Level and Game Designer

Felix Faeh

Ascend

(Global Gamejam 2019)

Event: Global Game Jam 2018

Genre: 2D Platformer

Type: Single-Player

Platform: PC

Status: Game Jam Ver. Released

Dev Span: Jan. 26 - Jan. 28, 2018

Team Size: 9

My Responsibilities: Design, Programming Lead, Level Blockout, Marketing

To Global Game Jam Website

To Trailer

To Gameplay

My Tasks and Contribution

On Ascend, I worked on the game design, which included mechanics, gameplay and narrative. I also designed, blocked out and built the level. I coded Ephemia's movement and floating mechanic, the Glow Rods and their feedback, as well as integrated a majority of the assets into the level, including sound assets. I worked on environmental flourishes, such as lighting and parallax effects. My last duty was building the game and creating the Game Jam trailer.

Introduction

Ascend is a 2D platformer, that takes place in the subconscious dream space of the young girl Ephema, who has fallen into a state of coma. The dreamscape the player traverses in, is her unraveling of specific events in her life, where they will hope to find a path, that will lead her to awaken from this limbo state.

The player will control a small astronaut, that represent Ephema, as they try to hover upwards and ascend through the level. The way is always up. But it can be a dangerous task to move into the outside spaces, as each movement uses Willpower, which the player can only recharge at back in safe spaces. If Ephema's power drains to zero, she will yet again become lost in her dream world (Player Death). On their way, the player will encounter the various memories of Ephema, that manifested as part of the levels.

Mechanics & Level

The player will usually move towards the left or right in the level, but the true progression is always upwards. The player's health is directly tied to their stamina in the form of Willpower, which is why their short term goal is to reach the next Glow Rod, since they are secure within them and recharge Willpower. Whereas moving outside or using the mechanic hovering will cost them this resource..

Where and how the player needs to go is never directly stated, which means the player needs to risk and explore the outside spaces with the hope of being able to return back to the same rod, or finding a new one. Within these rods, the player is fully safe from damage and recharge Willpower.

It was vital to place the glow rods just far enough, that there would be a sense of fear and risk, but also close enough that it would be manageable for the player to reach. There are moving cogs that pose another challenge and ask of the player to hit the right timing in their movement, since these have glow rods attached, that move along.

depcition of a glow rod

Hover over image to see player path and Glow Rod placements.

Teaching the Player "Feathering"

Feathering is a technique that can occur when hovering upwards, by which the player can subtly press and release the space key, in order to ascend higher. While not initially an intended feature, we noticed how players who played enough started using this method, in order to advance the level. Overall it felt better for the game to keep this technique in, since it made movement feel more in the player's control. which is why we designed certain parts of the level to reinforce the idea of feathering subconsciously and to test the player.