Aiden Ong [ Yong Zheng]
Aspiring Game Designer
Aiden Ong [ Yong Zheng]
Aspiring Game Designer
AIDEN
Game Description
Rebirth is a third-person puzzle game. You play as a male spirit wandering through a limbo filled with spirits and lights which are lethal to him. Using his ghostly powers, he navigates through dangers and recollects his past in order to move on towards reincarnation.
Game Information
Platform : PC / Controller
Project Duration : 6 Months
Controller : Keyboard & Mouse
Engine : Unicorn Engine (Custom)
Roles
Producer
Technical
Designer
Game Designer
Game Design
Role and Responsibility
My role as a game designer in this project is to design game mechanics that align with the theme and the narrative of the game. Furthermore, using these mechanics, I would come out with interesting dynamics and interactions that challenge the players to think outside the box while being engaged in the gameplay experience.
Game Mechanics
Spirit Possession
Players have the ability to possess an object to activate/deactivate its function.
Light avoidance
Players need to avoid the lights along the way by using objects in the environment
Unique game dynamics
Lighting up the path
Moths are dynamic objects that players can possess to overcome obstacles on the way. Although players have no direct control over the moth's movement, players can guide the moth toward the desired path using light sources as waypoints
Game Prototyping
PreAlpha Demo
Alpha Demo
Iteration process
This project when through multiple gameplay and mechanic iterations in order to create the game experience you see right now. The idea of the game is heavily inspired by the hungry ghost festival. Initially, the game was designed to be a horror /puzzle game of hiding and seek with an evil spirit, however, due to technical limitations, the team decided to drop the horror and focus on the puzzle element that players are more drawn toward.
Technical Design
Role and Responsibility
Aside from my game designer role, I also hold the role of the team's technical designer. My main responsibility is to communicate the game idea and gameplay logic to our engine programmer in order for them to properly implement the component needed for the game. Apart from communication, I also script and implement the gameplay logic using the c# mono library needed in the game.
Interaction Flowchart
Interaction/ Scripting Flowchart
One of my roles as a technical designer is to communicate the game idea to the team's programmers. Thus I created a scripting flowchart that illustrated the components need for each of the game objects in-game as well as how they interact with one another during gameplay.
Scripting with Mono Library
Generator activating shutter gate
Moth and light interaction I
Generator activating two sources
Moth and light interaction II
Scripting
The interaction seen above is scripted using c# programming. Each of these interaction is the result of different scripted object interacting with one another in the area, thus it is important to ensure the scripting technique for each object are modular and consistent.
Game Production
Role and Responsibility
As a producer of the team, I help to keep track of the project progress as well as make important calls to ensure that the game can be produced within the time given. This means cutting down some interesting mechanics that required to much time to develop and pushing interactions that the team did not envision but were loved by the players. Furthermore, I also take up the role of support and take on tasks that may be beyond my scope due to the size of the development team
Charts and Trackers
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Gantt Charts and Task Tracker
Using my knowledge of excel, I created a team task tracker and Gantt chart to keep track of each member's progression as well the tasks needed to be completed for each milestone. The tracker also helps to highlight struggling members who might need help in the task at hand while giving me the foresight to determine whether a task should be scrapped or continue to push forward.