Whiskers' Warzone is a first-person, fast-paced, score attack game that places you in the role of a cat defending its territory against vermin and opposing cats.
FORMAT
Engine
Unity 3D
Team Size
Five
Development Time
Nine weeks during a school semester with two more weeks of solo polish after the semester
ROLES
Creative Director
Conveying Core Vision
Coordinating Team Tasks
Lead Designer
Game Design Documentation
UI & Menu Design
Core Mechanic Design
Enemy Design
Level Design and Implementation
Lead Programmer
UI & Menu Functionality
Leaderboard Functionality
Core Mechanic Functionality
Enemy Functionality
DESIGN GOALS
Create a game that's both accessible to initial players and that offers replayability for repeat players
Leverage 2-3 unique core mechanics and 2-3 levels
Convey the feeling of being a quick, nimble, and hyper aware cat
DESIGN DISCUSSION
In order to get the most replayability out of a 3 level structure I opted to create each level as a playground type of space (rather than more linear content) with progressive difficulty so new players can warm up to the gameplay while repeated players can still experiment with new tactics and experience new situations.
Following this same line of thinking I made it a priority to include optional mission briefings before each level and optional tutorialization in the first level that can be turned on or off between playthroughs as well as a leaderboard with varying elements tracked so there are clear goals to strive for upon repeated playthroughs.
To nail the feeling of being a cat I spent time tuning the player speed and abilities along with how the cat sense allowed for the detection of enemies. Enemy cats in neighboring yards competing for kills also developed into an exciting element to further the fantasy.
STORIES
Without a dedicated animator on our team all animations had to either be made procedurally or in engine myself which taught me a bit about how the animation system in Unity works.
There was a huge amount of work to get done on the project in a very short time with very few of us on the team that had experience doing those things so it led to me picking up various miscellaneous responsibilities (level design, lighting, animation, AI, UI, mechanics) all at once which taught me a great deal about the Unity engine as a whole and about how to both learn and work under pressure.
