Noel Grünbaum – Game Designer

Projects

About

CV

grunbaum.noel@gmail.com

Godot venture

3D Platformer

Tools: Godot, GitHub

Duration: 3 weeks 18 november – 4 december 2024

Team Size: Solo

Role: Level Design and Programming

Platform: Windows

Game Link

For this course, I received a simple 3d platformer base in Godot. It was the first time working in this engine and the focus was on Technical Level Design.

Design Intent

I set out to make as polished of an experience as possible, in terms of the actual gameplay. Looks and sound would have to take a back seat.

My main focus with this level was to work iteratively, making small changes and then playtesting it to get feedback. Because of this the level didn’t change as much as it usually would but the changes I did make were more meaningful and I could be more sure of it being the right way to go.

Level Design

Above is my initial design document. I knew I wanted to make something spiraling around a central pillar as I thought it would both look cool and provide interesting gameplay possibilities. The concept of collecting coins to progress was also central to this vision though this diminished as the level went on.

I instead chose to prioritize introducing new obstacles regularly to keep it fresh. I could certainly have gone the other way to focus just on one thing since the level isn’t too long, but I felt it fit with the light hearted nature of both the graphics and the movement to go in this direction instead.

Below is a summary of the level with images.

Start
Island with checkpoint and button trigger the two moving platforms
On the second moving platform
Having picked up the second coin the door unlocks
Jump over the spikes and past the red falling platform
Press the button to make the moving platform move
Ride the moving platform
You get to an island with a checkpoint starting to go around the cylinder
You jump up the 3 falling platforms and then get to the first moving spikes
Jump over the spikes to an island with a checkpoint
These are the toggle platforms that switch from on and off to a beat
You jump past the segment and get to an island with a checkpoint
The second toggle platform part has a falling platform in the middle so you have to time it so you jump so you can’t jump too early since the falling platform will fall too early then
After it there is an island with a checkpoint
Next up is the final part up with a split moving spike you have to get past
Jump on the trampoline up to the three falling platforms
Get to the second trampoline from there
Jump up to the end
Walk into the finish flag
End

Below are some side by side comparisons of some changes I made during development. The earlier version is to the left.

I added an additional moving platform (green platform) for more interesting platforming and to make it so you don’t have to wait as long for the closest one to get back.
In the first iteration, the moving platform was close to you, so when you pressed the button you would have to rush to get to it in time. In the final it starts on the opposite end to give you time.
I made the toggle platforms turn see through instead of invisible to let players know where to go next.

Programming

I both changed the existing code to better fit my needs and made entirely new assets. The main structure I made was a platform that would turn on and off to a beat with a central manager to handle it all.

What I changed with the existing code was

  • I added functionality for moving platforms with coins collected Link
  • I made the path for moving platform have one way bool that makes it take a one way trip. Link

This is the old Toggle Platform: Link

This is the final Toggle Platform: Link

The Main difference is making platforms see through instead of invisible when turned off.

This is the old Toggle Platform: Link

This is the final Toggle Platform Controller: Link

The main difference is making any game controller vibrate three times as a count down for the toggling.

Conclusion

For this level I had the opportunity to take it slow and playtest often, iterating as I went along. This taught me both a lot about how to better conduct playtests and made the level better for it.

If I were to redo it I would try to get feedback from separate people to get even more fresh perspectives.

Even though I originally intended for the whole level to be centered around collecting coins to progress, I’m glad I chose to pivot to more variety as it better fit the base game I received.

It was fun to discover a new set of tools in Godot for the first time in a long while since I last had to learn a new game engine.