The Last Sprite's core gameplay loop sees the player explore to find machines. They need to platform to reach each machine, slam a button to destroy it, then move on to find the next machine. In creating these machines, I researched into factors that helped the player feel their impact within the game world.
I looked into the destruction of Megaton in Fallout 3, a myriad of choices from Fable 3, the desaturation mechanic from The Saboteur, and more, looking into what made these choices and mechanics satisfying and impactful for the player. I also looked more generally into player impact in games such as God of War (2018) and The Last of Us.
I came up with a list of 'design senses' that I'd need to hit to make the destruction of The Last Sprite's machines satisfying:
Visual - Provide the player with visual feedback for their actions
Auditory - Provide the player with audio feedback for their actions
Direct & immediate - Feedback should clearly link to their actions
UI - A change in the player’s UI can help them understand their actions
Progression - The player’s actions should affect progression towards an objective or through a level
Narrative - The player’s actions should prompt narrative progress
Timing - Space out high impact scenarios and activities to avoid stagnation. In addition, determine how long the effects of player actions will last. The longer the effect, the greater the impact.
Gameplay - The player’s actions should have an impact on gameplay in that area
With these in mind, I began designing machines and the buttons that would destroy them.
Visual
Active machines drain an area around them of colour, creating a sphere of desaturation. When inside this area (denoted by a pale grey line), the player’s health is drained. Active machines (pistons and turbines) are surrounded by violent pink VFX and have moving parts, and some generate screen shake within a radius. Leading to and from each machine are glowing pink pipes that help the player understand how machines are connected to other game elements.
Before and after shots showing the same machine area
When destroyed, an explosion VFX plays and the previously looping pink VFX shrink to nothing. Accompanying this explosion is the ceasing of some moving parts and the flinging away of others. The desaturated area and the grey line denoting it also shrink away to nothing. Pink pipes turn grey, and any connected machines are activated/deactivated.
The stopping of movement and the disappearing of the desaturation effect occur over several seconds, ensuring the player sees the impact they’ve had as it happens and doesn’t ‘blink and miss it’.
Auditory
Active machines have three sounds associated with them. An ominous humming sound plays as the player nears the desaturated zone, warning of danger nearby. Inside the desaturated area, the sound of the machine clanking is heard, and a heartbeat sound accompanies the loss of health that happens here.
The destruction of machines is accompanied by an explosion sound that matches the explosion VFX. Both the ominous humming and the machine whirring sounds fade out when the machine is destroyed.
Erik Still theorises that there are four aspects to a satisfying sound, each of which I tried to bear in mind when searching for the best sounds for The Last Sprite:
The sound provides feedback for action
The sound is attention grabbing
The sound suits the action/situation
The sound isn’t overly repetitive
I also added automatic volume and pitch modulation to most player sounds (e.g. jump) to avoid them becoming repetitive.
Direct & Immediate
All of the destruction effects begin immediately upon triggering machine destruction. The majority of the affected machines for each button are visible from the button’s location. The pink/grey pipes on the floor help the player see how far the impact of their actions spreads if they miss the immediate effects.
UI
Entering a desaturated region prompts a pink/purple vignette to pulse around the edge of the screen. The health bar in the top left also starts draining. On destruction of the machine, the vignette fades away and health slowly restores. Accompanying narrative dialogue is displayed via subtitles.
Progression
The destruction of machines has several impacts on objective and level progression. Three of the game’s five machines have doors associated with them that only open when the machine is destroyed, granting access to new areas. In addition, the destruction of machines is the main objective in The Last Sprite, and destroying all five machines is required to progress to the ending.
Left: Hatch doors open when connected machines are destroyed, enabling forward progress through the level.
Right: The final area. Torches are extinguished and cables turn grey as machines are destroyed, helping the player know how many machines are left and where they are.
Narrative
The destruction of machines ties directly into the narrative of The Last Sprite. A narrator relays the objective (destroy the machines plaguing the land) at the beginning of the game, and a line of dialogue plays after each machine is destroyed. This dialogue congratulates the player and informs them of how many machines are left. Destroying all machines results in the narrator congratulating the player and giving them a new objective: hit the button at the end of the level.
Timing
There are five machines with desaturated areas scattered across the map. The destruction of these machines is the reward for completing platforming and/or puzzle sections, each of which takes a little time to do. There’s also a fair bit of distance between most machines, spacing out successes and helping the player better feel the impact of destroying them. This results in better gameplay pace than if machines were situated close to one another.
An early level design showing how spaced out machines (M) are. The final level layout was very similar.
Destroying machines is also permanent. They do not reactivate, so the changes the player effects will be there every time they return to that area, providing a reminder of what they did and the satisfaction they felt at that time.
Gameplay
The removal of the harmful desaturation zone around each machine provides the player with an area they can explore at their own pace. In some cases the impact of this is minimal, but the central, eastern, and western ruins have gems that are best collected without the time pressure caused by health rapidly draining away. The destruction of machines therefore has an impact on gameplay within an area.
Comments