Project Overview
Engine: Unity
Development Time: 4 months
Team Size: 6
Nyanzo is a mobile where players swipe their screens to roll a cat towards a goal. players have limited moves and can only stop rolling when they hit a wall. In a team of 6, I was one of the 4 level designers who worked on Nyanzo. I worked I helped design puzzle levels that used different secondary mechanics that embraced our main mechanic.
Nyanzo
Roles and Responsibilities
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Worked with the team to create initial game idea
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Designed and created 6 levels for the game
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Integrated mechanics and assets into levels
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Playtested and advertised our game for last milestone
Level Design
As a level designer I was given the task of researching materials for Nyanzo, along with creating 6 levels using different mechanics that enhanced our main rolling mechanic. I worked with my team to come up with controls that would be easy for the player to learn and use, ultimately deciding on swiping on the screen, giving us more space to create levels and UI.
Once the game controls were set we broke the game into 3 separate pieces for 3 mechanics. World 1 (curved walls), world 2 (cracked floors), and world 3 (buttons with gates) . I created a tutorial level that taught players the movment of the game, the first 3 levels using curved walls, the final level of world three that used all 3 mechanics, and an extra bonus level that unlocks if the player completes the campaign.
Early iterations of a Nyanzo Level
Personal Levels
While on the team I was tasked on creating the tutorial level, the first three levels of our first world, the final level of our campaign, and a bonus level. The tutorial level gave players the instructions on how to move and how the game works. The first worlds mechanic was a curved wall that gave players a free move in the direction the wall was curved if players ran into it. The final level used curved walls, cracked floors (a hazard), buttons with doors, and dog archers (ranged hazard). When all levels were made I had time to make an extra bonus level players could play if they finished the campaign.
Other work
Planning
When designing Nyanzo, I was able to come up with the idea of rolling our character with a bomb. i also offered ideas of different weather for the different worlds along with design ideas for other levels.
Bonus Level
Our Team was ahead of schedule for a majority of our milestones so we decided to create and balance extra bonus levels that players could unlock if they finished the campaign. I created the second level seen to the left, which implemented 2 of our 3 mechanics (curved walls and buttons with gates.
