Projects Overview
The Design
Gallery
Role: Gameplay Designer / Programmer
Team Size: 3
Game Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Project Type: Game Jam
About
Developed for the ontario Winter Game Jame, Trial of Krampus was created in just 3 days using Unreal Engine 5 by a team of three. I served as both the sole designer and programmer, and was the sole developer responsible for all in engine work. having such a short time frame i knew i had to find something unique to the game to break up gameplay to prevent repetitiveness, My solution was to combine multiple pickups into a single pickup which when grabbed increases player speed and reduces the timer giving them extreme value to the player, the other main gameplay point for my game was krampus who appeared along the track to destroy plaforming paths.
Player Movement
For the movement section, i dedicated a significant portion of time, given the limited timeframe. To testing and refining player movement. As a platformer, ensuring that the player felt responsive and "grippy" on the platforms was my top priority. To achieve this, i increased the braking fiction, adjusted the gravity scale, and boosted the player's acceleration to create a more grounded feel
Adjusted Values
Default Engine Values
Player Movement Video
Coyote Timing
I also implemented Coyote Time, allowing the player a brief window after leaving the platform to still jump. This mechanic which i also used in my previous project Traversal Void, is one of we developers subtly enhance the player's experience and make them feel more confident in their actions
Krampus Interaction
For the Enemy I wanted to take a different approach than the typical game jam platformer, where players collect items and reach the end. Given that the game is 2.5D, I realized I could utilize the 3D background to create an interesting gameplay element. I chose to interpret the theme "Krampus" by having Krampus appear along the track to actively prevent the player from reaching the end. ​As a game designer, my goal is never to intentionally kill the player. I want players to feel a sense of accomplishment without feeling overly guided. To achieve this I gave Krampus a unique behavior, he disrupts the platforming path before the player reaches it, forcing them to adapt.
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My favorite thing about the Krampus interactions was it broke up gameplay and that it utilized the 3D background so the background serves a purpose other then just to look pretty. The player cant go out that far to interact with anything but that doesn't mean i couldn't bring the encounter to them. Scaling krampus up to that size also helps with the "dream sequence" feelings we wanted the player to feel, obviously you would never see a goat this big in real life but inside of a dream you might.
Level Design
Some real life references i used to help me make the level was America Ninja Warrior or Doritos Crash Course, making the player feel like they were running on a fun low stakes course. Its why we have Pushers and Smashers along the course, but of course changing the mesh for the pushers to a bell for the sake of the theme.​
Since I had worked on platformer games in the past, I had a good idea of how to make a good platforming level. I have always favored pacing, flow, and challenge. An example of this would be to include a checkpoint right before a new hazard the player has never encountered before, so if they fail, they immediately spawn prior to it.
Even Krampus himself, when he spawns for the first time he breaks a small piece of the action path. Then the animation play rate is slower to give the player time to understand what is happening for the first time. In the final encounter, Krampus is fast, thus challenging the player​