Akello Fells
Game Designer
The Floor May Be Lava
My goal when making this game was to make it reminiscent of the beloved household game The Floor is Lava and capture it within a video game. The player must exit the building within each level without touching the floor. This is a solo passion project focusing on platformer systems and modular-level design.
Setting up a sample scene
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To start the project off I started off by putting together all the basic level pieces I would need to make the layout of the game. I included floor walls lava doors and buttons. I then placed a first-person character in the level testing purposes.
I chose to create this first instead of going straight into designing the level because I wanted to test a tweak my level pieces before using them to make levels. I also wanted to test the floor and wall dimensions to make sure that they were satisfactory.
The Button System
With this system I created I can set up a button anywhere throughout the level and use it to activate a door. No matter where the button is if it's set to a specific door it will open that door and pan the camera on the door to show it open.
I decided to create this system to help create more interesting areas for the player to move to outside of the nearest. This system also creates situations where the player would not just think about how they are going to get somewhere without touching the ground but also how to get back.
Tweaking the player
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After playtesting the level it became apparent that there were some much-needed adjustments to the player. The adjustment made are listed below.
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A significant decrease in player size
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A decrease in jump height
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An increase in player air control
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The ability to walk on steep slopes.
I changed the character size to make the player less likely to hit the ceiling and make the player the height of a child fitting the theme of the game. I decreased the jump height and increased the air control to allow the player to jump further without hitting the ceiling. I gave the ability to walk on slopes to help the player walk on the odd models of furniture.
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After publishing the game and receiving feedback on the game I used that feedback to make multiple changes to the game. I made multiple additions to the player movement and gameplay.
I have added some buffering time to jump before leaving the object you are jumping off of (coyote time), I allowed the player to change their jump height based on how long they hold the jump button and I set up a checkpoint system.
The coyote time and the checkpoints help to make the gameplay more forgiving and satisfying and the ability to change jump to control jump height leads to more precise jumps.
Level 1 Home
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Level one takes place in a house starting in a small bedroom. The player has many pieces of furniture to jump on and a big red button across the room in view.
This first room is designed to help materialize the level by giving the player many small jumps to make. The player is also introduced to the buttons by opening a door that is right next to the button. After creating the level I now knew what systems needed to be tweaked.
Level 2 School
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In this level, the player is introduced to more complicated jumps and multiple buttons in the same room. The player must navigate a school moving through hallways, music class a cafeteria, and a library.
I felt like a school made sense for a second level it allowed me to make a bigger level with interesting rooms I could use to ramp up the difficulty with a steady curve. After making this level I chose to publish the game to receive feedback on how I can adjust the game's systems and difficulty.