Blobbing Away

Cloudington the clingy cloud wants to play! Use your amazing slime skills to hide your animal friends from him.

In Blobbing Away, you guide the cheerful little slimeblob Blob through a serene landscape, where seven animal friends seek refuge from the persistent thundercloud, Cloudington. Cloudington’s mischievous antics threaten to disrupt their peaceful existence, prompting you to construct shelters to shield your friends from his intrusive presence.

For this project, our aim was to experiment with alternative keyboard inputs beyond the typical ‘WASD’ controls. However, recognizing that unconventional inputs may pose a challenge for players, we prioritized creating a leisurely-paced experience. This approach allows ample time for players to familiarize themselves with the controls and immerse themselves in the tranquil world of Blobbing Away.

Project Overview

Date: 3 months at 2nd semester (2021) at Game Design HTW Berlin
Team: 4
Software: Unity, Photoshop
Plattform: PC
Constrains: 2D Game, 1-4 screen lengths
[remote development because of corona pandemic]

My Responsibilities

Visual Development
2D Props

Game System Design
Gameplay Programming

Gameplay

To construct a shelter, players must gather a specific quantity of resources and rescue an animal friend. As our resilient Blob can only transport one animal friend at a time, players must prioritize their rescues, navigating the terrain with care. Cloudington’s relentless pursuit adds a layer of urgency, compelling players to act swiftly and decisively. Only when every animal friend has found safety within the confines of their shelter can players declare triumph over Cloudington’s mischief, securing peace and harmony in the idyllic landscape once more.

While traversing the world in search of materials, players must exercise caution and keen awareness of their surroundings. The diverse terrain poses various challenges, with different surfaces affecting the movement of our intrepid Blob. Slippery slopes may hinder progress, while rugged terrain may impede navigation. Moreover, the presence of rivers adds an additional layer of complexity to the journey. Swift currents threaten to sweep our Blob away, requiring players to navigate these watery obstacles and using them to their advantage.

Blob, being a slime, possesses a unique set of abilities that come with the territory of his gelatinous nature. His first remarkable skill is known as “the blobbing.” By utilizing the keys surrounding the S-Key, Blob can move at a leisurely pace, which can be amplified if you combine the correct inputs.

On the other hand, Blob can also execute “the swooshing” maneuver to swiftly evade danger or propel himself forward with remarkable speed. However, this burst of agility comes at the cost of stamina, which gradually replenishes over time.

Visual Development

The entire team contributed to the visual development by creating individual fake screenshots, exploring various directions such as an underwater setting or a typographic-focused game.

Ultimately, my design was chosen as the foundation. However, we collectively decided to enhance the colors for vibrancy and adopt a more stylized art style.

2D Props

In Blobbing Away, I contributed to the creation of the creation of collectible environmental assets. These assets are vibrant, cheerful, and come in various iterations to maintain player engagement.

Among them are trees, bushes, and stones, as well as elements found near lakes, in deserts, and on beaches, offering diversity in the game’s environments.

Game System Design

As our first major game project during our academic journey, we collectively embarked on designing the game concept and its accompanying systems from the outset. Through extensive dialogue, discussion, and exploration, we delved into various directions to shape our vision.

As development progressed, my focus shifted predominantly towards refining our resource and building system. The gameplay revolves around gathering different resources to fill Blob’s stomach. The construction of different shelters happens based on resource ratios.

Gameplay Programming

My responsibilities included programming movements and boosts, allowing players to navigate the game world adeptly. Additionally, I developed the resource system and the resource collection.

Learnings

Gameplay Programming

2D programming basics: movement, boosts, collecting Items, UI

Team Experience

coordinating tasks and working with Unity in a team

Project Management

using a kanban board, distribution of tasks, planning time frames for tasks

Development

The initial concept for the game revolved around a tornado rather than a slime. Despite this change, our vision remained consistent: we aimed for a deliberate and challenging gameplay experience. Players would navigate the tornado, gathering resources used for city construction. The city’s aesthetics would dynamically shift based on the resource ratios collected, adding depth to the player’s strategic decisions.

Transitioning from the tornado to the slime concept didn’t alter our core vision. Instead, we enriched the experience by introducing adorable animal companions and the mischievous Cloudington. We firmly believe that guiding our lovable blob adds an element of joy and charm to the game, and we’re thrilled with this decision.