INTRODUCTION
So. I wasn't expecting to ever make an educational game for children. They're usually not my target audience, and... to be honest... I find it limiting to cater towards such a young group of people. Y'know? I usually go and handle more mature stuff with my stories, put my games in environments not catered to basic education.
So, instead, I used the educational theme as a framing device for what I created. Presenting, Warehouse Waltz.
So, instead, I used the educational theme as a framing device for what I created. Presenting, Warehouse Waltz.
GAME DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
INTRODUCTION
Warehouse Waltz is a somewhat educational platforming game that works to teach color recognition and association through the use of consistently colored objects. In this game, the player will traverse a large warehouse, reading educational posters in order to associate colors with the functions of the factory's machines.
GAME THEME
As shown in the title, the game is themed heavily around the idea of an abandoned factory warehouse. Mostly because I liked the aesthetic and thought it would look nice (I was correct in my assumption). While some would say it isn't "fit" for an educational game, I think that idea is harmful. Kids aren't stupid. I believe that my non-traditional environment actually goes pretty well
THEME INCORPORATION
This warehouse theme gave me a lot of room to work with in terms of incorporating its design into gameplay, but I decided to focus on the platforming potential with a factory's moving parts. Glowing red buttons that rotate massive girderlike platforms, elevators that the player has to climb on, which automatically move up and down.
The player climbs on catwalks, pushes random objects around for fun, and presses buttons to operate simple rotating machines, which they'll know about through the use of posters.
The obstacles are not walls, but are instead boxes, shelves, and platforms, which fill large rooms and cramped hallways with obstacles to traverse and overcome.
GOALS AND GAMEPLAY
The player's goal is simple. Make it to the end of the warehouse. They can jump, but they are... not fast. Not fast enough to jump to the vast majority of the places they need to go. Instead, they will press buttons to rotate specialized platforms, which they can use to progress through the factory.
KEY FEATURES
The unique puzzle-solving element of the platforming, using the rotating platforms, is the main feature of Warehouse Waltz. It's simple, but that's good for the audience I'm going for. Which is, well... children, most likely between kindergarten and second grade.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
Warehouse Waltz was made entirely within the Unity Game Engine, using features from the Unity Asset Store.
CONCEPT ART
While I did have concept art for the first rendition of this game, I strayed away from it so much that it's practically unrecognizable.
Warehouse Waltz is a somewhat educational platforming game that works to teach color recognition and association through the use of consistently colored objects. In this game, the player will traverse a large warehouse, reading educational posters in order to associate colors with the functions of the factory's machines.
GAME THEME
As shown in the title, the game is themed heavily around the idea of an abandoned factory warehouse. Mostly because I liked the aesthetic and thought it would look nice (I was correct in my assumption). While some would say it isn't "fit" for an educational game, I think that idea is harmful. Kids aren't stupid. I believe that my non-traditional environment actually goes pretty well
THEME INCORPORATION
This warehouse theme gave me a lot of room to work with in terms of incorporating its design into gameplay, but I decided to focus on the platforming potential with a factory's moving parts. Glowing red buttons that rotate massive girderlike platforms, elevators that the player has to climb on, which automatically move up and down.
The player climbs on catwalks, pushes random objects around for fun, and presses buttons to operate simple rotating machines, which they'll know about through the use of posters.
The obstacles are not walls, but are instead boxes, shelves, and platforms, which fill large rooms and cramped hallways with obstacles to traverse and overcome.
GOALS AND GAMEPLAY
The player's goal is simple. Make it to the end of the warehouse. They can jump, but they are... not fast. Not fast enough to jump to the vast majority of the places they need to go. Instead, they will press buttons to rotate specialized platforms, which they can use to progress through the factory.
KEY FEATURES
The unique puzzle-solving element of the platforming, using the rotating platforms, is the main feature of Warehouse Waltz. It's simple, but that's good for the audience I'm going for. Which is, well... children, most likely between kindergarten and second grade.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
Warehouse Waltz was made entirely within the Unity Game Engine, using features from the Unity Asset Store.
CONCEPT ART
While I did have concept art for the first rendition of this game, I strayed away from it so much that it's practically unrecognizable.
HOW TO PLAY
WASD is used to move the player. They can't sprint, but they can still walk around.
Press SPACEBAR to jump.
- Pretty much everything can be jumped on.
LEFT CLICK to press buttons. Pressing a button rotates all red platforms 90 degrees.
Press SPACEBAR to jump.
- Pretty much everything can be jumped on.
LEFT CLICK to press buttons. Pressing a button rotates all red platforms 90 degrees.
PLAY WAREHOUSE WALTZ HERE
Keep in mind that the posters and ending have not been added just yet.. and THE ORB will be removed in the final version (whoops).
SELF REFLECTION
So, my main goal here was to make the game look good. After making so many trashy looking Unity projects, I wanted to give my game the incredible gift of being, y'know... pleasing to look at. After scrounging through the Unity play store like a lil goblin, I eventually found something that looked nice.
One of the biggest difficulties with creating this game was, believe it or not, the very simple coding that I had to do. I am... not a programmer. I'm a designer. I usually handle concept art, writing, and the main mechanics of a game. I do NOT usually handle making the funny platforms rotate... so this was very difficult for me.
You see, connecting scripts to other ones is not easy. In fact, I still have no idea how to do it. And, well... trying to make the rotators visibly rotate was ALSO a problem, because they decided they would all do so, one at a time, whenever the button is pressed. I eventually settled for making all of them rotate instantly.
Thankfully, this worked.
One of the biggest difficulties with creating this game was, believe it or not, the very simple coding that I had to do. I am... not a programmer. I'm a designer. I usually handle concept art, writing, and the main mechanics of a game. I do NOT usually handle making the funny platforms rotate... so this was very difficult for me.
You see, connecting scripts to other ones is not easy. In fact, I still have no idea how to do it. And, well... trying to make the rotators visibly rotate was ALSO a problem, because they decided they would all do so, one at a time, whenever the button is pressed. I eventually settled for making all of them rotate instantly.
Thankfully, this worked.