Moving Out Monday #35 – Showcase: The Boulder Dash
Hey Movers,
Last week we handled the heat in the Flamethrower Factory, but this week we’re running for our lives in The Boulder Dash!
This is hands down our largest level! The scale of it meant there were quite a few technical considerations, but really, like all the Memory levels, the designers wanted to have fun making levels from all the different assets the art team had created for the core game!
It was pretty tough to get the boulder speed jusssssssst right. Our designers had to forge ‘special’ areas along the ravine, making sure there were no friction points, and crates were used to make micro adjustments to the boulder speed too. It was really important that the boulder would roll at a consistent speed whilst still keeping the players on their toes.
Now you can’t run away from a giant boulder rampage without some environmental casualties. To emphasise the danger, a screen shake was a no-brainer! Incoming heavy boulder, rocks crumbling, crates smashing – can you think of a more perfect reason to shake that screen?!
As for some out of the box thinking – unlike in other levels, if a mover gets squished, we prevented them from re-spawning. We wanted to make sure that the last player standing could keep the torch alive!
Last but not least, we’re not sure if you spotted them but there are a bunch of Easter Eggs along the path. Let us know in the comments below if you found any!
Until next time,
TeamSMG, Moving Out!
Last week we handled the heat in the Flamethrower Factory, but this week we’re running for our lives in The Boulder Dash!
This is hands down our largest level! The scale of it meant there were quite a few technical considerations, but really, like all the Memory levels, the designers wanted to have fun making levels from all the different assets the art team had created for the core game!
It was pretty tough to get the boulder speed jusssssssst right. Our designers had to forge ‘special’ areas along the ravine, making sure there were no friction points, and crates were used to make micro adjustments to the boulder speed too. It was really important that the boulder would roll at a consistent speed whilst still keeping the players on their toes.
Now you can’t run away from a giant boulder rampage without some environmental casualties. To emphasise the danger, a screen shake was a no-brainer! Incoming heavy boulder, rocks crumbling, crates smashing – can you think of a more perfect reason to shake that screen?!
As for some out of the box thinking – unlike in other levels, if a mover gets squished, we prevented them from re-spawning. We wanted to make sure that the last player standing could keep the torch alive!
Last but not least, we’re not sure if you spotted them but there are a bunch of Easter Eggs along the path. Let us know in the comments below if you found any!
Until next time,
TeamSMG, Moving Out!