Paper Prototype by Wictor Sundstedt

Paper Prototype

In the summer of 2023, after receiving a scholarship from Sammes Stiftelse, my friend and I developed a game, aiming for a 15-minute playable demo by the end of summer.

Here I do an overview of the project and later on I go more in depth of the Boss Design.

Team size

Role

Technical Designer

Time

2.5 months

Software

Unreal Engine, Blender, Perforce, Adobe Illustrator, Trello, Figma

Planning & Prototyping

Over the summer, we structured our work into planning, production, and polish phases. In the initial weeks, we carefully outlined the demo's mechanics and set our production criteria.

I then used flowcharts to guide the code's structure, emphasizing modular design for future iterations. Utilizing Interfaces, rather than direct casting, optimized object communication, enhanced modularity, minimized errors, and improved code reusability.

Prototyping - Player BasicS

With a clear plan in place, I rapidly prototyped daily, bringing a game mechanic to life and evaluating its functionality by day's end to determine necessary modifications and areas for enhancement.

Using the "Player Basics" flowchart from the planning phase, I quickly prototyped the player Blueprint to achieve tight and responsive controls.

Player Basics Flowchart

Player Movement Prototype

Player Movement Polished

Prototyping - Wall Jumping

A challenge for me was to get the wall jump to feel responsive. I successfully achieved it by detecting collisions with a custom object channel when the player attempts to jump mid-air.

Wall Jump Flowchart

Wall Jump Prototype

Wall Jump Polished

Prototyping - Interact

From day one, I aimed for a modular interaction system. I achieved this by creating a sphere trace that identifies the interactive object, then sends an "Interface Message" to its blueprint. This approach ensured that interactions remained modular.

Player Basics Flowchart

Player Movement Prototype

Player Movement Polished

Polish

During the project's final month, I dedicated myself to make the game's assets. While we initially considered using premade assets, none matched our unique vision of a world built from paper, cardboard, and other craft materials. So, I personally took on the task and created all the assets from scratch.

Planning of boss Design

I began by designing three distinct phases for the boss. The first two phases featured falling stones and homing missiles respectively, while the final phase combined both elements. From the summary, I then crafted a detailed rendition, elaborating on each stage and their seamless transitions to the subsequent phases.

The last thing I did was to create a flowcharts of the full boss fight. Here I also used Interfaces for modular code.

Boss Flowchart

Falling Stones Flowchart

Prototyping - Boss

Using the flowcharts, I designed the various phases as custom events. These events recur until the player reduces the boss's health to a predetermined level, triggering the transition to the subsequent phase of the battle.

communicating with other bluepritns

In the first phase, the boss utilizes a blueprint that tracks players and releases crumpled paper onto them. This blueprint and the boss communicate via interfaces. After this stage, the boss evaluates if there's enough damage to move forward or if the phase should be replayed.

Iterations and Polish

For the whole boss I've incorporated exposed variables for the boss's health and duration of each phase, facilitating real-time adjustments during testing.

After preparing the boss for testing, I went and got some friends to playtest. They tested the boss, and I made real-time adjustments based on their feedback. The only adjustment required was shortening the duration of each phase, as playtesters felt they were too lengthy and believed the game had ended before reaching the final phase.

The last step involved using Blender to design assets for the boss’s lair and integrating them into the game.

Final Thoughts

Throughout the development process of the demo, I felt like I was on a continuous learning curve. Starting with the basics, I laid out my thoughts using flowcharts, which helped bring clarity to the intricate gameplay mechanics. The decision to integrate interfaces was a pivotal moment. While I believed it was efficient, it was also a leap into familiarizing myself with best design practices. Dipping my toes into Blender was a challenging yet rewarding experience. Reflecting back, each step offered its own set of lessons, driving me to provide a more immersive player experience.

Wictor Sundstedt

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