right handed). With a limited time frame, I wasn't able to spend time researching the best way of displaying ammunition or other information for the player, so I had to be creative and I chose to do this with as little written or numerical data as possible. I decided on a 4 phase system in which the weapon has ammunition that gradually recharges after use. The charge level of the weapon is represented by the blue light-up diamond on the four sides of the circular indicator (images on the right).
While I was working on the art side of things, I was also managing the team and checking in with each team member on a regular basis, ensuring everyone was on task and had everything they needed. I did have to mitigate one or two minor issues between team members and ensure we were sticking to tasks delegated to us to prevent time wasted from doubling up.
Once the gun interface was done, I spent some time considering how to display the player's health and various in-game items. I wanted to keep the theme similar to the weapon display and try to represent the information visually rather than numerically wherever possible. I created the final "pipboy" based on some sci-fi concept art and had some fun tweaking the design in terms of adding and taking away shapes and lines, and I really enjoy the final look. In terms of function, the segmented bars on the right and left sides were intended to act as health bars, while the four large diamond shapes could have been inventory slots or other options. Unfortunately, the functionality for the "pipboy" and the gun interface wasn't able to be implemented in the final game due to our time constraints, but I do think they look pretty cool.
DAY 3 & WRAP UP
On the last day, I focused on managing the team and re-prioritising our burn-down to ensure all the basic functionality would be implemented in the game. This included ensuring we had enemy models, working controls and weapons, sounds and a win & loss state. I was also in charge of ensuring our game was ready to go on the deadline. On top of this, my co-leader and I participated in an interview with the organisers of the jam on behalf of our team which was broadcast live on Twitch. This was a great way to observe our arc from start to finish and acknowledge the great work of our team in the short time we had together.
With the small amount of spare time I had left, I created a splash screen for Space Dungeon including a few basic buttons to start and finish the game.
Overall, I had a really great experience at my first ever game jam and I felt like I really achieved the basic goals that I set for myself. We created a pretty cool little game in the time we had!
