The brief was to create a puzzler game inside a dungeon room. I’ve called it The Dungeon Puzzler.
The Dungeon Puzzler
The Dungeon Puzzler is a simple ‘Simon Says’ type of game set in a deserted and somewhat irradiated location on a far way dessert.
Process
The Dungeon Puzzler is a Mobile VR application for new VR users which challenges them to solve a familiar type of puzzle in a new way.
Persona
Meet Jack.
Name: Jack
Age: 25
Occupation: Tech Support Engineer
Quote: “I wonder about people all the time. smh”
Motivation:
Jack works all day with people that he just doesn’t understand. They ask for help on such simple things and ask such basic questions that he doesn’t understand how they manage to get through life. He really looks forward to the end of his shift so he doesn’t have to deal with them for a while. He’s tech savvy and he likes games. He just wants to get his paycheck and go play something new and fun. He’s just starting to get into VR but has all the consoles and plays PC games sometimes. He likes causal games too. They give him something to do in between service tickets.
VR Experience: Beginner
Sketches
Some sketch ideas for the Dungeon.
These were some of the ideas for the dungeon room. Ultimately I went with a modified version of the fourth idea combined with the background look of the first idea.
For the project we were given some dungeon assets to work from that looked more like a medieval or castle dungeon but as I wasn’t happy with the look and wanted something a little more unique, I chose to model the dungeon assets myself. Just the room. The props within were free assets obtained from the Unity Asset Store.
Here are some in progress pictures of creating the dungeon and setting it up.
User Testing
User Test Environment
User response:
It’s cool. The lighting of the barrels is pretty good but some of them could use a little more light. The orbs stand out pretty good. The shadows with the green lights are a little too sharp. I like the room size it feels right.
Changes made:
To fix the lighting on the barrels I turned on two more green lights under the building on the side that has the most barrels. To tone down the sharp shadows of the green lights, I changed the shadow cast on all of the green lights so that they cast soft shadows.
User Test UI
User response:
The camera is a little too close to the start card. Maybe move it back? Otherwise it’s clear. But the height is distracting. Maybe make not as tall. The text is clear and easy to read and the instructions are pretty clear.
Changes made:
I adjusted the camera so it was a little farther away from the start card. I made note of the distance so when I setup the camera and the restart card they would be a similar distance from each other.
The original intent with the card was to have it a tall card, however, since it was distracting for the user I shortened both the start and restart cards to the same height so they are wider than they are tall.
User Test Motion
User response:
Oh that’s a good speed. Not too fast and not too slow. That’s fine. Oh. There’s sound. That’s cool. I think the inside sound could be a little louder.
Changes made:
I turned up the sound inside the dungeon from .25 to .3 and that helped.
Note: My tester plays first person shooter games and doesn’t have an inclination towards simulator sickness. I on the other hand do have an inclination towards simulator sickness. I did slow the motion speed down a little so that I did not get sick while testing the mechanics.
User Test Game Play
User response:
Note: My tester was confused on what to do once inside the room. I had to explain to him that he was to follow or repeat what he was seeing. Once he understood that he could complete the puzzle. I think this could be resolved with a basic description on the start canvas, then again, if you give away what needs to be done, it’s not a puzzle.
Break Down of Final Project
Start UI
I kept this very simple. Just something to tell the player what game they are playing and how to get going.
Layout and Design
The general idea was to have the room be more like metal box sort of room. The initial thought was for something sort of submarine-esque. However I decided not to go with an arched ceiling. Instead, I kept the ceiling flat.
Lighting:
I used vents around the top of the wall to direct some red colored lighting into the scene and create some interesting shadows. I also used grates in the floor around the edges of the room to shine green lights up from below. These created some really nice shadows and were the brightest thus providing the primary light for the room.
Dressing:
I added some distressed barrels in various locations in the room to add interest. With out them the room would be very stark, uninteresting, and really, just a shell.
Game Mechanics:
I stuck with the basic mechanics that were provided. The only change I made really was to adjust the color of the orbs. With the lighting in the room as it is, the contrast between the color of the orbs when they were lit up and the color when they weren’t was not great enough. So I adjusted the non-lit up color to something a bit darker and different enough from the room coloring that they now stand out.
The Atmosphere/Setting:
There was nothing really suggested in the brief regarding the setting of the scene. But as this is supposed to be a 360 degree experience it seemed really odd to not at least create a location for the dungeon. I chose a dessert looking scene with a sky that definitely makes it look like it’s on a different planet. I found, and my tester found, that having a ground reference and a more interesting sky completely transformed and enhanced the experience.
Conclusion
The Dungeon Puzzler is complete and ready for players to have fun. The puzzle sequence is randomized so the same puzzle does not repeat over and over. This means the game can be played again and again without having the same patterns repeat. This keeps it interesting and always a different challenge. It’s great for practicing concentration and paying attention without taxing the player too much.
Next Steps
Some next steps or enhancements to the game could be to add some sort of counter showing how many times in a session the puzzle was completed the first time. Or a second level of it could be added, either in the same room or a different looking one that would make it harder by adding an additional item to the sequence. With additional levels there could be even more enhancements to the game such as keeping track of the levels. Even storing the last completed level and being able to start at the next one at a later play session.
Links:
Here are some links to additional discussion of creating the Dungeon Puzzler.