DELIVERY DAYS
Delivery Days is an arcade adventure platformer about delivering packages, riding electric wires and meeting the wandering folks of a town fractured by the Web.
Play the latest build on itch.io.
(Password is: deliverytester)
Technical Design
I intended this project to apply my skills as a technical designer, putting together design and technical implementation into something tangible. My initial thought is to create a unique movement system that will challenge my skills.
That’s when I came across a cancelled PS2 title, Densen. Densen had a unique wire traversal system that felt really fun to watch. It was reactive, snappy and cinematic to look at.
It seemed like a fun challenge to take inspiration from that and make it snappier and more dexterous to control.
Early Prototyping
The first thing I wanted to tackle was getting the basics of the wire riding mechanic:
Moving from point A-B across a wire and vice versa.
Attaching detaching from the wire.
This led me to explore Unity’s Spline package, reading its documentation and seeing what I could use from the tool to get to the feature as quick as I could, see what feels good.
I also explored with visuals and camera at this time, hence the different models and camera styles (tracking dolly / isometric top down)
Exploring Movement
Once I got the basics, I began exploring the nuances of movement on the ground AND on the wire.
How do I make movement on the wire interesting?
How can I bridge the ground movement to the wire movement and make it feel seamless and fun to control?
I explored two ways of moving across the wire, either through holding down a button to move across or hold & release a button, launching the player at the desired speed.
Building the Game
After I felt good about the current movement controller on the ground and on the wires, I then wanted to test the limits and find the fun by starting to build game levels and introduce platforming challenges for the player.
I also introduced a timer and objective system to help add pressure and goals to complete the game. Additionally, I tested further with the game’s visuals, creating the character model and testing shaders to develop the game’s “up in the air”, wholesome and cartoon-like world.
The end result is the current sample here.