Across Kingdoms
This VR game was originally created for a University project. with a team of 3. Since then, it has been showcased on multiple occasions, including ProdSoc showcase and Christchurch Game Dev Meetups, where we received feedback on the game.
My original role was very general, doing code for props, and adding effects across the levels, such as sound and particles to make the game feel more complete. However, since finishing the project for University we thought it had value and I decided to keep working more on it to polish the game.
Since then my role shifted to game designer and UI designer.
Game Design
The prototype we created was a simple bow and arrow game. My aim was to make people feel powerful. The game summary says: "You are a guardian of the Kingdoms: A mystical archer who swore to protect all the worlds". Up to that point what was missing most from the game was showing that you are a mystical archer and make players feel like they are powerful guardians.
My aim was to create the feeling for the player that they are a powerful mystical archer.
Sketching
The dimensions guardian wants to protect the natural order of the universe and this includes making sure humans are safe. The guardian is deeply connected to nature as he needs to keep the balance of it.
Since we want to portray that he is mystical, powerful, and connected to nature, I sketched some ideas of powers he could have, his bow, and different arrows, inspired by nature.
After sketching different ideas, I decided to start writing up the GDD to have all my ideas organized in one place and be able to distribute the GDD to others, in case they jumped into development with me at any point in time.
Download sample of GDD here:
The sketches also include a bow inspired on how the Guardian mask would look like. Since this is a VR game, the player doesn't get a look at the guardian, so I decided to add the guardian's signature on the bow since it is what the player will be using the most throughout the game.
UI for VR
Problems:
The previous person in charge of the UI used many tags to control the buttons.
UI design for VR can be more complicated than UI for flat-screens since it has to be compact, easy to use, and visible for the player.
Solutions:
Create a modularised system in which adding and deleting buttons is easy. This method will use scripts instead of tags.
Using the previous UI as an example, design new UI pop-ups, and buttons, that have a more unique look for the game relating to the theme.
Analyzing previous UI
Looking at previous work using the 10 heuristics of UI design, I realized there was a need for a pop-up that asked the user again for their answer, in case they mistakenly aimed at the wrong button.
I also decided to change the main menu button on the level selection menu to "Options" and "Quit". This decision was made since the level selection menu already works as the main menu.
Remaking pop-ups and buttons
To make the level selection buttons I first sketched out some ideas of what the menus should include and what the buttons could look like, but I was limited by the assets I already owned.
Although the buttons concepts looked good on paper, when I made the 3D buttons I realized some of the designs didn't work as they covered part of the background and I had to simplify them and take much of the detail while still making them look good.
To make the UI pop-ups' style, I decided to tie in together the concept of being a guardian of the worlds and have a general feeling of nature. This is why I used flowers and plants in the buttons and pop-ups. To contrast this, in the Game Over pop-up there are not many flowers.
