Puss in Prison is a 2D cooperative puzzle platformer emphasising multiplayer ethics. In it, two players must work together to break out of prison. Through this multiplayer experience, players are challenged with their morals by collaboration..
This project was my first step into digital game development, requiring me to learn how to use a game engine and work digitally in a team. For this project, there were four members on the team. I had the following roles:
In the beginning, there was no Puss in Prison. Originally, our vision was simply a 2d collaborative puzzle platformer, with a theme on escaping prison.
Naturally, our first step to creation was iteration. We began with sketches to block out mechanics and designs, then I followed through with creating a workable greybox for presentation purposes. The goal of the greybox was simple: Present our main mechanics and then some. My focus was on getting something workable, not clean.
After creating a greybox and receiving positive affirmations (as well as critical feedback), we went forward with our project. As one of the programmers, I focused on building mechanics, setting up systems like sprite animations, and so forth!
This portion of the project was very fun for me to challenge myself. I enjoyed building mechanics and systems separately and then integrating them all into one cohesive product! As it was also my first real attempt at development and programming, I found each new challenge motivating to push through.
When it came to designing levels, it was clear in the beginning to start designing with paper. This allowed for easy iteration and definition for setting up potential levels. The concepts and implementations shown here are the levels I designed.
Note that not every concept matches the final implementation. This is because as the project developed, there was tons of feedback that led to tons of iterations. From small changes such as reordering elements to big ones such as redesigning how the room layout is and the functional purposes.
A highlight level I was proud of designing is the tutorial level, aka the first room. Originally, we wanted a simple mechanic - standing on buttons - that demonstrated that to progress, you needed both players to work together. After some discussions and iterations, we actually developed a new mechanic entirely - carrying - so that we could make more interesting level designs. What the final product ended up being was a tutorial level that demonstrated that each player has the ability to benefit each other in their own mechanics.
Ultimately, "Puss in Prison" was a nice dive in learning how to iterate and create engaging level designs.
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