Colour Wars Rvj

Akshay Venkataramanan
L6 - Game Art and Design
 1

Game Ideas

Blind VR Game
In this fired person horror game you play as character in a dark mansion and can't see
anything . The player must use his hands (USING LEAP MOTION CONTROLLER) to explore
the world and escape . The way you do this that there is a small light around your virtual
hands to simulate feel of touch .
Befor i started work on the game i did a trial of the technology that i'll be using .
The Leap Motion Controller had one limitation , It need the processing power of the PC
and Cannot directly be connected to the Mobile .
2
 3

To overcome this I was going to:

Run game on PC ---> Use a software like Rift Cat or Trinus-----> Stream to the mobile----->
Send input info to PC from VR Mount.

After testing, i realised that even though the technique worked in theory the lag and lack
in the ease of use would make it impracticable.

Even if i removed the leap motion controller from the equation and used sound only the
equipment i needed to record Directional sound that is required in game was not
available
The only way that i saw to solve my problem , was to invest in a high end pc and buy one
of the vr headsets for the pc (Oculus Rift , HTC Vive).
I did not have the resources to invest in the above so went on to the next game
 4

Platformer
The game is a fast Paced side scrolling 3D platformer where the player has the power to
phase through walls for a short amount of time .
​In the game the player is a person/alien who wakes up in a human research center. The
story is how the player escapes the place and the planet to find his ship to leave the
planet.
​While Phasing The Character is invisible to both the Player and enemies in the game.
​The player has a special power where they can Phase (Pass Through) certain walls and
object and is not effected by gravity. The player just moves in the direction he was
moving before.​
​While in Phase the player has no control over the characters movement
​The Target Platforms:
​The Target Platforms are Pc and console .Even thought there are many platformer games
for the mobile , most of these games have simple controls and don't depend a lot on
timing like my game .
And most games have only 3 controls up ,left and right.
 5

Games that have more 3 controls normally don't ask the player to use more than 2 at a
time .
 6

As my game was built around multiple controls being executed together and at the right
moment , PC or console was my only choice.
Prototype:
 7

Ater prototyping i realized that the game could not be completed alone by me in the
allotted time .

● As i am not a Game artist and this game would heavily rely on art the production
time would be increased and i felt it would not be able to finish it in the allotted
time

● I started my dissertation work after the prototyping of the game and realized the
amount of polish a game like this would take . Without this polish the game would
seame boring.
I would need more than the given time to get all the polish in .

I would either need more time or team of a few people to complete the game. Since both
the solutions were not possible i moved on to the next game idea.
 8

Color Wars

Colour wars is a ​tile based​ ,​isometric ​game where you control a cube that has the ability
to ​paint tiles.​ One of the main challenge is that ​if you stop moving, you die!
It is intended to be a​ multiplayer party game​ in which you have to paint more tiles than
your opponent at the end of the timer to Win.
I had a idea and then went on to discuss it with my peers and teachers .
I used a long whiteboard to write down the all the variation of the game and did a paper
tests.

After a long discussion i decided on the final mechanics.

I Went on to do simple prototype of the game to test the game’s fun aspect .
Prototype:
A prototype is an early product built to test a concept,
Building prototypes can be largely educational and beneficial to the overall development
process.
The easiest thing to test with a prototype is game design. This would be the key benefit
for building a prototype. The early builds enforce design decisions and contributes to the
 9

enhancement of the new design. It helps with the development process to move the
prototyping stage close to the start of the initial design process.
Another advantage that spawns from prototyping is the reduction time needed for game
development. Prototypes allow you to completely see the game, and the mechanics
become defined as much as possible during this step. The key idea at this point is to
focus on one main idea at a time. Your prototype should test one specific aspect of your
design, and this is usually the core mechanic, or the "hook" of your game
When you are able to present users with a prototype, it gives them the opportunity to
test the actual game. This allows them to provide feedback and suggestions based on
their observations.
After prototyping the game i showed it to my peers , teachers and some Industry
professionals and they all seemed to like the concept and the game .

