CityDream Shutter
2021.12.15
"Stop and get across with a camera"
About
This was a game project I did as a Game Science and Design student at Northeastern Univerisity.
Cooperating with 2 other teammates, my duties include:
Mechanic Design - I designed the core mechanics of the game.
Level Design - I designed the first two levels of the game.
Art Design - I designed and drew pictures for the first two levels of the game.
Sound Effect Design - I selected the sound effects in the game.
Programming - I programmed the entire project.
Story Design - I designed the story and the animations in the game.
UI/UX Design - I designed the UI and HUD in the game.
Time range in the walkthrough video: 0:0:0 - 0:9:25; 0:13:16 - 0:14:12
Core Mechanics
Players can control a character and a camera viewfinder simultaneously.
The character can move left and right and can jump in the second level.
The camera viewfinder can move freely inside the screen. Players can control it to shoot a photo to:
stop any dynamic items inside the viewfinder;
change the size of the items inside the viewfinder;
show invisible items inside the viewfinder.
Level Designs
Tutorial Level (Level 1)
The tutorial level teaches players about the basic movement of the character and the camera viewfinder. It introduces the first core mechanic of the camera to players.
Nature Level (Level 2)
Nature Level allows characters to jump and needs players to utilize the first core mechanics to get across obstacles.
Art Design
UI/UX Design
HUD
Inspired by the real camera viewfinder, I chose to display all information on a viewfinder like HUD.
UI
To make the UI integrate into the game, I utilized the core mechanic 1 of the camera (stop object movements) to design the UI animation. Players would take a big photo of the whole screen to stop the game and call out the UI.
Story
The game is about the side effects of over-urbanization. It is focused on the freedom and constraints in the city.