One of my roles on the team was supposed to be level design, but I found it difficult to begin doing that work without knowing the mechanics of the game. I couldn't visualize what the room would look like if I didn't know what the player could do. I created some infographics of possible mechanics and pitched them to the group.
A basic level would consist of messes to mop up and trash to dispose of. Before a player can enter the next level they must clear up all the mess. We may have monsters that the player can talk to.
I think we should look at creating a system where if the players have cleaned over 85% of the mess, they're able to progress. I've played House Flipper and I find it so annoying trying to get 100% because as you mop up the mess graphic fades and you can't find which spots you need to clean. We were thinking of having a similar fading effect, so to avoid that annoyance I think having a threshold of success is a better idea. I also don't think we should display the percentage on the screen as this might take away from the relaxation aspect of the game if the player is desperately hunting for a 100% score.
A mechanic idea I had was for messes to only be visible with special glasses. Maybe the player has to hunt for these glasses in the level. Alternatively, messes could be hidden and the player needs to interact with the environment to find them.
Building on the idea of interaction, we liked the idea of having over-reactive and janky physics. I thought it could be a good idea to have a level where the mess is hidden in a secret chamber and the player needs to interact with a rug and a trap door to access it.
We didn't want the player to be able to die in the game, so instead, we thought that when you get too close to a monster they drop more mess. I think by avoiding the monster attacking you and you dropping mess it makes the game more accessible. With no violence, the game can have a lower rating. Also, violence may not be very relaxing.
Maybe some monsters could have planned routes through the level. This adds a level of difficulty as the player will have to sneak around to avoid the monster.
Another level idea was having a trigger that dumps more mess into the room. I think the trigger should be at the end door so that once the player has finished cleaning they'll head to the door and then trigger off the new mess. I don't think it should be a lot of mess, not like a full room, otherwise, it may be frustrating. I also think to make it more fun instead of annoying the new mess should be themed differently so that it's interesting to see what got dropped on the floor.
I like the idea of using objects to climb to reach new areas or new messes. It could be cool if drawers could be pulled out to be used as a ladder. I think by having little touches like that it will make the environment more immersive. It encourages the idea of exploring to see what other secrets there are.
We discussed as a team which mechanics we liked the best. We decided against the invisible mess and having monsters with programmed walking routes as we only have a limited amount of time, none of us really like programming and we have a lot of 3d modelling work to do.
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