GENRE
Hack n' Slash
9 Developers
TEAM SIZE
DURATION
5 Weeks (Full Time)
PLATFORM
PC
ENGINE
Tengine
(In-house Engine)
Game Description
With Star Strike, we wanted to push the boundaries of the Hack n' Slash genre and place it in a never before seen player space. Star Strike is a third-person Hack n' Slash game developed by Heavenly Creatures as a part of Game Project 1 at Playgroundsquad.
The original idea for Star Strike was to create a level-based progression game where the player must fend off hordes of enemies to defend from reaching the gates to heaven. We decided to create a Hack n' Slash defense game as it's something the genre has very little off.
Star Strike is played in a fully navigable 3D space. This type of movement and focus hasn't been done before. In this space, the player must defend the portal to heaven from hellish beasts trying to enter.
Contribution Summary
Gameplay Designer
I originally conceived Star Strike and created the basic combat mechanics.
I worked closely with every part of the team to develop not only mechanics for the player but also for the enemies.
The gameplay design was to focus on exploring the three-dimensional space that which the game takes place.
Having the player utilize their abilities to take down enemies with different behavioral patterns.
My main goal with the gameplay design was to create something innovative.
A new version of Hack n' Slash games. This goal wasn't fully reached, however, Star Strike was the solid groundwork for something that can be built upon if more time was available.
Gameplay Design
Last Guardian of Heaven
Star Strike is a game heavily focused on movement and combat combined. Since the player can traverse a 3D ENVIRONMENT on each axis' (X, Y, Z) the game's combat focus was to have the player use every axis to defend.
Star Strikes combat mechanics needed to be carefully constructed as to not upset the balance between player and enemies. This meant limiting the player's attacks to MELEE. This, in turn, helped make the player utilize all axis' to fight against the different enemy types.
Ideation
Star Strike was my original concept and I set in stone the style of gameplay the game should have, defend the gates. After discussing the idea with the team we decided on having the player defend a portal instead.
My co-designer Edvin Norevik and I worked on defining the combat system and mechanics. Conceptualizing what player mechanics were fitting for this game and its scope. We decided against having any ranged attacks as it would offset the gameplay balance.
Instead, we decided on having the player's dash mechanic deal damage to give the player another tool to handle the enemies.
I handled the conceptualization of enemy behavior. We decided to have two different enemies in the game to liven up the gameplay. This effectively turned it from a tomato chopper game into a more fleshed-out game.
Click to enlarge
Iteration
The gameplay design and moment-to-moment action went through rigorous testing and iteration to try and make things like attacks feel impactful. Collaboration between artists, programmers, and designers was required to achieve the desired result.
Click to enlarge
Improving hit registration feedback and enemy behavior proved to be our biggest hurdles. We research how other fighting games give the player feedback on the actions they've done, as well as changing the camera's functionality to flow better with the player's movement.
Click to enlarge
Final Show
Through iteration and collaboration, we were able to nail the feeling of flying around and fighting enemies, with the help of sound effects to tie it all together. The final version of the gameplay offers a great look at what could be done with a concept of this sort.
Lead Game Designer
I was the one who originally conceived the game concept for Star Strike. Originally the concept branched out and included five levels with four different enemy types of enemies with bosses on top. After some feedback and thinking critically about the amount of content planned I decided to cut back, this was to create something playable and polished rather than a content-flooded demo.
The goal that I strived toward with Star Strike was to provide the player with a variety-based gameplay experience. Trying to make entice the player to continue playing and offering new ways to play. I wanted to emphasize utilizing all three axes' of gameplay to offer an environment to master the mechanics.
At the same time, I wanted to not disorientate the player and lead them away from their objective which is why we decided to keep regular enemies and the objective on the same singular plane. Due to time constraints, the full vision of the game wouldn't be reached but thanks to careful planning with the down scoping and great team communication the final product turned out fantastic.
Project Manager
Development Team
I assumed the role of Project Manager. I kept the team informed about changes and made sure that everyone was on the same page. I was also the one who kept track of all documentation. I handled the asset breakdown sheet we had as well as to Trello board.
I also overlooked all parts of production to make sure that we were meeting our goals. I also held the weekly sprint review presentations and the ending Proof of Concept.
Programmers
Robin Lindblad
Daniel Westman
Viktor Ekblom
Game Designers
Hugo Wassén
Edvin Norevik
Artists
Line Skaraas
Johan Larsson
Tamachat Hejderup
Poppy Modig Saarela
Heavenly Creatures