Trollchemy
Summary
A VR puzzle game that intended to play with user expectations built over 48 hours for Global Game Jam 2016. Your Alchemy Master left you with a complex set of instructions to make gold for an impatient king. Do you follow the instructions, or look for a shortcut?
Key Technologies
- C#
- Unity3d
- GearVR
- Oculus Rift
The theme of Global Game Jam 2016 was 'Ritual'. We decided to play with the
idea of rituals that add unncessary complexity to everyday tasks. Think of
filling out paperwork at the DMV.
The result was Trollchemy: a puzzle game about making gold on a deadline.
The puzzle is simple, but the game instructions are needlessly complex.
We built Trollchemy in Unity3d for the GearVR over 48 hours. The major challenges
were 1) designing an intuitive and VR-friendly input scheme, and 2) balancing the
complexity of our red-herring instructions with the puzzle difficulty.
We were concerned that the puzzle would be too easy, but most of our players
didn't deviate from the given instructions. A key takeaway from this is the value
of early user testing. Earlier testing would have let us know that players needed
stronger cues to attemp their own solution. We also recognized that this kind of 'meta' game was
ambitious for the scope of a Game Jam.
We completed the game on schedule, and shipped on time. You can find the game over at
Global Game Jam
Credits
- Brian Jewkes - Programming
- Derek Timm-Brock - Art and Design
- Alex Sink - Programming
- Scott Anderson - Programming
- Ryan Williams - Programming
- Kevin O'Neill - Audio
Summary
A VR puzzle game that intended to play with user expectations built over 48 hours for Global Game Jam 2016. Your Alchemy Master left you with a complex set of instructions to make gold for an impatient king. Do you follow the instructions, or look for a shortcut?
Key Technologies
- C#
- Unity3d
- GearVR
- Oculus Rift
The theme of Global Game Jam 2016 was 'Ritual'. We decided to play with the idea of rituals that add unncessary complexity to everyday tasks. Think of filling out paperwork at the DMV.
The result was Trollchemy: a puzzle game about making gold on a deadline. The puzzle is simple, but the game instructions are needlessly complex.
We built Trollchemy in Unity3d for the GearVR over 48 hours. The major challenges were 1) designing an intuitive and VR-friendly input scheme, and 2) balancing the complexity of our red-herring instructions with the puzzle difficulty.
We were concerned that the puzzle would be too easy, but most of our players didn't deviate from the given instructions. A key takeaway from this is the value of early user testing. Earlier testing would have let us know that players needed stronger cues to attemp their own solution. We also recognized that this kind of 'meta' game was ambitious for the scope of a Game Jam.
We completed the game on schedule, and shipped on time. You can find the game over at Global Game Jam
Credits
- Brian Jewkes - Programming
- Derek Timm-Brock - Art and Design
- Alex Sink - Programming
- Scott Anderson - Programming
- Ryan Williams - Programming
- Kevin O'Neill - Audio