ClearCutter, a studio game with a one week development time-frame, is a game with a strong aesthetic and clear player experience. The design is straight forward with enough feedback and reward that the player is left wanting to refine their play-style, however there were also a number of requirements that the game needed to meet to fulfill the initial breif as follows:
- The player must be simultaneously controlling 2 avatars. (Do not use gesture-based controls)
- The player’s only direct interaction is movement of their avatars.
- Avatar proximity must drive a core mechanic.
○ If the 2 avatars touch, the player is penalised in some way.
○ As the avatars draw closer the player is rewarded or benefited in some way.- A gameplay session is exactly 2 mins.
- There is no death.
- Game must be real time.
The player controls two ‘rocket ships’ conjoined by a dynamic laser, constantly flying forwards through alien woodlands to fell trees for the imminent arrival of a settler colony. Each ship is assigned to a joystick on an xbox style controller allowing the player to move them in up down and all around with the camera positioned directly behind the rockets. This immediately fulfills the the first 2 brief requirements as the player only controls their placement on the screen in the Y and x axis. Rocket thrust and the cut-down-trees-with-a-laser mechanic are automated.
Although the rocket speed/thrust is an automated system, the player can influence it by controlling the distance between the two ships meeting the 3rd requirement. By fighting the ships natural attraction and maintaining a small proximity ships will accelerate allowing the player to cover more ground and by proxy cut down more trees. The punishment however when the ships collide is an immediate drop in speed accompanied by an explosion sound effect. This usually occurs in the in the first 3 seconds of a new players session as the ships have a natural ‘magnet-like’ attraction. Whether or not intended the player is taught about the positive and negative mechanics seconds after hitting play, shortening the learning curve. The audio and visual queues related to the proximity mechanics are deliberate and do a reasonably good job letting the player know what is going on. The exhaust plume of each ship increases in size and the rocket engine sounds become more intense rewarding the player with information and aesthetic pleasure.
The remaining brief requirements tie into each other as they cannot be met without adhering to the others. ClearCutter has an exact 2 minute play time attributed to its narrative: The Settlers are coming, we need to clear out the forest in the 2 minutes we have til they arrive. The player controls have an immediate impact on the game and there is no planning stage. There is no player death for colliding with trees or for the ships hitting each other, just a speed penalty. The games overall design has been effectively married with these constraints to promote the high replayability that arcade style games are known for. By implementing a high score table that records number of trees and the max speed achieved, players have a quantifiable metric to gauge their performance which adds value to continued play sessions, promotes social interaction and high score chasing.
ClearCutter achieved all of the brief requirements while demonstrating clear objectives for the player experience. The use of audio and visual cues to inform the player and enhance the overall aesthetic were deliberate. The brief requirements and constraints were integrated well to provide an engaging experience and craft a game within the norm of a genre.
Ash Jagath 