Child of Norn
Availability:
Itch.io -> Play it here! May 14, 2021
Steam: Coming Soon
Description: A game about the child of prophecy, who is destined to save the world, with the help of a legendary, magical axe.
Made With: Unity
Development Time: 8 months
Developed by:
Tristian Diaz - Lead Programmer
Zachary Kolibas - Lead Level Design, Environmental Artist
Brian Perez - Level Design, Game Design, UI Design
Daniel Gurrieri - Level Design
Brianna Matheson - Audio Design, Asset Manager
Design
The design goals that we wanted to achieve were crucial to the game's development. We wanted to give the player a new setting and pace on the already substantially popular genre, action-adventure platformer. The world is vast for the player to easily explore and find hidden collectibles. Progressing through the game the player will encounter new environments and challenges. These levels will have the player utilizing the different mechanics that they are presented with. Having the abilities that the player is given may be easy to execute, but a challenge to master.
These are the abilities that the player has mastery over. Using wall running, ledge climbing, the fire element, and the ice element, the player will advance through each level. Wall running will allow the player to cross large gaps that can't be made with a normal jump. Ledge climbing will help the player reach their destination if they just barely missed. The fire element melts the walls of ice. The ice element will freeze parts of the lava to help the player move on. Lastly, there is a mechanic that also adds to the uniqueness of the axe. This mechanic enables the player to throw the axe towards a hang bar and allow them to grapple themselves towards the axe's location.
Visuals
The visuals for our game were constantly changing until we found the one that was just right. We wanted to make our game pop with the beautiful scenery that we had. A lot of detail and hard work went into making each level feel true to the environment the player is supposed to be in. After a selection of different possibilities we finally concluded with adding proper post-processing into the game and the results were exactly what we were looking for.
Post-Mortem
What Went Well
- Having the grapple ability allowed for the player to cross large and high distances. This also made level design a bit more approachable.
- The development of the ice element was smooth and fast. It enabled for fast implementation into the corresponding worlds.
- The environmental design created an immersive visual experience.
What Didn't Go Well
- The version of Unity that was being used to develop the game brought some heavy limitations to our artistic direction and mechanics development.
- The target platform had a small file limit and that forced us to make the hard decision to downgrade the visuals in order to upload it. This was because the texture files were too large.
- The lighting system was more complex than anticipated which resulted in being unable to create the lighting environment that we desired in certain areas.
Final Thoughts
Our team was committed to bringing everyone a well balanced and exciting game that showcases our best abilities at game design and programming. We hope that we provided intriguing gameplay and stunning artistic visuals to everyone. Child of Norn was a challenge to take on, but with hard work and dedication it made the challenge well worth it. This experience allowed for all of us to break through our limits and pursue greater standings that will open up new doors. As a team we’ve all gained experience in artistic level design, working as a unit, and balancing tasks as well as growing exponentially in our own talents. We’ve all gained deeper knowledge in our passions towards games, coding, storytelling, digital design, and 3D modeling. We hope that our hard work presents itself with the knowledge and passion in Child of Norn. The same goes to our fellow colleagues, family, and fans who enjoy our game.