I had also had a custom tool in place for the game that would allow me to rapidly create
maps .
 10

As the game was more Mechanics and GamePlay based than art, i as a game designer
could more focus on the game play and game feel of the game and show my skills as a
deininger.
The Map Design could dramatically change the feel of the game. This game would give
me the opchunarty to learn about level design and game polish.
For the above reasons i choose Colors Wars as My Final Year Project .
 11

Platform
I thought of multiple platform before selecting PC include Mobile and final chose PC.
The reasons for selecting PC :
● The controls are one of the main part of the game and and even though the game
would work well on the mobile form a multiplayer point of view the controls are
more important part of the game
● If the game was on the mobile the coding involved in getting a low lag gameplay
would take more unnecessary production time
 12

Art
“As you may have considered, the concept of minimalism is of great
importance for video games because video games are one huge part of them
just communication. Video Games are always of interactivity (richest form of
communication) and most of the times about entertainment (taking as
exceptions serious games and other similar forms of games). So now it leaves
us with the question, why is simplicity more effective in communication and
how can this simplicity be achieved?

Simplicity is an effective form of communication because it leaves less space

for confusion, it transmits the idea more directly, it focuses in particular things
exalting them from lesser complements and most important, it lets the
individual concentrate in the perceived message better.

In videogames this translates as avoiding confusing interfaces, writing stories

with bold messages, focusing in the most characteristic features of a games
and letting other assets complement these, and finally letting the player have
more fun from the game experience.

For this first part in the minimalism subject I will just summarize some of the
ways in which simplicity can be achieved and will explain them in the next
parts. The characteristics which can be enhanced from using minimalism as a
design philosophy are the following:

- Simple Interfaces: interfaces with straight functionality. Each user interaction

should go straight to the point described by the interface. Assuming the right
things is crucial.
 13

- Strong Stories: stories with a coherent plot. The main subject of the story
should be easily recognized by the player. Characters have strong
personalities and its actions can be associated with the player's expectations.

- Centered Design: the design is centered in special features. All the game
components act as a whole to enhance the most differentiating

characteristics. ”
(http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/GabrielLievano/20090813/85150/Less_is_More_Minim
alism_in_Games_Part_I.php)

My Thoughts :​ The Game being a fast paced Multiplayer game I have to

communicate the idea behind the game clearly , If no the players can get
confused.
Keeping the game Minimalistic in terms of art helps me focus the attention of the player
to only the important aspects of the game .
As the game being tile based having the character in the same shape of the tile may be a
good way to go .

“Minimalism in Game Design: Examples, Tips, and Ideas

The Basics
The general purpose of minimalism in game design is to accentuate a game's
specific elements by limiting the scope or detail of the other surrounding
elements. For a simplified 'real world' example, imagine wearing a blindfold to
place a greater emphasis on your sense of touch.
 14

An entire game can be designed with minimalism as a core concept, but

minimalism can also be invoked only when needed. Art, sound, gameplay, and
narrative can all be subject to minimalist interpretations.

Aesthetic Design
The visual style of your game is incredibly important. A single screenshot is
often a potential player's only first impression, so it's vital that your game is
readable at a glance. Minimalism can both help and hurt you in this regard
due to the possibility of abstraction, so be careful.

Below are a few ideas to get you thinking about ways to introduce minimalism
into your aesthetic design:

● Use a limited and deliberate color palette. Colors can represent

emotions, moods, locations, temperatures, and personalities. Being
consistent and tasteful in your choice of color is far more important
than using a certain variety of colors.
● Contrast is your friend. When using limited visual assets, the contrast
between those assets becomes just as important as the assets
themselves. Blank space between items should be used to your
advantage when dealing with a limited number of on-screen elements.
● Use simple and recognizable shapes. If you're not familiar with the
intricacies of art and design, you should at least learn about the
importance of silhouettes. Take the most detailed element in your scene
and reduce it to a single color. Is it still readable? By working with limited
colors, you can build recognizable scenes that will remain readable as
you increase the fidelity of those elements over time.
● Lighting is more important than poly count. A low-poly scene with
superb lighting is a beautiful thing.
● Use colors or light to direct players towards a destination rather than
HUD elements, maps, and markers.
● Integrate potential HUD elements into the game's environment where
possible. Think of a digital readout on the side of a gun to represent
 15

ammo, or an inventory system that exists in physical space within a

player's backpack rather than in a menu screen.
● High quality animation on a less detailed character is far more valuable
than a badly animated photo-realistic character.
● Use real-time lighting to represent time, rather than an on-screen clock.
● Use damage models or other unique environmental solutions to
represent health instead of on-screen meters. Think of an enemy moving
more slowly or walking with a limp to represent low health.
● Use animated GIFs to advertise your game if your minimalist aesthetic

design results in unreadable screenshots. ”

