jelolt14

[jelolt14]

Week 13- Assignment 3 Post-mortem

Hey all, this will be my final post for this blog but I might keep posting, you never know.

Me and my team completed our playtest reports for Bloodrush, and I’d like to share some insights into the process. I was responsible for writing the Appendix and Discussion of Findings sections. This involved collecting and organising all the data from our questionnaires and post-game surveys, and presenting them clearly in the appendices. I also compiled our testing notes, facilitator scripts, and raw feedback to provide a transparent view of our testing process.

Writing the Discussion of Findings required interpreting this data to identify key patterns in player feedback. This included mechanical suggestions (e.g. making wall jumping more responsive), clarity issues (e.g. story and level flow confusion), and emotional responses (e.g. frustration with certain UI or sound design elements). Using the playcentric approach from Game Design Workshop (Ch. 1, p. 12), we treated this feedback as central to improving player experience.

Overall, the process taught me the importance of structured iteration and data-driven design decisions, as outlined in Chapter 7: Prototyping (p. 218). It also helped me develop skills in communication and synthesis, as I had to balance raw player quotes with broader design implications.

I feel proud of how much our team learned from the playtesting phase. These findings not only helped shape the final version of Bloodrush, but gave us confidence in applying real-world UX and design thinking practices. Thank you for reading this blog!

[jelolt14]

Week 11- Assignment 3 Playtesting

Our group conducted 5 playtests in total for our game, Bloodrush. I created Google Form Surveys including a questionnaire to collect demographic details, and a post game survey where the player could share feedback of game mechanics. The first 2 playtests were for a primal version of the game, where the core mechanics was present, but needed more refinements. We conducted these in person and received valuable feedback for them. These in-person sessions aligned with Chapter 1’s emphasis on the playcentric design process, where the designer acts as an advocate for the player (p. 4). The feedback helped us tune the feel of movement and readability of objectives.

This then led us to conduct 3 online playtests using discord, this time with a alpha version that had majority of what the game intended to be, and we're really happy with the results.

1. Find some subtle ways to show where I need to go, I didnt understand if it was linear or not. And maybe having regular walls not trigger the wall jump would be good. Having a dash that uses a chunk of blood might be a nice idea, but I'd like if the blood depletion was more forgiving. Spikes that you have to avoid would also improve platforming and difficulty.

2. Story was unclear, enemies need to be more aggressive, I still don't know what this glide was

3. PLEASE TURN DOWN THE VOLUME FOR THE SHOP, also please make walljumping instant (like regular jumping) and much faster, and add a dive / fast fall for more movement tech. The feedback were really helpful to write the report as many ideas and changes can be implemented upon!

[jelolt14]

Week 10- Assignment 3 Development Progress

Recently, I began doing Assignment 3 along with my group members, Ben, Riley, and Tommy. We nominated to do Riley's platformer game, 'Bloodrush'. Bloodrush is a fast-paced horror 2D platformer set in an 18th century gothic city where players take the form of a blood-lusting vampire and must steal blood from humans, while dashing to the end of the stage before they starve. The player has the constant pressure of a rapidly depleting life meter, only refilled with blood.

The game presents a uniquely fast-paced experience, with players vying for an advantage over a faster-and-faster ticking timer. 

Various upgrades will be available, with the players having the choice of prioritizing speed and damage to get through the level before they starve, or efficiency and careful gameplay to survive for as long as possible. 

Beginner friendly simple to learn controls that is easily adaptable to different play styles 

The game will be targeted towards older audiences, designed for experienced players who are familiar with the game’s WASD movement and space to jump, capable of quick reaction times, and able to understand the variety of ability key binds including pressing ‘E’ to latch on enemies, ‘T’ and ‘Y’ transformations. 

We have assigned roles to each member and started to experiment with movement mechanics and blood health bar. The game isn't complete but it is ready for playtests.

[jelolt14]

Week 9- Racer Post-mortem & A2 Final

In designing Faster Fuel, I was heavily influenced by the play centric design process from Game Design Workshop (Ch. 1, p. 12). Setting clear player experience goals including tension, speed, and risk helped me shape core mechanics around fuel management and momentum. I also drew from Chapter 5's discussion on feedback systems (p. 159), ensuring the player feels immediate consequences when boosting, colliding, or running low on fuel by changing bar colour . One thing I’d change about the development process is how late I began playtesting the core loop. Chapter 7 emphasizes that early prototyping and iteration (p. 218) are essential. I waited too long to test the fuel-drain mechanic in combination with procedural level hazards, which led to balance issues later. Earlier feedback could’ve helped fine-tune difficulty pacing and make the learning curve smoother. As for the prototype itself, I’d rethink how the hazard escalation system is communicated to the player. While the game introduces new challenges over time, Chapter 5’s section on system feedback highlights how vital clarity is (p. 159). Without strong visual or audio cues, players sometimes fail to recognize when the game is ramping up. I’d add clearer indicators like alert sounds or colour shifts to help players feel prepared without reducing challenge. A2 Final Design After experimenting with many design ideas, I've come up with a final graphic design for the one sheet and page, aiming for a digital cyber security look. Hope you like it!

