Hi all,

Here I will tell you about the choices I made surrounding this second year Game Development Project.

A bit of context: this game was part of a second year course wherein we first learned to use the Unity engine. To clarify, working with the engine in and of itself was not the focus, but rather being able to iterate simple game concepts. Therefore I won't be going so much into the programming of it,  but rather gameplay decisions.

At the start of the project we were prompted to pick two random words and create a game out of it. The words, 'Zombie' and 'Jump', spoke much to my imagination. The title 'Zombies can't Jump' quickly stuck with me, and I'm the sort of person that can get enough drive from one catchy title to build a project out of it. 

The idea was simple: Zombies are faster, but they have more momentum, and can not get on higher ground by jumping. The player on the other hand, is very mobile, yet will be  intercepted by the zombie in a forward sprint every time.

So we need the player to make clever choices and a few quick maneuvers to overcome the set stage.  And we will be encouraging them through clever puzzle design. 

As you can see, visually, the lay out is only marginally different from the basic Unity layout at startup. But the level design is specifically tailored to teach the ins and outs of the game. Some concepts must be applied, otherwise the player or other survivors will suffer. The other survivors are an incentive to risk some danger while solving the platformer puzzle,. Unbeknownst to the player, the game becomes harder if civilians are left to their own devices.

As soon as the first level, the player is introduced to a civilian, who will go out of harms way if allowed, and a Zombie, who will chase after the player in a straight line. Trying to run ahead to the ending, will result in sudden dead, as the zombie will reach you before the pivotal jump. Yet standing still, just for a second and then moving on, will make sure the zombie is on an unstoppable course towards the abyss. This sets the stage for the later levels, in which the stiffness of the zombies' motion is demonstrated over and over in different scenarios. 

Later on the mechanic is build upon by adding trampolines that enhance your single advantage over the zombies. And the level after that, some classic button puzzles are added, requiring the player to lure the zombies, without perishing.

Do note that only after five levels of merely jumping, new mechanics are introduced. Exploring different level designs to empower the core game play mechanic was an interesting journey, which resulted in a fun little game and an important lesson  for me as a game designer: the value of simplicity and iteration.

Thank you for you interest!

Quentin