Design brief
Frog Dynasty VI is a two-player precision platformer in which you both play as frogs. The Frog Lord has undergone a ritual to bring demons from another dimension into the realm, furthering his grip on power and halting any attempt at usurping him. To get to him and take the throne, each player must reach their corresponding tunnel at the end of each level, using their combined efforts and charged jump to traverse the harsh journey.
To ensure the success of this game, I will complete these tasks:
- 2 player local multiplayer
- 10 different levels of increasing difficulty
- Enemy that walks back and forth along a platform
- Enemy that chases the players
- Interesting story
- Charged Jump mechanic
- Buttons and Blockades that are colour coded
Design development and production
Early testing and designing:
Began with a general idea that stemmed from Frog Dynasty III. Basically, all this was a development on the first game’s code and gameplay, but I fixed a lot of the original bugs and exploits and sharpened it all up.
Design Journal:
Final version
One feature of the game I’m very proud of is the boss fight at the end of the game. It feels unique as a fight and took a lot to create, but it becomes a way to test whether or not the players have actually learned how to manipulate their characters and move efficiently, as well as if they can work together well to damage the boss.
User testing
Many people tested it, all found that it was very difficult. This was good, and as expected. The aim for me was to create a very challenging game that tests the players skill to the extreme. Most of the ten people who tested the game found the controls intuitive and were able to complete several levels before deciding it was hard. These people were selected by asking random people to try it or when people asked to try it, and it had taken place over the course of the last few weeks. Only two people who tested, not including myself, were able to make it to the boss but only one had been able to beat it. Most people liked the jump mechanics and the feeling they got when they beat each level. Generally, people answered with positive results, but some didn’t like the difficulty. All found it very difficult. I could summarise the data into several graphs denoted by the amounts of responses of each number on a scale. Worded answers could by sorted on a scale of negative to positive.
Evaluation and reflection
All success criteria were met with flying colours. The levels are all complete and all of the mechanics work as intended. This game has been much better and more successful than I originally planned.
There were several problems with levels accidentally being way too hard, fixed easily though and all levels are beatable. Additionally, one of the main problems was the jump bar above the character’s head, where I couldn’t get the positioning of the arrow to work properly and walking into the wall would mess it up or moving while jumping would mess it up. To fix this issue I simply made it one object with a hundred frames where the sprite was always stuck to above the character’s head and changed frame depending on how much power was in the jump.
If I could start over, I would add more levels and mechanics, and even a third player. One idea I also had was to make one character move fast but jump less powerfully while the other jumped high but moved slower to allow for more interesting level design.
The Game:
