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KASA

About
KASA is a fast-paced third-person action-platformer with an emphasis on gliding and combat with an umbrella, where players take on the role of Cassandra, a young woman trained in the Umbrella Arts, whose goal is to avenge her people by taking down the 4 Immortal Beasts.
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Genre: Action, Adventure, Platformer 
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Duration: September 2017 - April 2018
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Team Size: 9
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Awards: 
  • 1st Place, Claude Comair Grand Prize for Game of the Year (2018)
  • 1st Place, Best Junior Game, DigiPen Game Awards 2018
  • 1st Place, Best Audio, DigiPen Game Awards 2018
  • Finalist, Best Graphics Technology, DigiPen Game Awards 2018
  • Finalist, Best Artificial Intelligence, DigiPen Game Awards 2018
  • Finalist, Best Physics, DigiPen Game Awards 2018
  • Finalist, Best 3D Visual Design, DigiPen Game Awards 2018
  • Finalist, Best Junior Technology, DigiPen Game Awards 2018
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Role

  • Lead Game Designer

  • Gameplay Programmer

  • Level Designer

  • AI Designer

  • User Experience Designer

 

Role Summary

As the Lead Game Designer, my main job would be getting the game out in the most interesting way as possible. My main design focus was to make the player feel agile and powerful, which can be seen in the platforming aspects and combat within the game.

 

As the gameplay programmer, my main job is to create a character controller which enables the player to feel good not only moving around, but also in combat.

 

As the level designer, my role was to create the tutorial level, the dream sequence as well as the level leading up to the final boss. Each of the level's goal was to teach the player on the mechanics as well as for the purpose of story telling.

 

As the AI Designer, the main focus is to design the specs of each AI as well as the tuning. This would include AI's of all 4 enemies as well as the 4 Bosses.

 

As the User Experience designer, the goal was to make the player feel good when he/she is playing the game. I used a method called subtractive game design where certain mechanics was taken out. The initial version of KASA was full of mechanics where the player is able to perform, however we found out that it killed the smoothness of the game.

 

Lead Game Designer

  • Being the Lead Game Designer, I have to manage various aspects of the game, be it from level design all the way to audio design.
  • Each time the design team sat down and brainstorm/talk about designs, it would be my job to drive the final vision and make the team work towards it.
  • Other than aligning ideas and generating them, it was also my job to communicate the limitations within our design as we are working on a custom engine, not all features can be included in the final game.

Gameplay Programmer

  • Handling a main 'C' in game development, the Character Controller was not an easy task.
  • I have to create the main component in which the player communicate with the game and making it smooth was my main goal.
  • The player have to feel "good" while moving around and fighting with the character.
  • Not only the controls, I have to make sure that the Character's animation matches the action to further boost the immersion of the player.
  • Iterations, fine tuning and play testing was the only way I could improve the Character Controller and almost every week, there will be adjustments made to the Character.
  • The main take away is to not limit the player, find out what is killing the experience for the players and rectify it/remove it completely.

Level Designer

  • Within the levels I have created, my main technique used is framing.
  • Making use of framing, I aim to guide the players forward without explicit instructions.
  • For the tutorial, teaching the players without a separate screen/instruction was pretty difficult. What I did was a small pop up at the side with the next part the player have to go only be accessible using the mechanics being taught.
  • The best way to teach is not teaching, but letting the player learn as he/she move forward.
  • Story telling and creating space for the story telling in this game was a first for me as balancing the combat and platforming with story telling is not possible without proper planning and play test. The aim is to not overload the player with actions but still keep the level interesting.
Level mockup of the Tutorial Level

AI Designer

  • Planning and overseeing each AI was no easy task.
  • All of the AI designed in this game uses a finite state machine which is easily handled by the engine.
  • Creating specs for each AI is not easy as other than the AI interacting with the player, I have to account on the terrain the AI will be in.
  • Fine tuning and testing the AI was also part of my job as I have to make sure the AI is well balanced and not unfair for the player.
  • I have to make sure the AI is challenging and interesting at the same time as well as contextually relevant in the game.
AI specification of the basic enemy - Enforcer

User Experience Designer

  • User Experience design in this game was no easy task. From the main menu to the credits, I have to make each task as smooth as possible with the player not hindered by unnecessary components in the game.
  • From over seeing the HUD/UI placement in the game as well as keeping track on how accessible each actions are, I have kept my hands dirty in various aspect of the game.
  • In general, the first iteration of KASA have various issue with user experience. In the past, the player has the ability to jump on walls, however getting from area to area requires the players to jump on walls continuously.
  • After much discussion with the team, I've decided to go ahead in removing mechanics that does not exemplify the core component of our game. After getting rid of the wall jump mechanic, the character controller felt much smoother.
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