Dare to be Digital Application

Unfortunately I have to start this post with the sad news that my team, Melon Cauli Studios, were unsuccessful with our Dare to be Digital application, however the process of applying was a great experience nonetheless and I got to produce some cool game art, so I think the whole thing is deserving of a blog post!

Dare to be Digital is a video games competition at Abertay University in Scotland, where teams of 5 spend 9 weeks during the summer developing a video game prototype. Teams are mentored by industry professionals and at the end of the competition the prototypes are displayed at an event where the general public and industry professionals get to play and vote for the games. The winners go on to attend the BAFTA Video Games Awards to compete for the ‘Ones to Watch Award’ – so yeah, a real shame we didn’t get in, would have been an awesome opportunity, but to look at the silver lining side of things, I can now focus my efforts on my Uni work and stay in Bournemouth for a while after my deadlines/exams are over to enjoy my freedom and make the most of my last few months of being a student! 😀

But anyway, back to our application, we pitched a game called Wednesday’s Child, a 2.5D puzzle platformer game where the player takes control of a young boy and must use imagination power to avoid enemies and puzzle solve their way through the game, in order to eventually rescue the boy’s mother, who has been taken to an asylum following a mental breakdown (cheery :P). Our video pitch should explain everything a bit better..

Here are the puzzles featured in the video a little clearer and with their solutions fully explained (credit for the puzzle designs go to the level designing genius Liam de Valmency! http://liamdev.com/)

Basic wall puzzle

Solution: Transform crate into wall to block enemy’s line of sight. Drop down from ledge and go right towards goal.

Enemy-flinging

Solution:  Transform crate into wall.  Drop down and collect inspiration (to allow crate to fan transformation). Transform rug into trampoline. Transform wall into fan. Wait for enemy to get blown onto the trampoline and flung onto the above ledge. Go right towards goal, either by turning the trampoline back into a rug first, or jumping over it.

Fan-jumping

Solution: Drop down and collect inspiration (to allow crate to fan transformation). Climb ledge and stand to right of crate. Transform crate into fan. Use fan-boosted jump to get over the wide gap.

Six screen puzzle – Breaking into the castle

Solution: Climb ledges to go up a screen. Push crate onto button to open top gate. Stand on crate, transform crate into wall. Wall is too wide to fit into button groove, so the gate closes again. Jump onto ledge. Turn wall back into crate. Gate opens again. Move right. Transform both rugs into trampolines. Use timed jumps to avoid turret fire and reach lever. Pull to open lower gate. Return using timed jumps. Drop down to button, go right, drop down. Go left to collect inspiration. Go back to bottom-centre screen. Turn crate into fan, enemy will be blown to bottom-left screen. Go back to bottom-left screen, stay on ledges. Turn lamp into distraction object, wait for enemy to investigate. Drop down, go right, get inspiration. Go through level to reach lamp next to the castle. Use inspiration to transform lamp into hot air balloon/rocket/spaceship. Travel up, enter window.

Gothic chamber concept – Imagined style

Gothic chamber concept – Real world style

Otherwordly castle concept

The Dare guys gave us some useful feedback which was very much appreciated after all the hard work we put in! The main points they made were:

• Puzzle platformers are very common and need to stand out for anyone to take notice. Without fun game mechanics the appeal is very limited for this game.
• The focus on story and themes is too heavy and there is no detail of how the imagination mechanic will actually be fun to use.
• The idea of changing a crate to a wall isn’t exciting, this is a fantastical world, it’s a lost opportunity if such mundane objects are used.
• The game would suit a console better. The PC isn’t being used in any novel way here.

All fair points, while I’m disappointed we didn’t get in, I can see where they’re coming from and at the end of the day they’re the experts and they know what will sell and what won’t! We definitely could have pushed the imagination theme by using more exciting object transformations. They did however say we had a passionate pitch, good team chemistry and a clear set of goals, so you never know, something may come of Wednesday’s Child in months to come! But in the mean time I’ll crack on with my Uni work as it really is crunch time with the Major Project now. Good luck to the lucky teams that make it into the competition and I look forward to seeing their progress over the summer!