My Thoughts :​ being a party game and based on paint i can use the
colour to provide the required feel, this needs more research to be done
on colours and how to use them
Using Simple shapes other than complex one. As my game is more
focused on the mechanics than the story, Characters shapes like a Sphere
, Cubes etc can be use as it will not infringe on the narrative .
Having​ ​a minimalistic HUD can also helps allow for more emphasis on the
game play.
 16

Some Inspirational Games :

Mirror's Edge

The city that the player runs around in is full of bright, sharp edges and
the buildings stand like white monoliths against a blue sky.
Rather than following screen-cluttering HUD elements, players are instead
led through checkpoints by running towards certain actionable
environmental objects that have been painted red.

Thomas Was Alone

 17

Thomas Was Alone, by Mike Bithell, is a game that you will never
understand just by looking at screenshots. On the surface, Thomas Was
Alone appears to be a typical puzzle platformer with simple, polygonal
characters devoid of personality. What lies beneath that minimalistic coat
of paint is a deceptively deep and captivating experience full of character.

Monument Valley

Monument Valley is a puzzle game built on Optical illusions . Having the

gameplay/ Puzzles being difficult to grasp it helps a lot to keep the
 18

minimalistic art and the end point is clearly indicated by a flag and which
is simplistic and effective

Conclusion :​ After some thought i decided to go with a Cube for my

character as i wanted to Minimalistic art and and the Floor/Tiles are
squares and the the character can move only in the basic 4 Directions.
The World will also be Minimalistic, The only thing that the player will see
is the Character's , Floor as any other assets are not required for the
gameplay and the game doesn't have a major Narrative Part
The HUD Will contain only the Timer , Pause Button and Paint Level .The
paint level can also be removed if the i find another way of convey the
Paint Level , by using something like saturating and desaturating the
character them self or transferring the paint level on to the character
itself.
 19

Tiles
The tiles shape and form affect both the mechanic and the look & feel of
the game.
I wanted to show the individual tiles without show broad lines . As the
game is based on print and color the lines will break the feel of the game .
For this i decided to use a halo in the cube textures itself which allowed
player to differentiate between the tiles without noticing it much.

Before Halo Texture

 20

After Halo Texture

At the start the tiles thin but my peers felt the something was off and felt a
floating feel in the game so i increased the thickness of the tiles to give a
more grounded feel .
Before
 21

After

For the painted tile i first just had them change colour , but it didn't
actually give the feel that the tiles was painted , Especially for the ones in
the edges and corners.
 22

I added a splash type of effect to the painted floor tiles to the paint
splash feeling to it
 23

Character
I wanted the character to be simple and havre reason to its form and not
just some random character that looks good .
While doing case study for my dissertation i realised that animation can
completely make or break a game.
As i am not an animator i wanted to find a character that can give the
same feel of a well made character with minimal animation .
As the game is fasted paced long animations can be use as this will hinder
the pacing of the game or make it feel completely off.

The game is tile based to there is no to have characters that are humanoid
in shape .
My game is tile based game and the movement will be in fixed steps and
the time between steps will be very less. Unlike a game of digital chess
where there is time between the movements to completely play out a
smooth movement animation for the above reason i did not consider a
characters like vehicles, sphere, or any other moving objects as there will
not be enough time to play out the animation .
As the tile are in the shape of a cube i started experimenting with
characters which are simple Shapes as it also fits the minimalistic art of
the game.
24
 25

