Post Drone Summary
Post Drone is a fast paced and playful delivery game set in a world above the clouds.
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You are the last delivery drone in the city and need to deliver the 9 packages as fast as you can. Don't run out of time!
My Roles
Gameplay Design
Core Loop Integration
Player Mechanics
Gameplay Mechanics
System Design
Delivery System
Lose/Win Condition
Navigation System
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My Contribution
Gameplay Design
My role was to make sure the core loop of the game was tight aswell as fun. This meant I spent a lot of time prototyping different mechanics and trying them out to make sure they served the game's vision and were fun and smooth.
UX
As the game is played in a compliex 3D world with movement in all axis, UX was core to having a good experience in game. Especially for our target audience: Kids 10-12 years old. I tried to balance freedom with guidance to create a fun and lighthearted experience.
System Design
I spent a lot of time defining the games mechanics and figuring out how they should work. I did this mostly by creating flowcharts which I then presented to programmers who I helped iterate and implement them in a smooth way.
Core Gameplay Loop
Post Drone is a hectic arcade type game with a clear objective. The player is set under a time limit to incite urgency to keep the game interesting and replayable.
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The core gampley loop involves: picking up a package for delivery, finding and navigate to drop off point and lastly deliver the packages. It is a simple loop but when looked at in detail I realized there were many mechanics and systems that needed to be smoothly implemented to achieve a fun experience for the player. When creating these systems I focused balancing risk and reward in a way that would bring out an arcade type feel without punishing the player too much.
The Delivery System
The design of the delivery system went through many iterations changing with the direction of the game as well as through play testing.
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The game moved from a challenging arcade to a drone simulator focusing on exploration during the first few days of production.
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Mid way through production we faced a major problem. After playtesting with the target audience we realized the game was not fun. Due to having focused on exploration and freedom the players felt a lack of motivation, they wanted a stress factor. This resulted in the lose condition (right).
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After this realization I started combining the best parts from the prievious iterations while focusing on the gameplay experience, rather than trying to fit the game into a specific genre. This resulted in a very fun and playful game, where elements of exploration and arcade combined in a very interesting way.
Navigation System
While delivering packages throughout the world the player will be able to see light beams, indicating where to go next.
The design of the navigation system proved a tricky challenge as it needed to provide clear navigation in a 3D enviorment where the player can move in all axis. While also maintaining a sense of exploration and therefore being mindful not to force the player on any specific path.
Work Flow
During the project I usually started out by paper protoyping my ideas whether it was regarding important systems or interactions and mechanics.
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I mainly used concept art or sketches to quickly brainstorm and communicate my ideas. Which I then presented to the team to iterate on together. Then I would create flowcharts and documentation on how to implement these into the game on a technical level.