At the edge of reality stands a tower, filled with riches and dangers untold. It is said that any explorer can enter and claim their fortune, but will they be able to resist the urge to take just a little bit more? This action adventure platformer and match-3 mashup game tests the player’s ability to moderate their risk and reward as they gain new abilities and face increasingly difficult foes.
Tools
Unity
Visual Studio Code
After Effects
Roles
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Premise
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System Design
System Scripting
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Movement and Control Script
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Enemy Behaviors
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AI
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Animations
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Scenario Design
Assets Acquired
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Art (Freelance Art Team)
Sprites
About the Project
I had the idea for this fun action platformer match-3 mashup when I was trying to think of a procedurally created gameplay cycle to develop. This was my first push into Unity development, so I had a lot to learn. I originally wanted to call it “Tower of Greed”, but that website was taken by a different tower climbing game. Magnus Palsson came on board to do the music, so I used a placeholder sample of his music in the pre-vis video.
Original Concept Video: Made In After Effects
Dev Diary
Premise
At the edge of reality and what is known, there is a strange and dangerous tower with untold riches within. Many enter focused on a single goal, a problem they think wealth can fix. But, when surrounded by temptation, who is wise enough to get what they need AND get out.
Every time the player spawns, a new avatar will be generated along with a procedural set of goals. They need to acquire a set amount of gems to complete their goals. However, the rewards grow the longer they stay in the tower. When the player escapes with the riches, they gain rogue like bonuses for future runs as well. The player must find their flow, the balance between risk and reward, to succeed.
Your Own Worst Enemy
The player cannot be killed directly by the common enemies. This is a symbolic significance as well as a gameplay mechanic. The biggest threat to oneself in the face of temptation is oneself. When a player hits an enemy, they simply become stunned. It’s the board, and getting crushed by the cascades that will kill the player.
There is one late game enemy that will appear over time who represents the limit of reason. This enemy can and will find and kill you, so be careful adventurer.
Stuck In Your Head
One idea we were playing around with was a progressive music track. When the player first starts out, there is no music, just the sound of the wind. As the game progresses, individual tracks of a single piece of music begin to layer until the player achieves a long enough run to experience the full musical composition. When they die, they are plunged back into silence. The premise here is to make the player crave the music and encourage them on a subconscious level to play again, just because the silence is uncomfortable.