Out of all the shapes i tried, i went back to the cube (in prototype)
seemed to fit best.
● It need very little animation if any
● The tiles being a cube in shape the character fit perfectly .
● The movement fit perfectly to a cube as the character moves on a
square grid .
The size of the character needed to be a little smaller than the tile can be
seen when the player is standing .
I also rounded the edges of the of the cube to give a soft feel that fits
better with the fun party feel of the game.This is a small change but
makes the feel better , even if the player does not recognise it .
26
 27

After choosing the shape i wanted to add character to the shapes , to do

that i decided to ​add faces​ to the cubes.
I drew​ inspiration​ from​ UNBOX ​the game and drew some Faces for
cubes.
 28

Rough Sketches

I Choose to keep the glass design as it add more depth to the character as
rest of the character was just lines.
 29

I tried new eyes but the eyes looking in a specific direction makes the
character in the game would look odd.
 30

I tried different emotions in the character faces and choose the funniest of
ones for the character (All char in Art Bible)
 31

I choose these characters following the colour scheme that i had

decided ​(Explained Below) .
They will Be further developed but i wanted to continue build the
game and its feel before i come back and experiment developing the
textures on the character
This character design would appeal to a the target audience
(Explained below).
Also the Funny charter and there colours gives a fun party feel to the
game
 32

I have also been experimenting with 3 Objects that over lay on the
Cube character other than just 2D textures .depending on how play-
Testers react i will continue with this .
 33

Background

I needed a background that complimented my games look and feel .

I needed a background had to be something that did not grab attention away from the
tiles and the player.
Having a plane background is the best way to do it as elements in the background do not
grab the attention of the player .
One of the best games that illustrate this is Besiege in which everything except the main
character and environment elements that the it has to interact with everything else is in
a blueish grey gradient .
 34

The Main reason for the gradient being there other than plain flat colour being that it
helps our eyes and brain feel a sense of 3D space .
 35

The Main reason for the gradient being there other than plain flat colour being that it
helps our eyes and brain feel a sense of 3D space .
So i wanted to use this gradient to make the tiles visible without it standing out too much
.
 36

UI/UX
I wanted to do a simplistic UI that matched the game’s Minimalistic Art Style.
I Firsted Decided the UI/Menu Flow and later Went on to design the Actual UI Style .

I later tried a few UI Art Design

I Then Choose one from the above designs and developed it more as this design is the
one that most people liked the most and Fit the game’s Theme the best .
 37

These are the few of the initial rough Sketches i did for the UI before Choosing One the
final one
 38

Final UI Outlines
39
 40

UI Buttons

Based on the blocky minimalistic art style of the game i chose this style for the UI
elements.

All Buttons Change colour when the cursor hovers over it and the colour of the button
was decided depending on it function . Exit--->red ,Resume -->Blue, and so on.
 41

Color scheme

Basic Color Theory

Color theory encompasses a multitude of definitions, concepts and design applications -
enough to fill several encyclopedias. However, there are three basic categories of color
theory that are logical and useful : The color wheel, color harmony, and the context of
how colors are used.

The Color Wheel

A color circle, based on red, yellow and blue, is traditional in the field of art. Sir Isaac
Newton developed the first circular diagram of colors in 1666. Since then, scientists and
artists have studied and designed numerous variations of this concept. Differences of
opinion about the validity of one format over another continue to provoke debate. In
reality, any color circle or color wheel which presents a logically arranged sequence of
pure hues has merit.
 42

There are also definitions (or categories) of colors based on the color wheel. We begin
with a 3-part color wheel.

Primary Colors​: Red, yellow and blue

In traditional color theory (used in paint and pigments), primary colors are the 3
pigment colors that can not be mixed or formed by any combination of other colors. All
other colors are derived from these 3 hues.

Secondary Colors​: Green, orange and purple

These are the colors formed by mixing the primary colors.

Tertiary Colors:​ Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green &

yellow-green

These are the colors formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color. That's why the
hue is a two word name, such as blue-green, red-violet, and yellow-orange.

Color Harmony

Harmony can be defined as a pleasing arrangement of parts, whether it be music,

poetry, color, or even an ice cream sundae.
 43

In visual experiences, harmony is something that is pleasing to the eye. It engages the
viewer and it creates an inner sense of order, a balance in the visual experience. When
something is not harmonious, it's either boring or chaotic. At one extreme is a visual
experience that is so bland that the viewer is not engaged. The human brain will reject
under-stimulating information. At the other extreme is a visual experience that is so
overdone, so chaotic that the viewer can't stand to look at it. The human brain rejects
what it can not organize, what it can not understand. The visual task requires that we
present a logical structure. Color harmony delivers visual interest and a sense of order.

