Map Layout Design - UQdeco2800/2022-studio-2 GitHub Wiki
Map Layout Planning
Starting questions our team had prior to progressing with Map Layout Design:
- What is the game progression like? (This will guide our map layout design)-> Discuss with Story Team
Will there be levels? How many? Is the player going to unlock sections of the map? Where are they trying to go? Game objectives?
Asked Team 6 during studio session + asked design committee on discord
- How can we set the theme of 'Atlantis' in this sprint?
Team brainstorming: Add surrounding water, palm trees, ancient greek components
Level 1 Colour Pallete (Given by Story Team)
Excerpt from Story & Character Doc by Story Team (team 6) ['Where do we start:']
Lavish upper-class greek area, probably within an upper-class/rich person mansion, a lot of marble pillars, a lot of greek lavish style things like laying chairs, goblets, packed tables of food with grapes, bread, fruits etc. The opening scene is [Player] unclogging someone's messy disgusting toilet - potentially you see tentacles slither away out of the corner of the game as a start of the camp horror.
Initial Design
- Tile image * 1 (high priority)
- Wall image * 1
- Trees image * 1 (high priority)
- Columns image * 1 (high priority)
- Floor image * 1
- Water image * 2-3 (hex and rhombus type output in case we want some sharp edge for the water pool like your picture, but that is low priority)
- The Plug for going to the next level, maybe in the very top center of the picture. (high priority)
- Extra texture(mud, rubble, etc. low priority)
Map Creation
- The map layout was created in Tiled, by assembling the tile designs from our designers they were collated in the application in order to allow for quick prototyping and adjusting of map layouts.
Map Expansion
After testing and feedback sessions related to the map layout, it was established that both level 1 and level 2 should be expanded and enlarged. This expansion would facilitate more challenging and complex gameplay, in contrast to the oversimplified original map layout.
Map Expansion Design
In order to develop the expanded map, sketches and prototypes were created which acted as a reference for the map expansion.
These sketches incorporated the original map:
And subsequently, an expanded prototype was created with the original map as a reference point:
Map Expansion Development
After these sketches were developed, an expanded map was created, again using the program Tiled. When creating the expansion using this tile editing platform, it became clear that the prototype sketch was not expansive enough. It was used as a reference point however, it was iterated upon and enlarged to create a more complex map.
Feature Testing
Since the map is an integral element of game user and developer testing undertaken. The aim of this testing was to ensure both smooth gameplay and effective integration of other game elements.
Testing Method: Survey
Testing Plan:
- Develop Survey
- Include comparisons of old and new map iterations
- Ask a range of open-ended and multiple choice questions regarding the usability and suitability of the map
- Analyse feedback
- Implement feedback
Feedback Excerpts:
The overall response to the map was unanimously positive. When asked about the overall perspective of the updated map, feedback included:
Areas of improvement/constructive feedback included:
In response to the feedback, changes were made to the map within the tile editor.
These included:
- Removing decorative tiles from the water features:
- Adding more detail to create a more rounded and interesting effect as was noted in the feedback:
These changes led to the final iteration of the map, and were subsequently implemented into the game:
Next Steps
Receiving more responses to the survey user test will provide more opportunities to iterate upon the map in future. Additionally, extra design elements such as water plants and other map details could be added. While they won't add to the functionality of the game, they will map the map more visually interesting. Thus, further iterations to enhance the map will be undertaken.
Additionally, the next steps in the implementation and layout of the map include incorporating the end-of-game screens when Atlantis sinks. Initial designs and map layouts for this part of the map were developed, as seen below, using TMX and will be implemented as the game development process continues.
However, after discussing with developers, it was decided that the water overlay component and changing of maps was not feasible and instead a "lose" screen rather would be displayed, rather than the map "flooding".
Sprint 4 - Forest map visual improvement
With the iteration of darker water tiles, implementing on the map is shown below:
Due to timely constraints, the darkened water is more displayed to be in square-shaped regions rather than a curvy, alternating manner to mimic the waves that may be present on the shore and for future work, is something that should be worked on.
Sprint 4 - Level 1 Map Border improvement
We changed the border colour for level 1 to be the blue/aqua main colour of the water. This was implemented since it was much more appropriate than the previous yellow colour which made the map seem out of place.
