Dr. Jelly and Kobe

The game: “Dr. Jelly and Kobe” is a third person platformer mobile game developed via “UNITY” game engine in C# language. The game world aesthetics takes the players to a childish world where they can enjoy guiding Kobe through obstacles and dangerous items in the game world. The game world also challenges the player in various ways, encouraging them to play more. This is due to the nature of platformer games where the player enjoys passing time by running, jumping and avoiding obstacles in the game play.

Plot: Dr. Jelly is an alien scientist who is on a mission to collect babies from the earth for his scientific research. On his first mission, he needs to capture Kobe; but, getting his hands on Kobe is not as easy as he thinks….

Target audience: Suitable for all age groups (kids to adults). The audience of this game are casual gamers who play games for passing time.

Objective: The game has been developed to please the user and improve player’s decision-making skill by letting the player choose between best provided options in order to survive.

Team members: This project has been created by a team of four.

Core loop: The core loop of this game is running, avoiding obstacle and collecting rewards (candies, jellies, cotton candies).


Tools


  • Adobe Illustrator

  • Adobe Photoshop

  • Adobe Indesign

  • Visual Studio

  • Prototyping tools

  • Unity



    • Challenges

    As a team, each of us encountered different problems from visuals to coding. For me the most difficult part of the game logic was the artificial intelligence of the characters specially the Dr.Jelly, because he had to do some moves on his own, for example he had to avoid obstacles, and throws objects at Kobe.
    We also encountered other challenges like optimizing our game for different platforms including IOS and Android to get the best performance.


    Summary of project challenges
  • Unifying our ideas

  • Visual aesthetics

  • Artificial intelligence of the game

  • Game optimization and smoothness

  • PC and Mobile compatibility



    • Overcoming Challenges

  • Assigned a group leader and followed a fixed schedule.

  • Multiple visual revisions.

  • User testing.

  • Application of functions, switches, if statements and other programming logics for AI.

  • Object pulling utilization for smoother performance.

  • Different UI and buttons for different platforms (PC and Mobile).




    • My Role

    I designed and prototyped various elements of the game, including loading screens, game over screens, main menu screens, settings screens, pause screens, and tutorial screens for both desktop and mobile platforms.
    Additionally, I was responsible for level design, difficulty balancing, defining level objectives and pacing, and crafting the gameplay arc.
    I conducted usability testing, developed functional flow-boards, and created decision tree diagrams to ensure a seamless user experience.


    Process








    Rough Sketches

    Initial sketches of the game on paper





    Initial Level Design

    Coins and platforms positioning(Bonus-level)





    Bonus-level Finalized Design

    When the player gets enough Jellies, he will enter the bonus level where he can obtain more Macarons





    Levels and Sub-levels Overview





    Different Level Design (initial ideas)

    We did not go with these designs because they were either distracting or very simple and plain. The final version of levels is more aesthetically pleasing and supports parallax effect.





    Finalized Level Design (Sample)





    Elements' position Diagram



    Visual-Cues





    Gameplay-Arc

    The way the game starts and proceeds

    Functional Flow-board

    Includes the main activities (screens) of the game.

    Decision Tree Diagram

    Thinking pattern of our users while testing our game.
    Method: think aloud





    Menu & Tutorial Screens (Phone & PC)

    The game starts with a click of a button.





    The game is not an infinite runner, therefore there is a winner. The winner screen shows the amount of collected Jellies and Macarons.





    The gameover appears if the doctor catches Kobe





    The pause menu appears whenever the player presses the pause button. There are three options:
    1-Home
    2-Reset
    3-Resume





    Totorial screen describing the objects in the game





    A tutorial screen for pc users





    A tutorial screen for mobile users









    Prototype Video

    The first prototype of the game created in unity to check the functionality of the game objects and also determine the suitable distance between Dr. Jelly and Kobe in this case the cube.









    Sample Code

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