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Exam Extermination     
     Solo DigiPen project                                                             September - December 2020
      Unity
Overview

While creating Exam Extermination, a simple top-down shooter, I was learning Unity as well as writing C# code for the first time; therefore, the gameplay mechanics are necessarily basic. Despite the learning and the basic mechanics, I successfully gave each of the 5 levels a basic engagement structure including setup, hook, development, turn, and resolution.

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Exam Extermination attempts to engage players purely with challenge and accomplishment engagement types. There are optional goals for players who want to go the extra mile by either killing as many or as few enemies as possible.

Skills Honed
Gameplay Design
C#
Unity
UX
Level Design
Encounter Design
Design Work

Basic Level Structure​

Memorable engagement spikes

The game is a simple top-down shooter with 3 enemy types and a single boss, so level design was the primary design work
of the project. When the obstacles start to come from another side of the screen, a loud warning flash shows up, and players were always surprised to see objects come from the sides rather than just rain down from above as in typical top-down shooters.

examextermination4.png

The game is a simple top-down shooter with 3 enemy types and a single boss, so level design was the primary design work of the project. When the obstacles start to come from another side of the screen, a loud warning flash shows up, and players were always surprised to see objects come from the sides rather than just rain down from above as in typical top-down shooters.

Satisfying optional goals

Aside from simply clearing the level, each level would have conflicting optional achievements that players could attempt. Many playtesters tried for them which increased the engagement of those who tried. A "morality" ranking system further rewarded the player's choices and increased the desire to achieve.

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Having these extra goals enabled me to design for multiple playstyles with limited assets. I provided optional but intuitive paths for players to follow while killing no enemies to avoid frustration. Level 3, however, is designed by having a wall of enemies that players must shoot through, so having them go around it is quite difficult. On the other hand, players need to go out of their way to stay inside of these walls of enemies as long as possible to get more kills if they want the warrior achievement. Making all 3 experiences fun greatly added to the engagement of this otherwise very simple game.

Post Mortem

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  1. The achievement system, aiming for goals of a maximum/minimum number of kills, greatly added to player engagement.

     

  2. The big turn moments with a big turn challenge near the end of the level came across as satisfying climaxes to the level design.

     

  1.  I had barely any coding experience when making this project, so much of this game was incredibly front loaded in development compared to others. This led to less than the desired amount of time for refinement.
     

  2. Giving the player nothing but the ability to move and shoot upwards was very limiting. While it gave me something to design around, players did not like being unable to shoot enemies they weren't below.

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  1. I learned about the importance of the five-act structure for basic level design: setup, hook, development, turn, and resolution. This project most strongly emphasized the importance of the turn to grab the player's attention and make for memorable moments.
     

  2. I gained experience designing multiple, equally satisfying ways for players to move through an experience.

Things that went right:

Things that went wrong:

What I've learned from this experience:

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