Averse
Averse is a game made in 48h during the Kiss Game Jam 2023, which won second place among the 22 participating teams. For this project, I took on the role of game/level designer, we had to mix several movie titles from a predetermined list to create our game. After an evening of laugher over a monster chiken and a special Christmas dinner, we chose to mix "Après la pluie, le beau temps" and "60 secondes chrono" to create "60 secondes après la pluie" who became "Averse".
This is a 3D puzzle plateform game in which you have to reach the top of a futuristic-brutalist tower by pushing blocks and following the rhythm to avoid the toxic rain.
Before going any further into the details of the game, I invite you to download Averse to test it before learning its production secrets.
Warning: The game doesn't have a camera dithering function, so some parts of the level are a little difficult to manage. We're sorry about that, it's the risk of jams to highlight problems after the game's release.
Disclaimer !
Averse is a team project, I think it's important to note that everyone can have ideas because it's a particularity of this medium which make its complexity and power. So, even if I was in charge of the game and level design, what follows is the result of the work of several people, not just my own. In particular, I worked closely with Laszlo Bougard.
Mechanics
Our goal with Averse was to conceive the most elegant game jam game : using a few simple mechanics that create a lot of possibilities.
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So the player can move, jump and rotate the camera a quarter turn around the structure.
Then we added gameplay elements, which we can combine with the basic mechanics, to create various game situations :
push block :
The player can push blocks by running into them to create platforms or fill holes in the ground.
moving platforms :
Some platforms are moving by themselves at a periodic rhythm. This create a bit of tension during the game because in these situations the player is dependent on the feature and he can't hide from the rain.
waterfalls :
Sometimes the way is obstructed by a waterfall, which the player have to stop using a push block to follow his path.
rainwater pools :
These are empty pools which fill up with the rain but instantly run down because of a hole in the pool. In the middle of the pool there is a platform which go up and down with the level of water. The player has to blocked the hole to keep the pool filled and then use the platform to continue.
Next, we added a constraint to inject a little challenge into the game : the toxic rain.
The rain appears periodically for a few seconds. If the player is hit by the rain, is he teleported to the last checkpoint he met. Before each shower, a lightning let the player know that he has a few secondes left to find a safe spot.
Level building
The player's objectives are display at the first seconds of the game, we chose to designed them as textual indications to be clear enough (it was a game jam, no time to loose). Then the level is designed in straight line where the player will learn to jump and to recognize checkpoint zones.
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A green light represent the checkpoint zones, this light turns orange when the player activates it to indicate the player has interracted with the feature.
Then, we repeat several jumps to make sure the player has understood the mechanics and place a new checkpoint zone to confirm the player's progress and make the next part of the level easier.
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Next, we ask the player to jump again but we introduce the camera mechanic that is needed to see the hole between blocks that can kill the player.
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For each new feature we will repeat this chain of action : onbording (the player learn how to use the element), validation phase (to be sure the player understand the feature) and a more challenging phase using the last feature learnt.
Here is an exemple with the push blocks and the moving platforms :
Push Block
Onboarding
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As the player moves on this new platform, he will naturally hit the block in front of him and make it move of one step. With this interraction the player learns that by hitting a block he can move it.
Moving platform
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To begin nicely, we put a safe zone before the first moving platform, thus the player can wait it without the presure of the rain.
Validation phase
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We ask the player to repeat the action he leart in a tiny "puzzle" to confirm the learning process exept for the moving platforms because it's a passive feature (the player don't have to "do something") so we thought this phase would be meaningless.
Challenge n°1
Challenging phase
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Challenge n°2
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Challenge n°3
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Next, we've created several stages that require a little more thought and observation from the player. These parts are more difficult or more stressful, and give the player a sense of progression and accomplishment.
Here we enter in a specific part of the game. The camera move to give way to a 2D view and the rain fall continuously. The player must use the moving plateforms as a protection to cross the bridge.
This sequence creates a transition to the last part of the game, and the change in the use of mobile platforms helps to avoid player "burnout".
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Then came two new features: waterfalls and rainwater pools.
To introduce them, we used the same strategy as before, creating a first puzzle to onboard the feature and a second, more difficult one to put it into practice.
Waterfalls
Onboarding
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Rainwater pools
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Waterfalls
Challenging phase
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Rainwater pools
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What if I had more time
Playtests :
With more time, I could have playtested the level. This would help me recognize and adjust the more complex parts of the game and eliminate some of the frustration.
Consistency in the game design :
I'd play a bit more with some of the mechanics that I've seen more as vital features than gameplay features, which has meant we've missed a lot of opportunities to improve the game.
What I have learnt on this project
Prefere short experiences (overall for a gamejam) :
A short game with good ideas and design is better than a long empty game. Even if I am proud of the work we had accomplished in this project I think that Averse could be cut at the middle.
Keep all features in mind throughout the design process :
In designing the final parts of the game, we overlooked an essential mechanic : camera rotation. As a result, we missed a few opportunities to make the puzzles more interesting.