Background
Waddle Waddle is a puzzle adventure game of a duck trying to reach a new communal pond while collecting hats along the way. Players are encouraged to explore, discover hidden paths, and interact with objects and collectables as a quirky duck.
Game Design Document
The few weeks I started working on a Game Design Document to organize, formulate, and showcase a vision. Creating an initial document with 9 pages of descriptions and three main game pillars of what this game was set to be!
Initial Mechanics
For Waddle Waddle I decided with a isometric top down perspective with player ability to alternate between the 4 directions. I created the first boundary in the game as a dynamic fence using physics for the player to push. Implemented more world interactables to remove the static feel for the levels by adding Beach Balls, Ant Farms, and more.
Initial Visuals
I created my own paint brush style textures and created a landscape material to change textures between height of the landscape. Using Blender I was able to 3D model all in-game objects, hats, and foilage by following YouTube tutorials then going on my own. Level blockouts were made for the initial playtest level and later replaced the meshes throughout in order to create a singular level.
Roadblock: Textures
Visual Clarity Issue
Another roadblock that came along was textures I showcased before how I was able to create textures and use height mapping in order merge. This caused an issue as I was not skilled in making textures, but the textures aligning with lighting made the art direction very convoluted and messy.
Old Custom Textures
Updated PBR Materials
Shader & PBR Materials Solution
I decided to create new textures that are single color in a variety of palettes inspired by Studio Ghibli's saturation. Taking advantage of the post processing capabilities by creating a cell shader that allowed the lighting to create cartoon visuals.
Audio Sourcing
Sound Effects
Some sounds were created directly in house with a single microphone and some minor editing. The main one being QUACKING made with modulation through MetaSounds.
Music Composition
Music have been created for the title with multiple small tracks to create the vibe of the game. Embedding music into menu's and collectable cassette tapes in the levels.
New Mechanics
Dialogue Pop-ups
Enact dialogue pop-ups with public variables and strings, setting spoken characters and what lines to prompt on-screen.
Objective Badges
Each level holds objective badges between collecting hats, level completion, and the final being an optional side objective.
New Fence & Generator
Each level holds objective badges between collecting hats, level completion, and the final being an optional side objective.
Roadblock: Interaction Detection
Line Tracing
Another roadblock that came along was textures I showcased before how I was able to create textures and use height mapping in order merge. This caused an issue as I was not skilled in making textures, but the textures aligning with lighting made the art direction very convoluted and messy.
Line Tracing
Sphere Tracing
Sphere Tracing Solution
I figured out that the line trace was not adapting with the player direction when turning the Particular Duck model. Additionally the line trace was not aiming at objects properly, especially with difficulty in tracking interactable objects that did not have proper collisions.
The thought came along, why wouldn't I add the collision detection to everything? Sphere collisions were added to the Particular Duck and all interactables forward, and tested the more effective for all objects collision.
Conclusion
Public Showcase
After end of semester and submission I earned positive reception during the closing weeks. I was congratulated for my ambition and was asked by HU to have Waddle Waddle to became part of the university’s Game Design curriculum. Setting a staple within my four year academic journey it felt like it did pay off, but there was more! I was also invited by one of the program leads to present my game in the upcoming weeks to the new upcoming Game Design Program class.