In summary, extreme unity leads to under-stimulation, extreme complexity leads to

over-stimulation. Harmony is a dynamic equilibrium.

Color Context

How color behaves in relation to other colors and shapes is a complex area of color
theory. Compare the contrast effects of different color backgrounds for the same red
square.

Red appears more brilliant against a black background and somewhat duller against the
white background. In contrast with orange, the red appears lifeless; in contrast with
blue-green, it exhibits brilliance. Notice that the red square appears larger on black
than on other background colors.
 44

Different readings of the same color

If your computer has sufficient color stability and gamma correction you will see that
the small purple rectangle on the left appears to have a red-purple tinge when
compared to the small purple rectangle on the right. They are both the same color as
seen in the illustration below. This demonstrates how three colors can be perceived as
four colors.

Observing the effects colors have on each other is the starting point for understanding
the relativity of color. The relationship of values, saturations and the warmth or
coolness of respective hues can cause noticeable differences in our perception of color.
 45

Color Scheme for Color Wars

Before i Started to Select the color scheme for my game i wanted to research about what
colours are used in games based of colours.
Ink
 46

INK is a fast-paced platformer about using colorful paint to uncover your surroundings. Defeat all enemies in
the room and reach the goal! However, the terrain is invisible, so you need to discover the terrain by
physically bumping into it, by performing a double jump or dying.

My Thoughts ​: I tried the game and What i realised is the game always use vibrant colours and on a dark
blueish colour.

As the game is based on not being able to see the world without interacting with it the dark blue Background
fits very well.

Colour Scheme in the game:

● Bright Vibrant Colours
● Dark Bluish Background
 47

Splatoon
 48

Splatoon is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by ​Nintendo​ for the ​Wii U​,
which released worldwide in May 2015. The game centers around characters known as
Inklings—beings that can transform between humanoid and squid forms, and hide or swim through
colored ink sprayed on surfaces using gun or brush-based weaponry.

My Thoughts ​: UnLike INK Splatoon Uses White-ish Backgrounds(Buildings), one of the reasons this works
is that the game is in 3D Gradients can help in defining the 3d objects .

Just Like INK, Splatoon uses Bright and vibrant colours. When the ink/paint feeling like a thick liquid than the
thin light feel in INK

Colour Scheme in the game:

● Bright Vibrant Colours
● Whitish objects.
 49

Hue

Hue is a vibrant, award-winning puzzle-adventure, where you alter the world by changing its background
colour.You need to use this Machanic to slove the puzzles .

My Thoughts ​:The game uses color in a very different way compared to other games , Other u being able
to paint items you switch the secondary colour of the world ( the primary being black )

Colour Scheme in the game:

 50

● Bright Vibrant secondary Colours that are used to define the objects in the world .
● Black (primary colour) Background .
 51

Colours and how they make you feel

I want the games colour scheme to invoke the the Fun-Party like feel.

“It's obvious that not all color schemes are going to look visually
appealing with every single game's theme. A color scheme should
be used to strengthen the mood you are trying to convey.
Picture a horror movie: the scariest scenes all take place in a dark
environment or at night. That's because dark colors convey a
feeling of unease. So if you were to make a horror game, you
probably wouldn't pick hot pink as the dominant color of your
game; you would most likely choose a monochromatic or custom

color palette consisting of dark colors. ”

(https://gamedevelopment.tutsplus.com/articles/picking-a-color-pa
lette-for-your-games-artwork--gamedev-1174)

My Thoughts :​ Dark Colours Seem to convey a unease feel so i have to

avoid using dark colours .

“The Function of Color in Games

The primary function of color vision is to make it easier to
identify objects, and indeed, the use of color in games reflect this.
We make apples red in games because they are also red in the real
world, and so we can recognize them easier in the game. But color
has many other functions in games, as it does in art, design, and
film. This section describe some of those.