[jelolt14]

Week 8- Racer Development Post & A2 Progress

To create this infinite racer game, I imported the player vehicle, race track, and obstacle assets. Following principles from Chapter 5: Working with System Dynamics, I implemented a fuel bar as a core resource (p. 146), placing it on the left side of the screen for a more natural visual flow. The bar shifts toward a brighter red as it depletes, giving players real-time visual feedback (p. 159), helping them stay aware of their fuel level without breaking immersion. Randomly spawning fuel pickups allow players to refill the bar, creating a feedback loop that rewards risk and attention. I placed the score counter on the right side, incrementing every 0.5 seconds, offering consistent positive reinforcement. Finally, tree obstacles spawn occasionally—if the player crashes, they lose the run. This ties into Chapter 4: Working with Dramatic Elements, where challenge and clear consequences for failure (p. 103) increase tension and make each decision meaningful. Overall, the game is coming along well.

A2 Progress I have chosen to do the previous asteroids tower defense game Cyber Defenders, to create a one sheet and one page from the elevator pitch for this assignment, I have began experimenting with design ideas and and theme layout, stay tuned!

[jelolt14]

Week 7- Asteroid Post Mortem & Racing Pitch

The play centric process outlined in Game Design Workshop (Ch. 1, p. 12) is the core of Cyber Defenders. I focused on setting a player experience goal of tactical satisfaction by combining planning (turrets) and moment-to-moment action (placing and moving). This goal guided decisions around pacing, visual feedback, and system balance. If I could change one thing about the development process, I’d prototype the core loop earlier. As highlighted in Chapter 7 (p. 218), early prototyping is crucial to test if core mechanics feel fun and functional. I spent too long polishing visuals before locking in how turret upgrades and enemy waves interact. More iteration time would’ve helped in adding abilities that were scrapped. One design improvement would be clearer enemy behaviour feedback. Chapter 5 emphasizes that systems should give readable feedback (p. 159) to help players adapt. When the player loses a heart, it isn't inherently obvious that it is negative . Adding clear cues (animations, audio, or UI warnings) would improve clarity.

Racing Pitch

For a racing game, I would want to make a infinite runner type racing game Faster Fuel is an infinite racer where the only rule is to stay fast, and stay fuelled. Players pilot a high-speed vehicle across a endless highway that only gets harder. Your fuel burns constantly, and faster speeds drain it quicker. Chain near-misses, risky boosts, and rival takedowns to earn fuel and score multipliers. With each zone introducing new hazards, the further you go, the riskier the ride.

Player Controls: Arrow Keys- Switch between lanes Space bar- Speed boost

Unique Selling Points

1.Endless Highway: Experience a constantly evolving highway that never repeats—each zone brings new environmental hazards, rival encounters, and surprises.

2. Fuel Management and Risk vs Reward: Players must balance speed and fuel consumption, where boosting and evading rivals can keep you ahead but comes with the constant risk of running out of fuel.

3. High-Stakes Combat: Engage in intense takedowns, chain risky boosts, and escape near-misses to keep the score multiplier high..

Student Contact Info: n12415367@qut.edu.au

[jelolt14]

Week 6- Asteroids Development Post 

I began the first stage of development for this game by first importing the core assets including pathways, turrets and health indicators to prepare for play testing. As the pitch suggests, the player will strategically place turrets shown in the image around the foot path to allow for maximum reach. The player will have 3 lives before game ends but it will shorten as waves increase. The turrets will be programmed to be upgradeable for more DPS in the future to compensate for the more challenging enemies. Initial prototype playtesting indicates that a currency needs to be added to limit players from placing down infinite towers.  I added major updates to the game to incorporate the feedback by adding currency, extra lives, new robot enemies, and upgrade options. Players gain 2 bytes with each enemy defeated, and it costs 10 bytes to place or upgrade turrets. Upgrading turrets grants minor buffs to range, damage, and fire rate. Players can also move or delete the selected tower through the upgrade UI. Each robot enemy can take up to 4 hits and scales with difficulty using a linear equation of +1 health per wave. These changes were informed by Chapter 5: Working with System Dynamics, which emphasizes the importance of resources, feedback loops, and player control (p. 146–159). Adding a currency and upgrade system created meaningful strategic choices and reinforced a satisfying gameplay loop. Overall, I’m very glad with how the game evolved through iteration and player feedback.

[jelolt14]

Week 5- Asteroids Pitch & Platformer Post-mortem

For this project, I would like to lean towards an asteroids type of top-down tower defense game. 

Elevator Pitch 

Cyber Defenders is a strategy orientated tower defense game where you command an elite team of defenders, to eliminate malware infected AI machines before they corrupt the system. Build and upgrade high-tech turrets, deploy and destroy robotic drones, and harness special abilities to fend off increasingly difficult waves with advanced bosses. 

