Greg's Quest
Greg's Quest is a 2D side-scroller platformer where you play as Greg, an adventurous kid who dives into a mysterious world looking for his lost friend. Follow trails, jump to reach further around, pay attention to the world around you, and find secrets.
This project was created for the workshop "Make a Game" organized by Vancouver Film School in Mexico City. This was awarded as the best project of the workshop and was rewarded with a scholarship for the Game Design program. Download it and try it!
Platform: Windows PC
Engine: Unity 2021.2.17
Software: Unity, Adobe Photoshop, Visual Studio 2021
Duration: 1 week
Team Size: Solo
Role: Game Designer | Level Designer | Narrative Designer | Programmer (C#)
Assets: Super Platformer Assets by Foxfin (Free to use Unity Asset Store), Pixel Art Platformer by Cainos (Free to use in Unity Asset Store), license-free music from Artlist.io.
Accomplishments
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Executed a vision through a cohesive use of the MDA framework.
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Crafted a unique experience that evokes strong emotions using simple mechanics.
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Used Unity's tilemap to design and iterate levels.
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Implemented a soft fail state (no game over or death).
Game Design
In this project, I wanted to create a reflexive and contemplative experience that would mix the nostalgic feeling of being a child exploring the world and the uneasy feeling of being lost while venturing in the quest to find oneself.
To achieve this, I decided to use the side-scrolling / platforming genre due to its simple and easy-to-understand mechanics, which can be used as a symbol or metaphor. Jumping and reaching platforms is a simple-to-understand and execute mechanic that can become complex and require multiple attempts and mastery. This same principle applies in our real lives, where we have to learn, try, fail, and try again.
The aesthetic approach, including the pixel art assets, visual effects, sound effects, and music, aimed to reinforce and create in the player the feeling of loneliness, getting lost, and the need for introspection, while venturing and exploring an unknown world.
Gameplay Pillars: Contemplation, loneliness, introspection, intrigue, no death.
Gameplay Loop: Move, Jump, and pay attention to the world.
Features:
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The platforming system includes: walking, jumping, climbing, bouncing off boosters, and two-way and invisible platforms.
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Coin collections with a UI counter to appeal to the explorers and collectionists, and are used as breadcrumbing to guide the player.
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Seamless levels with no death state and no soft-locking reinforce the pillars and emotions envisioned for the player.
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Hidden paths and secrets can only be accessed by paying close attention and triggering the player's introspection.
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Multiple paths accessed through different approaches to the game appeal to different play styles and create a more relatable experience.
Key moments:
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Starting the adventure, reading the messages in the background, and testing the first bouncing challenge.
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Finding your lost frog friend and taking the leap to reach it.
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Learning to keep pushing down, even though the level "suggests" going up.
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Putting into practice the lessons learned throughout the world in the third level (trust your instincts, don't be fooled by appearances, keep trying).
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Finally reaching your friend.
Introduction to core mechanics, core loop, and aesthetics in the first section.
Multiple paths to evoke exploration and intrigue. Use of breadcrumbing to guide.
Evoking a sense of adventure and fear of getting lost (falling).
Challenge the player by breaking conventions.
Reinforcing the theme and aesthetic. Get lost to find yourself.
Put everything learned to the test at the final level.
And reward those who've been following what the game teaches.
Simple puzzles to reinforce the core mechanics.