9. Next step for this game
● Improve game physics - Prevent unrealistic situations
that could misrepresent physics
● Thicken the narrative and the meaning of the game
Shaky Shack is a building game set in the dumpyard, where all of our unwanted belongings become someone else's treasure.
The game shows the experiences of the dumplings, a helpless creature who rolled into life in the junkyard.
During the game the player need to build a shelter that will help dumpling survive in the Junkyard.
As in real life dumpling expands and need more than a basic shelter and reaches for a permanent HOME.
The game was intended to criticize popular Consumerism culture and raises the following questions for thought
Have we become addicted to consume more than we really need?
A home is first and foremost meant to provide security and protection, but what about other considerations we make when building our home? Do we sometimes make materialistic choices that come at the expense of the home as a protected space?
2d vs 3d?
What is winning ?
Who are we protecting and why?
who Talks about that - Miki
Shiri
Who are we protecting and why?
The idea to go with junkyard concept is a cynical and humorous way to criticize the Consumerism culture.
while making the character few question arose:
Who is living in a dump? Such creature may be mutated. He might be a bit stupid from breathing toxic waste.
Who do we want to protect? What creature evokes compassion? Is it a necessary a sweet creature?
Does the player get amused by killing the dumpling? Is that good for the purpose of the game?
Which kind of creature will the target audience want to protect?
Michal -
One of the challenges that we had was to balance the Martials in the game to feel realistic enough, but also to keep the game enjoyable enough for the player.
During playtests we decide to counteract the damage that materials accumulate during building and this decision improved the experience of the player.
Erwin Create Disasters and visualise them as part of the narrative
Erwin
Letting go for features and ideas that work good in the paper prototype, for example the requirement to build a shelter with a roof ( took us too long)
Too much time on modifying physics parameters of the objects, and developing the game objects around the physics engine
.Michal
during the development process we had to cut out some features that we thing that could improve the game
If we had more time we would focus in two areas:
thicken the narrative and meaning of the game, we had a few ideas in mind
Shelters getting ‘nicer’ over time: at one point we wanted to have a persistent structure, that the player improved and continued building over levels. To signify a shelter becoming more of a ‘home’, the oldest parts of it would get nicer over time, and the dumpling would get more attached to those older, nicer parts of the house.
Junkyard landlord: Having the players ‘score’ count in money - coins - and then charging the player a cost for every item used to build the shelter. At the end of the level, the players’ success paid off, so the fewer items used, the shakier and poorer the construction of the space, the more profit the player made - kind of a commentary on profit based development.
Luxury items: Having a few items that are particularly nicer and improve the quality of life immediately , or sturdier, than the usual trash used as a building material, that the player could choose & purchase, and then those items would make the dumpling happier with the resulting house, even if the house was less sturdy because of them.
Improve game physics during "building"
Better collision detection
Object that break aparts
Better particle effects
Better Disaster effects
.
Improve game physics during "building"
Better collision detection
Object that break aparts
Better particle effects
Better Disaster effects
Thicken the narrative and the meaning of the game
Shelters getting ‘nicer’ over time: at one point we wanted to have a persistent structure, that the player improved and continued building over levels. To signify a shelter becoming more of a ‘home’, the oldest parts of it would get nicer over time, and the dumpling would get more attached to those older, nicer parts of the house.
Junkyard landlord: Having the players ‘score’ count in money - coins - and then charging the player a cost for every item used to build the shelter. At the end of the level, the players’ success paid off, so the fewer items used, the shakier and poorer the construction of the space, the more profit the player made - kind of a commentary on profit based development.
Luxury items: Having a few items that are particularly nicer, or sturdier, or prettier than the usual trash used as a building material, that the player could choose & purchase, and then those items would make the dumpling happier with the resulting house, even if the house was less sturdy because of them.
