Field Punk
2D Platformer
Field Punk is a 2D platformer where the player uses the power of magnetism to traverse the rooftops of an Asian steampunk world. You play as a half-automaton that must change the magnetic pole of her armor to push and pull herself through environmental obstacles. If you're feeling up to the challenge, try to beat your best time and gather all collectibles to show you're a true master of magnetism!
The Work
At the very beginning of development on this title I was tasked with creating a working prototype of the game while our engine was still being built. For this, I decided to work in Unity.
I spent the next three months implementing and playtesting every system we required for final gameplay. This included basic movement, magnetic fields and their interaction with other objects, and throwing of magnetically charged projectiles. The prototype also included a block-out of a potential level puzzle as this game was originally intended to be a puzzle platformer.
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Once we began production I began sketching out levels and began implementing them into the engine, testing how well they taught the gameplay. Playtest data showed that it was going to require a lot more time to teach players how to use their personal magnetic field. With that in mind, we ended up reducing the complexity of the game by removing the magnetic projectiles from the game.
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In the end we released a game with four levels. And I learned many things through the course of development. I learned that for 2D side scrolling level design, flow and feel are king. I know that the moving platforms added variety but also broke the flow of the level. This broke the player from that flow state that would much better be maintained than broken for the interjection of variety. I learned that without the right camera controller, large vertical shifts were difficult to perform and best broken into many smaller vertical shifts.
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I enjoyed working on this project and it certainly helped me grow. I know much more about 2D level design and how different elements can affect the play space.