Doomsday Protocol
Doomsday Protocol is a 2D Top-down base defense bullet hell, where you play as D.D., the Earth´s last standing defense against alien invaders. D.D. must follow the defense protocol and reconnect the power source provided by the last generator while being ambushed by increasing waves of aliens.
This was a Team Project for the Game Design Program at VFS. Download it and try it!
Platform: Windows PC
Engine: Unity 2023.2.17
Software: FMOD, Adobe Photoshop
Duration: 3 months
Team Size: 5
Role: Level Designer | Game Designer
Accomplishments
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Co-designed the gameplay pillars and core mechanics.
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Designed the gameplay flow & metrics.
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Coordinated playtesting.
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Balanced the Game's difficulty and progression.
Game Design
I had direct participation in the definition of the game's Gameplay Pillars, Core Mechanics, and Core Gameplay Loop, as well as the progression and difficulty balancing through playtesting and iteration.
Gameplay Pillars: Swiftness, Frenezy, and PowerCore.
Gameplay Loop: Navigation (movement), Combat engagement (Kill enemies), Generators Placement (Build).
Features: Fight through timed enemy waves of increasing difficulty that target you or the power generators using your close combat wrench and dashing. Fight three different types of enemies (close combat grunts, ranged aliens, and tank beasts). Defend the charging and main power generator. Strategically place new power generators in every wave to benefit from the dual turret defense and to get upgrades between waves. Choose an upgrade to increase your chances of survival, combining upgrades for a desired play style. Defend your main generator and charging generator while avoiding losing all hit points for 5 complete waves to succeed.
Key gameplay moments: Wave intensity + generators' defense. New generator placement. Choosing upgrades to create the deadliest combination.
Gameplay Metrics
Screen view: Gameplay flow and metrics
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Playable character (DD) and basic enemy units' size: 1 square meter (Unity Unit) --> Simplify movement and balancing, plus enhancing mobility to create fast-paced and constant movement (Swiftness pillar).
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Power Generator: 4 square meters, static. Inner core range (no possible generator placement) 5 square meters radius --> keep the player pushing outwards (expanding the base) to avoid a saddle point (too many turrets close together) and to keep the player in constant movement (Frenzy).
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New Power Generator Placement: Optimal placement radius (to get an upgrade) 5 square meters outside of the inner range (10 square meters total). --> Balance the difficulty by placing the generators further away to get new upgrades and keep the player moving.
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New Power Generator Range: Inner range 2 square meters, outer (optimal) 3 square meters from the core (5 total) --> The main generator has to be defended at all times; losing it means game over. This is to keep the player "grounded" while moving around the base and growing outwards, "pushing" away the enemy attack, killing enemies from every side.
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New generators have a lower range to avoid growing too much too fast and promote optimal placement to get new upgrades, as well as balancing the difficulty between defending the new generator (most exposed) and having to move back to the center, and strategically grouping turrets to create self-defending synergies.
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Enemy spawn area: 5 square meters outside, further from the main generator --> This is to have the enemies constantly attacking the player (Frenzy), forcing it to become a killing machine (Power). A "contained" gameplay area helps to enhance all the pillars while adding interesting and constant decisions.
Zoomed-out layout: Main gameplay flow and map metrics
Playtesting, Balancing, and Iteration
Design Spreadsheet: variables tracking and balancing
I created a spreadsheet to compile every mechanic and feature we designed during pre-production so that we can break that information down and use it to start creating the game.
Later on, I used this same information to identify the key points to balance the core aspects of the gameplay, including:
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Player movement
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Player health
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Enemy movement per type (3)
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Enemy health per type (3)
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Player attack (range + damage)
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Enemy attack (range + damage) per type (3)
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Wave duration
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Increased wave duration
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Enemy spawn rate per wave
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Upgrades probability
Using this information and the game pillars as a compass, I balanced the game towards the optimal experience.
Later on, thanks to playtesting and iteration, I helped the team improve the feedback system and gameplay flow, as well as keep balancing the difficulty.
I conducted over 20 play test sessions, documenting the feedback and bringing it to the team to discuss and decide solutions or iterations to achieve the desired experience.
I also created a simple document to communicate the rules for an alternative system for generator placement, intending to avoid a saddle point found in the design.
Snapshot of rules for the alternate generator placement system