Aerie is a 3D third-person platformer toy (a game without objectives or victory conditions) in which the player controls a small but intrepid adventurer exploring the ruins of an ancient world using magical rings and floating trampolines. Team project of 4, composed by Jonathan Gautreau, Nathan Modeste, Guillaume Quertain and myself.
Skills
•Technical Game Design
•Controller Programing
• 3C Design
•Controller Programing
• 3C Design
Core Mechanic
To move, players can place magic rings (or "Rings") that propel them in a given direction.
Once in the air, the player can place floating trampolines (or "Bumper") that send them in a different direction.
This creates a constant tension between the tendency of the ring to send you in one direction, and the tendency of the trampoline to send you in another.
Role in the Project
As Game Designer and Game Programmer, I mainly focused my work on the design and implementation of the movement objects that the player would be able to place, and the limitations around them.
One of the major problems I encountered at the start of the project was that our main movement object, the 'Bubble', didn't work in a satisfying way.
One of the major problems I encountered at the start of the project was that our main movement object, the 'Bubble', didn't work in a satisfying way.
The 'Bubble' wasn't affording and you couldn't reuse bubble sequences, because it didn't change the player's direction, only their speed.
We came up with the idea of transforming this bubble into a ring, which would be more affording and would modify the player's trajectory to allow them to re-borrow ring sequences more easily.
I designed, schematised and implemented the ring so that it corresponded as closely as possible to a versatile and powerful movement tool, but which had to be used in conjunction with the trampolines.
The difficulty lay in the number of criteria that the ring had to meet:
I designed, schematised and implemented the ring so that it corresponded as closely as possible to a versatile and powerful movement tool, but which had to be used in conjunction with the trampolines.
The difficulty lay in the number of criteria that the ring had to meet:
• Be used in conjunction with the trampoline to create emergence.
•Be able to re-use the ring sequences while allowing the player to enter or leave freely.
•Not to give the player an infinite or overly powerful movement tool.
•Be able to re-use the ring sequences while allowing the player to enter or leave freely.
•Not to give the player an infinite or overly powerful movement tool.
To prevent the player from navigating effortlessly through the air, I've also implemented a simple load system, but one that pushes the complexity of movement even further.
Element Charges
The player can have up to 4 simultaneous charges of rings and 3 charges of trampolines. They recover all their charges by falling back to the ground. However, the player also recovers his ring charges by passing over one of the trampolines he has placed. They can therefore remain in the air indefinitely, provided they always land on a trampoline.
Combinations
The player can combine the trampoline's ability to bounce back and forth through pre-positioned rings with the trampoline's ability to reset loads, sending him or her into the air at full speed.
Numerous other tricks and combinations exist and can be discovered by the player, who ends up with several gameplay possibilities that emerge from just two simple mechanics.
The flexibility of the ring's use, combined with the trampoline's resending and reloading properties, allow complex gameplay to emerge in the game.
Here, a series of rings and trampolines that the player can borrow and continue to build.
The flexibility of the ring's use, combined with the trampoline's resending and reloading properties, allow complex gameplay to emerge in the game.
Here, a series of rings and trampolines that the player can borrow and continue to build.
Technical Documentation
This is Aerie's technical documentation, which I produced and laid out in the game's GOD, to summarise the precise operation of the rings, trampolines, camera, etc. in the context of the Unity game engine.
