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TRIPPIN WALLS

Time

5 weeks (2022)

Engine

Unreal Engine 5

Team

Solo

Status

Finished

Concept

This was our second assignment on the Game design programme. Following my first game, Trippin Balls, I wanted to keep working on a non-verbal and colorful game, built with abstract shapes. The purpose would be the same – to strip everyday stressors away, and have the Player tap into their visuo-spatial awareness.

Since the game does not contain any objects or surroundings that the Player would be familiar with, it is not possible to navigate through the level in the same manner that one would navigate the real world. To make sure the abstractness of this level would not be perceived as unsettling, or disorienting in a negative way for that matter, I needed to make sure to create an atmosphere of a safe place for relaxation, being in the moment, and childlike exploration – as if experiencing the world for the first time.

The only challenge for the Player is actually moving around in this virtual space. However, the Player cannot be harmed, there is no health meter, and the Player would not die from high falls.

Also, to avoid being frustrated from getting lost in this beautifully chaotic world, I made sure to minimize the number of paths the Player could take. Mostly, there is one single route to take, with the exception of a few places where there are easier routes to take if needed. The more difficult paths require precise movements to avoid falling off, or timing jumps perfectly.

As you can see in the play-through video, a Player that tried the game fell down when jumping across some steps, but was immediately confronted with a platform to help them up again. Also, getting lost would not be a big problem, since looking around for exits would only show the beauty of the level in the walls.

The level is constructed in such a way that in the end, the Player can choose to jump through a hole to go back to where they started, to go again. If the level is not an obstacle to overcome, and finishing doesn’t equal winning, then why not make the level into a loop?