Emotion
 52

Color is a powerful way to evoke emotion.

The following is an example of essentially the same scene, with

”
different colors. Each has a distinct mood..

My Thoughts :​The Highlighted ones give a feel of happy and Excitement

(Decided from asking my peers) .
 53

“In addition to making games recognizable, color can also help convey
its intended audience: for example, brighter colors are used more in

casual games, while more nuanced colors are used in core games. ”

My Thoughts :​As my game is for the casual gamers it is better to use

Brighter colours .

“Signifiers and Identifiers

Colors in games are used to identify different elements and alert the
player to properties of elements.

Identifiers

Color identifiers (also known as glyphs) are used to group and separate
game elements, such as differentiating players, in game characters and

in game areas. ”
 54

My Thoughts :​My game being a multiplayer game, have each character in

a different colour will help a lot in differentiating the the two character ,
especially when both characters have the same general shape.

As my game is based on painting colours it is very important to pick the

right color scheme.
I decided to use a white background as vibrant colours would look better
on a white background than a dark one .
 55

Plus it is easy for imagene fresh paint on a white wall/floor than on a dark
wall.Problem being that if i use a white for the background and floor the
player might not be able to differentiate between them. I use a gredition
in the background and floor to solve this problem like the BG in
“Mekorama”
 56

Mekorama also is a good example in for bright - vibrant - rich colours .

Conclusion :​ So i decide to use a blueish- white greadriation for the

background and floor and bright - vibrant - rich colors for the character
and the tiles hey paint
 57

Mechanic
I wanted to create a unique simple and fun mechanic.
For the tiles , I first locked at different shapes of tiles used in games.
1.Hexagon
This is the most common type of tiles used in tile based game mostly
used in games like strategy games , turn based etc ast hexon gives more
control over direction.

2. Square
This is the second most common type of tile based game and is mostly
used in puzzle games .Even though the it constraints direction it is a simple
and easy understand .
 58

3.Triangle
This is very rare as the the grid is very constrains in terms of direction
and a very few puzzle games use it
 59

.After some experimenting i chose to use the square tiles as the keys?
controls alove for easy 4 directional movement . The Hexagonal tiles is ideal
for point and click mechanics but it is difficult to get this movement through
key board and point and click is slower.

I developed the game Future and after a reviews from peers ,teacher and
industrial professional i refined the game mechanics and rules to what it is
now .
I wanted the game to be Fun for the players to play.

Games with Similar Mechanics

 60

Splatoon is primarily a team-based third-person shooter which is playable by up to eight players in

online four-versus-four matches, although the game also features local one-versus-one multiplayer
matches and a single player campaign. Players control characters called Inklings, who have the
ability to ​shapeshift​ between human and squid forms. In humanoid form,​ Inklings can shoot ink in
their team's color, which can be used to cover the environment or "splat" opposing players or
enemies. ​Transforming into a squid allows players to swim through ink of their own color, even up
walls and through grates, hiding from the enemy and replenishing their ink supply in the process.
Conversely, enemy ink is much slower to move across in humanoid form​, cannot be swum through
in squid form, and can gradually deal damage. Players can use their ink to try and "splat" their
opponents, which will send them back to their team's respawn point whilst also providing a large
splat of ink. In all modes, except for the two-player mode, players can use the Wii U GamePad to
view a map of the surroundings and instantly launch towards the location of another teammate, as
well as use optional gyroscopic controls to assist with aiming.
 61

My Thoughts :​Even though this game has a completely different core

Mechanic than mine the idea of using paint /ink is similar to my game.
There is also a penalty to moving on the opponent's colour which is similar to my game .
The art style is minimalist and cartoony to give a better feel of the fun party type idea of
the game .
 62

● The game is tile based and the character in the game sits on top of a floor made of
individual tile.
● The player can move in only 4 directions front , back left and right

● The player can't stop moving ,if he/she dode he is losses the game immediately.
● The player has a limited amount of pint and each time the player paints a floor tile
the player loses some amount of paint .

