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REACHING INTO THE TOY CHESTA LOOK INTO THE DESIGN OF
SKYLANDERS: SPYRO’S ADVENTURE
WHAT IS SKYLANDERS?
WHAT IS SKYLANDERS?Players purchase real-world toys…
WHAT IS SKYLANDERS?… which they put on the “Portal of Power”…
WHAT IS SKYLANDERS?… and they come to life!
WHAT IS SKYLANDERS?Toys with “Brains”
WHAT IS SKYLANDERS?Multi-player (Co-op and PVP)
WHAT IS SKYLANDERS?Cross-Platform
THE STORY OF SKYLANDERS…
IT ALL BEGAN IN 2007…●The iPhone 1 was released
●Zynga and Farmville… won’t exist for 2 years
●Duke Nukem 3D… still wasn’t out
●Vivendi Merged with Activision
●And Toys for Bob begins working on Skylanders
• Gritty “realistic” Spyro
EARLY CONCEPTS
●“Tiny Spyro”
• “Origami Spyro”
BRING IN THE TOYS
“Spyro’s Kingdom”
THIS TALK IS ABOUT DESIGN, NOT HISTORY.
DESIGN CONSTRAINTS
●Lots of “retrofitting.”
●What Skylander are you using?
●Enemies, Levels, & Heroes designed simultaneously
HOW DO YOU MAKE THAT?
SKYLANDERS IS A COMBAT GAME
THE “BIG” QUESTION
Who do you want to attack next?
THE POWER OF ARCHETYPES
ENEMY DESIGN
4 ARCHETYPES OF ENEMY DESIGN
●Near
●Far
●Swarmer
●Heavy
NEAR ENEMIES●Primary Behaviors
1. Move close to the player
2. Pre-attack
3. Attack
4. Post-attack
5. Go to 1
SKYLANDERS NEAR ENEMIES
NEAR ENEMIES (CONT)●How does this change the Big Question?
● You want to take them out at range
● Provokes the player to move around the playfield
● If it’s close it becomes a priority.
●How can we get variety into this archetype?
● Change enemy’s attack
● Change enemy’s locomotion
NEAR SETUP ARCHETYPES
Gang-up*One-on-one Waves*
*Not very interesting
NEAR ENEMIES AS AN OBSTACLE
*Interesting
NEAR ENEMIES AS TRAPS
FAR ENEMIES●Primary Behaviors
1. Move to a point far from the player
2. Pre-attack
3. Attack
4. Post-attack
5. Go to 1
SKYLANDERS FAR ENEMIES
FAR ENEMIES (CONT)●How does this change the Big Question?
● Environment matters
● Friendly fire makes players feel smart
●How can we get variety into this archetype?
● Varied projectiles●Boomerang
●Straight ahead
●Lobbed
●Area effect
FAR SETUP ARCHETYPES
CoverOne-on-one Moving Target
MIXING FAR AND NEARFARNEARPIMP
SWARMERS●Characteristics
● Can be near or far, in terms of attack●Though often they are Near enemies
● They are fragile (low HP)
● Are not dangerous alone●Nasty in swarms
●Nasty in mixed company
SKYLANDERS SWARMERS
SWARMERS (CONT)●How does this change the Big Question?
● By themselves, they don’t
● Mixed in with Nears and Fars, they are VERY interesting.
●How can we get variety into this archetype?
● We can change their attacksas with Nears or Fars
● Mainly the differentiatorsare size and model
SWARMER SETUP ARCHETYPE
Swarm
SPAWNERS
MIXING NEAR ENEMIES AND SWARMERS
MIXING FAR ENEMIES AND SWARMERS
MIXING ALL THREE
HEAVIES●The opposite of swarmers
● Can be near or far, in terms of attack
● They are hearty
● Not minibosses, but still nasty
● Change your priority!●Even one makes you take notice
SKYLANDERS HEAVY ENEMIES
HEAVY ENEMIES (CONT)●How does this change the Big Question?
● This enemy BECOMES the priority, but…
● again, environment matters
●How can we get variety into this archetype?
● Attacks●Lots of freedom. More “miniboss”-ish
●Movement (walk, run, hover)
●Much larger silhouettes encourage visual variety
MIXING FAR AND HEAVY
MORE QUESTIONS
●Specific enemies ask “little” questions.
● Shields: “When can you damage me?”
● Grenades: “Can you use my shot to kill guys?”
●The Big Question is enriched, not replaced.
LEVEL DESIGN
ARCHETYPES OF LEVEL DESIGN
• Flat Plane• Gap (horizontal)• Ledge (vertical)
GAPS (EXAMPLES)●Lava
● Crossable by Fire Characters
●Water
● Crossable by Water / Flying characters
●Void
● Not crossable by anyone
●“Cover”
● Blocks straight-ahead ranged attacks.
LEDGES (EXAMPLES)●Literal Ledges (mesh)
● These usually had an alternate way up
●Towers (placeable)
● Originally designed to be destructable
WHY ARE THESE USEFUL?●Useful as “placeholders”
● Levels can be designed without knowing specifics/
● Ensures a good “intensity ramp” even without knowing enemies
GAPS AND LEDGES (CONT)●These change the Big Question
ONE MORE LEVEL-DESIGN TOOL:●Non-combat gameplay
● Designed very late in the project.
● Levels needed to allow for these to be added in the future.
●Usable as Placeholders
● We could set aside space for them without getting hung up waiting.
HERO DESIGN
4 SKYLANDER POWER ARCHETYPES• Close range• Straight-ahead• Indirect• Special
CLOSE-RANGE POWERS●Powers that hurt enemies close to the player.
STRAIGHT-AHEAD POWERS●Ranged attacks that shoot out straight ahead.
INDIRECT POWERS●Not as “aim-able” but can hit ledges and cover
SPECIAL POWERS●Usually movement or status-based
WHY ARE THESE USEFUL?●Placeholders
● We could have “quotas” for each power.
● Ensures a good distribution
●Balancing
● Avoids redundant abilities within Skylanders.
●Synergy
● Skylanders’ main powers could work well together.
RETROFITTING
RETROFITTING A “BLANK” LEVEL
THE FINAL RESULT
SUMMARY●Archetypes are your friend
● Enemies: Near, Far, Heavy, Swarmer
● Level: Plane, Gaps, Ledges
● Hero Powers: Close, Straight, Indirect, Special
FINAL LESSON
QUESTIONS