Man Waits For No Time is a 2D puzzle platformer about a young man wakes up in an abandoned laboratory, with no recollection of his past. All he knows is that he is referred to as "Experiment G" and that he has the ability to reverse time. He must use his powers to navigate through the lab and retrieve his memories. Will he learn the horrifying truth behind the lab and the part he has to play in it all? Only time will tell..
Genre
Single-Player, Platform, Puzzle, Adventure, Narrative
Platform
Unity Play
Engine
Unity
Team
Maham I, Ying L, Yifan Q, Srinija K.
Duration
June 2nd - July 1st, 2023 (4 weeks)
My Roles & Contributions
Creative Director:
Managing a team of 4, conducting meetings, establishing communication and visual direction.
Game UX Designer:
Designing game concept, core mechanic, levels, game experience and interface. Also developing storyline, dialogue and writing game documentation.
Game Artist:
Designing character, objects, environments and integrating assets.
Tools Used
PROCESS
*This is a simplified representation of the process and does not include occasional revisits to different steps.
IDEATION
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MOOD BOARDING
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PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT
ASSET DESIGN
& ANIMATION
TESTING
LEVEL DESIGN
ASSET INTEGRATION
IDEATION
Word Prompt: REVERSE!
The concept for our game derives from the word prompt REVERSE which was given to all teams in class. We took a relatively direct approach and chose the word REWIND as an offshoot from reverse.
The game plays on the idea of rewinding the position and/or state of an object and freezing it in place for a short time.
Inspirations and references for this concept and game include: Limbo, Inside and Braid.
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The Main Character "G"
Experiment G is the lead character for the game. He is young man with no recollection of his name or past wakes up in an abandoned laboratory. He is introduced to his codename and abilities through an unlikely ally. Confused and curious, he must pursue the truth and uncover memories.
An Unlikely Ally
An unnamed voice, assumed to be an Artificial Intelligence, appears in the unlikeliest of places on screens across the lab to check on G’s progress. This unknown character helps him learn new information and hints on how to move forward. It plays a bigger role in the story as it unfolds.
MOODBOARDS & PROCESS
CORE MECHANIC DESIGN
G's REWIND-ability!
The Rewind Bar
G's ability of rewinding an object's position/state works like a timeline. The player can scroll through the timeline, to choose the appropriate position or state to freeze the object in. This time freeze defies gravity and gives G a chance to use the object's position strategically to overcome obstacles.
Time Duration
Several iterations of the rewind bar were tested with and without a set time duration. Without time duration, the bar was inaccessible in puzzles that expand beyond the player's view. In the final iteration, the rewind bar instantiates according to the click location. Upon the release of the dragged button, the time duration begins and the object freezes. The freeze ends with the time duration.
I proposed this solution to counter all edge cases and also give level designers a chance to use Time Duration as a variable. This adds to the player's sense of urgency, making it a fun experience solving a puzzle.
Objects: Animation VS Unity Physics
With the rewind-ability being the core of our game, it was important to portray the state and changing position of an object as realistically as possible. Use of animated sprites or rigid bodies were our two choices and either decision could shift weight of the work heavily to either the animator or game developer.
Based on our strengths as a team, I proposed Unity physics as the most feasible option to create the rewind of an object. At the beginning of each puzzle, the object in question is instantiated as a rigid body and is pushed by applying a force vector. The object's changing position and rotation in time is recorded and recalled using a rewind method.
This allowed us as Level Designers to easily tweak and manipulate object trajectories by customizing its physics and instantiating position, all within the game engine. And though it is not implemented in our proof of concept, animated sprites were chosen to be used in tandem with unity physics to represent changing states of objects, wherever needed.
LEVEL DESIGN
The level design of this game, a single variable of difficulty is introduced and increased over time. Rewindable objects can be used as bridges, platforms, ladders, elevators, obstacles and weights.
Difficulty Variables:
⌛ Time duration
➿ Object trajectories
🔢 Quantity of objects rewound at a time
🎯 Accuracy & synchronization
🏢 Terrain design
Tutorial Features:
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Story introduction
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Controls introduction
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Instructions through dialogues
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Intuitive understanding
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Strategic object and collectibles placement
ASSET DESIGN & INTEGRATION
Art Style & Theme
Due to a tight deadline and for ease of scalability, we chose a flat vector art style. The character and monitor may look cute and friendly, but both make for a stark contrast against the dark gory story line and the enemy that is revealed later.
The theme calls for a dark, dreary mood. The palette mostly consists of cool dark colors, often found contrasting with warm contrasting colors just to grab attention.
THE GAME'S FUTURE
Current MVP
Endless Possibilities
In four weeks we were able to develop:
✅ A working core mechanic: Rewind
✅ Art Style, basic Assets, Animations & SFX
✅ Story Introduction & Integrated Tutorial
✅ 6 Scenes
✅ 3 Initial Puzzles/Levels
✅ 3 Rewindable Objects (obstacle, platform and ladder)
✅ Collectibles
The current MVP has the potential to be developed further in to a fully fleshed out game. With a polished working mechanic, there is potential for more complexities, eg: the introduction of state of an object.
There is also great potential for increasingly challenging levels and different scenes that add to the story line.
All MVP details and other possibilities have been included in a Game Design Document that we can refer to in the future.