My Thoughts :​ ​at first i thought that that the button clicking might get irritating so i
tried a version of the game where the player could hold a direction button other than
tapping it but it turned out that people actually like the rapid tapping so i changed it back
 63

Re-paint mechanics
If there is a tile in the enemies colour and the player tries to paint it in his colour the tile
will first change to neutral colour , the player must then repaint the tile to paint it in his
colour.
In doing so the player loses ​twice the amount​ of paint than normal and will spend
twice the amount of time.

My Thoughts :​ ​The repaint mechanic was created as a balancing mechanics so no

player can’t just go around repainting the opponents floor without any consequences.

Paint Collection
To re-fill paint the player must go to special floor tile called “Paint Buckets”.
Paint Buckets are common to all and don't have a specify colour
Once on the paint bucket the player's paint level moves up and down and the player
must hit a certain button to select the level of paint , this is simulate to the power bar in a
lot of games. ( Mostly games like golf, cricket etc where the player must select the power
in which the ball must be hit).
The player ​can't move​ until he​ selects the amount ​of paint he needs .

My Thoughts :​one other thing i changed is other than the player pressing a certain
button, the level of paint is decided on when the player leaves the Paint Bucket the
reason for this being that the button pressing was breaking the flow of the game and the
many players just wanted to pass through the bucket and not stop there .

Game Type 1 – Classic

In this game mode the player try to paint as much of the floor they can in a limited
amount of time.
Paint buckets are spread out through the map and players must keep and conquer (
Paint ) new floors .
The player can paint floor or stop the opponent from moving by blocking their path
As the game is multiplayer the difficulty is subjective.
One way to improve game is to add blockers/Pillars in the map design

Game End Conditions :

 64

If​ any player stops​ the player is out of the game .If it is a 2 person game the other player
wins no matter the amount of paint the player has .
When the ​timer​ gets over the player with the ​most tiles​ in his colour ​wins.

My Thoughts :
During the game testing i realized that the game gets boring during mid-game ,
People complained about the game sections being too long .
Previously the timer was decided depending on the no of tiles in the Map
Eg: if there are 40 tiles in the maps
Timer = 40 X 2sec(time for each tile)
80sec
But i turned out that, While this worked for smaller maps the play time for the bigger
maps starter to get too long therefore i decide to have a max time limit - around 30-40
sec ,requires testing.
Also players like the maps with more Pillars (Blocker) than the plain one even though i
thought large open maps might be preferred by the players
Some of the others ideas to get over this is :
Powers that spawn and on collection give special power ups .
○ Paint 4 tiles at once
○ Can paint over opponents tile directly
Dynamically change the map ( Pillars that move you and down)

Game Type 2 – Race

In this game mode the map is a linear race track.
Here there are checkpoints that the player must pass through to gain paint.
Unlike the Paint Buckets the player can't stop on the checkpoints

The player ​can't move​ on a ​neutral or opponent's tile​ if he/she runs​ out
of pain.
when the player has no paint he/she can ​move only in their colour .
 65

If the player runs out in the middle the player must go back and get more
paint.
This add slove the problems of all players have the same movement speed
.
Player can cut off opponents access to paint by braking the players link to
the previous checkpoint but in the player must leave his track and spend
more paint which puts him/her in the danger of running out of paint.

Game End Conditions :

If any player stops the player is out of the game .If it is a 2 person
game the other player wins no matter the amount of paint the
player has .
Whichever player reaches the end first wins.

My Thoughts :
The reasons behind the checkpoint machanic be in that the movement mechanic
of this game type being that the players have the same movement speed. This
creates a prob with race type as it depends on one player being faster than the
other.
Player having to go back to get paint adds difference in the speed as players should
decide if they want to go empty the paint reserves and then fill or keep toppling
their pain level up. And the counter for this again adds a new style

Other things that can solve the problem being

Powers that spawn and on collection give special power ups .
● Paint the complete row in his/her colour which will break the opponent's link to
the checkpoint.
● Can paint over opponents tile directly
● randomise the other players colours ( only if more than 2 players are playing)
Maps that force the players to fight for the path (all paths blocked except one)

​Game Type 3 – Have a link

It is a version of the classic but with the ”​can't move​ on a ​neutral or opponent's
tile​ if he/she runs​ out of pain ​and can ​move only in their colour .
 66

