MISSION: ICE CREAM
Mission: Ice Cream is a 2D Puzzle-Strategy game where the player has to navigate their way through a dangerous beach to get his bullies some ice cream.
Primary Role: Game Designer
Secondary Role: Project Manager
Team Size: 5
Time frame: 2 Weeks (Jam)
Engine: C#, Unity
Theme: Instructions are a lie
DESIGN PROBLEM
The constraints for the Jam was:
- Summer Cozy Themed
- The Instructions are a lie
These two ideas can often contradict each other, so we needed to find a way to express that the player is in a position they don't want to be in, as well as using a setting that doesn't put too much on the line.
CORE LOOP
The player is able to Wall Run on colored walls by jumping next to them and holding forward. The player gains speeds and acceleration while Wall Running and can wall jump any time by pressing the jump button.
CARD GAMEPLAY
The player uses a deck of cards to choose their character's actions per turn.
The idea behind this was to add some strategy not just onto the board but also challenge the player's deck play, as the right move would involve sequencing as well.
ENEMIES
Enemies in Mission: Ice Cream (Crabs) are designed simply to as moving obstacles, they are one hit but also need to be ran into to kill them; requiring the player to make a choice between running for the main objective, or sacrificing a move to get rid of a crab.
After the player retrieves the ice cream, a new wave of crabs spawn in telegraph preset locations.
This allows the player to pre-plan their moves before they get to the ice cream.
Crabs have a maximum action count of 3, as they match the player's amount of actions of their turn to prevent any kiting issues.
LEVEL DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
We wanted to make the levels grid-based, as they are the easiest to work with on a 2D Strategy space.
We also wanted the area to be a bit more open, since the game takes place on a beach, but not too open because it would give the player too many options when moving around crabs as well as potential obstacle and crab placement.