Player Controls

Mouse - Place, select, and upgrade turrets

1 / 2 / 3 - Activate special abilities

E - Skip wave

Unique Selling Points:

Tactical Gameplay Combine tower defense with real-time strategy elements—manage turret placement and actively deploy drones and special abilities during combat.

Smart Enemies Battle malware that adapts to your defense patterns. Each wave introduces new challenges, including enemies that damage towers.

Upgradeable Trees Upgrade turrets, unlock drone classes, and enhance abilities to suit playstyle across different maps.

Student Contact Info: n12415367@qut.edu.au

Platformer Post Mortem

The concept of player experience goals from Game Design Workshop by Tracy Fullerton (Ch. 1, p. 13) inspired the design of Tower Ascend. I wanted players to feel urgency and mastery by racing against time while performing precise jumps and dashes. The play centric design process heavily encouraged me to think about how each mechanic (like wall-climbing and dashing) would directly impact the player's emotional experience. One thing I’d change about how I developed the prototype is starting playtesting earlier. As Fullerton notes, iteration and prototyping (Ch. 7, p. 218) are essential to finding the fun. I focused too much on getting mechanics to work before gathering feedback, which delayed important design adjustments like enemy speed or platform spacing. In terms of the game design itself, I would improve how difficulty scales over time. Chapter 5 highlights the value of feedback systems (p. 159) to show change and challenge. Right now, the game gets harder as the player climbs, but without clear feedback, the pressure feels uneven. Adding stronger visual and mechanical cues (like faster traps or harder enemies) would make the challenge feel more deliberate and satisfying. Overall, designing this game taught me a lot

[jelolt14]

Week 4- Platformer Development Post

For the first stage of this platformer prototype, I utilised most of the provided assets and improvised the code to present a smoother player experience, such as flipping the player when turning left. The player combat was improved so the player eliminates the slime when falling on top of them but dies if they're in contact while on the ground. As this is only the first level, it serves well to introduce players to the basic controls and mechanics. Each slime has its own fixed movement path to create unpredictability in their attacks, and they gradually increase in size to signal progression as the player climbs. These design choices reflect the principles in Chapter 4: Working with Dramatic Elements, particularly the emphasis on clear feedback, challenge escalation, and player learning through action (p. 103–106). By gradually increasing slime difficulty and using visual cues like size changes, I aimed to reinforce a sense of progress and mastery within the level. Initial prototype play testing observations:

Needs more challenges

A menu screen to start over

More monster movement variety

I added the dashing mechanic with slight success, but couldn't get it to fully work the way I wanted it to so. The timer and flooding was successfully implemented, but more stages needs to be added.

[jelolt14]

Week 2- GDevelop Experimentation & Platformer Pitch

In the initial workshop, I was introduced to using GDevelop for the first time and found it quite easy to navigate and utilise the unique features of the software such as editing object behaviors and adding characteristics to sprites.

I made a simple 2D platformer using the provided assets, featuring a player controlled character using arrow keys, jumping on platform tiles while avoiding enemy slimes that kills the player upon contact. As this is a introductory game, there is little gameplay mechanics implemented which could be expanded upon.

Platformer Elevator Pitch

For a platformer concept, I want to make a vertical towered style game.

Tower Ascend is an endless vertical platformer where you climb a never-ending tower filled while slimes and traps stops you. Using tight controls and quick reflexes, you must jump, dash, and wall-climb your way up before the timer runs out. With increasing difficulty the further you climb up, how far can you reach?

Player Controls:

'WASD'- Movement 'Q' - Dash 'Space'- Jump

Unique Selling Points

1. Endless Vertical Challenge - Climb an ever-rising tower where difficulty scales the higher you go, ensuring a new challenge every run

2. Precision Movements - Master tight controls with fluid jumping, dashing, and wall-climbing mechanics that reward quick reflexes

3. Dynamic Obstacles & Time Pressure - Dodge unpredictable traps, outmanoeuvre relentless slimes, and race against the clock for fast paced action.

Student Contact Info: n12415367@qut.edu.au

[jelolt14]

Week 1- Introduction

My name is Jia, and I am a first-year student commencing a Bachelor of Games and Interactive Environments at QUT, planning to major in game design or software technologies. Graduating from Sunnybank State High School, I was involved in an introductory eSports program, which exposed me to the world of the digital games industry, leading me to pursue this course. As I did not pick computer related subjects such as Digital Solutions and ICT in the senior years (11-12), I am relatively new to programming languages such as python, being used for a unit in the first semester which hope to learn along the way. I am mostly interested in playing story orientated triple A games due to their ability to immerse players into the storytelling. At QUT, I aspire to explore the technological aspects of game design, such as what makes a game enjoyable and all the miniscule details that contributes to the complete game experience, which are relevant to these units. In the future, I’d like to envision myself working as a game developer or designer professionally for a medium-large sized company, or by myself with a small team, developing and then eventually releasing a completed final game on Steam. With my small game development experience, I only did a semester of a Unity project in year 10, where I created an unfinished tower defense game, which I would like to remaster in this course. Looking forward to posting!