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Level Designer

Spectrum - Created in Unity

Description: Spectrum is a 2D platforming adventure game, where the player manipulates colors to reveal hidden platforms within the world. The player takes on the role of a heroine, Ivory, who is trying to save humanity from a disease that has taken away people’s ability to see colors. Ivory gains control of a device to see and change between three colors (Red, Green, and Blue) in order to reveal hidden platforms and monsters.

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Teaser clip

 

   

 

 

The Level

 

Goal: To teach create easy to hard difficulty puzzle layouts using the color-switching mechanic.  

 

Tasks: 

  • Planning and white boxing initial layout for three levels.

  • Testing and iterating on puzzles and enemy encounters.

  • Ensure difficulty ramps from beginning to the end of each level.

  • Ensure each level has unique and challenging layouts.

  • Work directly with the programmer and artist to implement features and level ingredients.

  • Polishing level with final gameplay balance tweaks and art props.    

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Finding the Blue Crystal so now you can switch between two colours.

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Finding the Green Crystal so now you can switch between three colours.

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After getting all three colours you can use the colour blast to reveal hidden rocks around you.

Bats and other creatures lurk within the caves, careful they will kill you.

After switching between colours platforms colours linger for a moment helping you remember where they were.

Some puzzles require you to switch off your colour then back on to land on the other side.

If you switch a colour on in the middle of a platform you die, so timing is key.

Some require you to fall and switch a colour on before hitting the spikes below.

Certain creatures for each colour will attack if you notice them. This is the bat like evolved creature.

Ammo boxers are hidden just off the path for the explorer like player. They require slightly harder puzzles to pass by.

Not all paths are straight, you can choose which way you want to go. Some ways have more enemies some have more spikes.

Towards the end of the game longer strips of spikes and smaller platforms challenge the players platforming and memory skill.

Messages on the rocks leave hints for you. Here the hint is trying to get you to remember sequences of colours.

The Good: 

  • It was my first time creating a map for a puzzle platformer game, it helped me step out of my comfort zone and try new puzzle combinations. 

  • As I built each level I kept learning new puzzle techniques and combinations to try while increasing the difficulty of the progression.    

The Tough:

  • Most of my experience with games comes from playing FPS's or RTS's. When planning the level layouts I had to adopt new strategies for thinking such as creating button patterns for switching colors.   

  • Using only a few level ingredients creating different unique puzzles provided many troubles, small additions such as non-traversable walls provided me with fresh ways to switch up repetitive combinations.    

The Awesome:

  • Everyone that played the game said it was an awesome and unique way to play a platformer.  

  • Everyone on the team took away many best practices such as pre-planning and the importance of scrums, which we all took into our final projects.  

The Team 

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Shane Nielsen-

Level Designer

 

 

Jerry Hsu

Project Manager

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Emily Eror

Artist

 

 

Cassio Sylva

Programmer

 

 

 

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