We’re Tethered Together
Type of Project: Non-Academic Team (Bun Bun Games Studio) Role: Level Designer Size: 9 Duration: 6 Weeks Year Released: Late 2023 Software: Unity
Overview
This is one of the projects I have had the most fun with. The game originally came from a group of my peers at DigiPen that submitted to Brackey’s game jam in 2023. The game is a short and sweet puzzle platformer about two bunnies making their way through a spooky dungeon filled with ever-watching horrors. Throughout the summer after they submitted they invited me to help refine their puzzle design since they had no one focusing on only level design and were planning to publish to Steam. I worked with them for around 6 weeks creating four levels for the project. It was the first project I worked on where all the systems and pieces were in place for me to start working immediately. The experience of working with my peers to place an indie passion project on Steam was an exceptional experience and very different from the academic game team projects. With our own deadlines and without the pressure of other classes bearing down on us we had the time and full unadulterated motivation to make the best product possible! A simple little game about two bunnies making their way out of a dungeon in hopes of seeing the beautiful sky once more helped expose me to a non-academic team experience.
Planning & Process
The core systems and mechanics had already been created when I was brought on. I joined to help their team adjust their levels to help with the difficulty curve and refine their puzzles. The team consisted of 3 programmers, 2 artists, and 1 audio designer. The programmers had been doing the level design for the game but had little to no experience with creating level/puzzle content and asked me to help. The challenge for me was that this team had established levels with key narrative moments already set up. I made sure to collaborate and play through the game in order to understand their vision and fit into their narrative pacing. Additionally, the team had a Game Design Document which I requested upon joining to make choices that aligned with their goals. After playing I sat down with their team and gave my thoughts on the difficulty curve at the time I thought it ramped up a little too quickly for the type of short fun puzzle game their design document made it out to be. From there I planned out possible levels with the team and showed them to the team to get their thoughts. Then I and the team executed playtesting on the levels and from there I adjusted and made changes accordingly.
Play on Steam!
User Testimonials!
“A short but sweet gem of a game! The art style is adorably spooky, and the music is just frightening enough. The platforming's unique timing challenge is fun without being too difficult for players who aren't experts at 2d platformers. I would definitely recommend it to play!”
“This is a fantastic short plat former. It's a great mix of cute and terrifying, and i got so invested in these adorable bunnies.”
“This game was a great play! Short and sweet but still has you tensed up. It had me on the edge of my seat…”
Ending Notes
Learning Outcomes
We’re Tethered Together was the first project that I worked on outside of school that was with a group of other people. I was happy to be asked to join a team to help them refine their game and create something that players enjoy. I learned how to join a project that was at the tail end of development and work to help the creative director and team refine their work without undoing their vision. I realized in this process how much I enjoy each step of the development process. I joined after preproduction and learned how to jump in and run with what they had. It taught me an experience of what an indie development environment feels like without the pressure of school. One of my favorite level design and game development experiences that I have had. Proud to have been apart of their team and to see that players like the game and the puzzles I made.
Complications/Issues
Joining a project amidst its development was an adjustment for me. I have talked about how it was a great learning process and I liked the experience but it was my first time doing something like this. I consciously tried to retain their vision and not upend their designs as I wanted to have a project where I joined and refined what was there.
However, the team asked me to reevaluate and reformat their level progression and overall puzzle design throughout the game. They already had a programmer also doing level design as well. My challenge was to give honest but constructive feedback that didn’t change everything they were going for. I could have done that and they might have been receptive to it but I wanted to help refine not remake the game.
In the end, the game was reorganized in its level structure but the overall narrative beats and progression remained the same. Working with another programmer-level designer was slightly challenging since we needed to align our puzzles and levels. We managed to retain the same mechanics of puzzles and played off of each other’s levels well to make a cohesive experience. There were times when they operated slightly independently but through team and user feedback, he and I were able to bring the levels to reinforce the mechanics and theme.