My Thoughts :
I felt ​can't move​ on a ​neutral or opponent's tile​ if he/she runs​ out of pain ​and
can ​move only in their colour mechanic was a real good one would
completely change the way the game is played where the classic type of the
game was all about brute force this game type for ces the player to think
and play and encourages defencive play
 67

Other
Close games (in party game types ) are also more fun than a huge leads so the game is
built around trying to get this feel .
So i am trying to balance the paint leaves and no of tiles , no of pillars , timer to get the
perfect feel

Feel of the game

The game feel that i wanted the players to feel was a Happy -Fun - Comdy .
Something like Mario Cart .
Being a party type game it is all about fun multiplayer games .
To get these feelings :
● I kept the game fast paced so that the players kept moving and there
is no make mistakes that make for some fun in game events .
● I am designing the character in to be funny cartoon character faces on
the top of the cube .
● The Theme of the game being bright and filled with vibrant colors
further helps convey the fun feel of the game

Fun happy feel

How get by fun by keeping game close wins
Funny characters
Sound
 68

Level Design
Each level in the current build of the game is leads different play type from fast paced
button mashing to strategy to a fight over movement space.
This is so that i can evaluate Which playtype?maptype is more fun and why so that the
final Levels can be more fun .
For the level design i used the custom tool to create level on paper and convert them into
digital forum .
Overlay the designed map on a 10X10 Grid and number the tiles according to the key
below .

Type ID Number

Empty 0

Normal tile 1

Paint Bucket 2

Piller 3

Then note down the numbers starting from the top left
Enter this code into the tool
Eg:
69
 70

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0

0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0

0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0

0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

So the code for this level would be :

000000000000000000000002000000000111110000011111000001111100000111110000
0200000000000000000000000000
Using this method I created levels of different sizes and no of blockers so that i can play
test it and experiment with different level configurations .
I am still in the process of play testing and deciding what variation of the elements make
for a fun gameplay.
71
72
73
 74

PlayTesting & Game play Changes

● There were 2 Major game rule changes that was done during the
productions .I decided to make these changes after i showcased the a
build of the game in a Game Designer Meetup (Recorded on the
video). I had also had my peers play my game and observed their
behaviour.

● The Issues were :

○ The players would get forget to hit “CTRL” when they were on a
paint bucket and try to move. The fact that the Character
suddenly stopped was breaking the flow and frustrating the
player.
THe idea give the player behind the mechanic was to give the
player some time to select his paint and give another button
that the player must remember to hit.
 75

But During PlayTesting It was observed that player really don't

like this rule and was spoiling their fun .
So i change the rule to as soon as the player leaves the paint
bucket the paint level gets selected .
○ And other Issues was with the amount of time a match lasts
.The time a match was previously decided depending on the no
of tiles on the map as to give enough time to play through the
whole map.
50 Tiles ---> 50X2s(Amount of time for each tile)--->100sec match
The start of the game should be a race to fill as many blocks as
you can , the mid game would be a battle to hold those tiles and if
possible get more and the end would be trying to keep the no. of
blocks more than your opponent.
But it turned out that players enjoyed short session lasting
anywhere from 30-45 sec .Players started getting bored in the
mid game of some of the larger maps .
I am currently in the process of testing the optimal match time
for each map and adjusting the formula that calculates the
match time
● One of the other trend that i noticed was that the players liked the
maps with blockers than the ones without them. Players seem to have
more fun in maps haat create mazes like paths using blockers .This is
something that i need to keep in mind while designing maps in the
future
 76

Target audience
I have designed the game to appeal to large and wide range of players .
As a party game the target audience for my game is players of all age.
My game's Target audience is similar to Mario Kart games .

Publishing and Marketing

I plan to submit my game for Steam GreenLight and ID@Xbox .
 77

Both Are for indie developers Platforms that allows Developers to showcase
their games and get funding to further develop their game.
Both also Act a Marketing platforms in 2 of the biggest gaming community
and platform, they have the ability to reach a lot of gamers and get a lot of
exporecture for your games .
I also plan to pitch the concept in Conference like NGDC(Nasscom Game
developers conference) to get in touch with potential investors and make the
game know in the gaming community.