Evolution of Nature-Based Mechanics

Kisetsu is a Japanese-inspired puzzle, platformer where the player uses powers granted by animal spirits based on the seasons. Each of the animals and powers is described in the table below, but for this blog, I will discuss the fox power.

A table describing the details of each season: the disaster, the villain, each lantern, the main mechanics, and animals that grant the mechanics.

The fox power was originally pitched as a perception power. Your vision would change, time would slow down, and you could see things you couldn’t before. It would be like many games’ instinct or vision modes (i.e. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Assassin’s Creed, Red Dead Redemption, etc.).

Geralt using Witcher Senses in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Research informed me that foxes have incredible short distance eyesight, might use the Earth’s geomagnetic field to help find prey, and have pinpoint accurate hearing. Most fascinating to me is that they have red-green colorblindness (Deuteranopia). This became my main source of inspiration and I found a free Colorblind Asset on the Unity Asset Store that would change the camera’s filter to appear like the red-green colorblindness. Thus, began my first prototypes of the fox power.

Early prototype of perception power. The colors are changed and it highlights hidden objects.

After playtesting, both internally and externally, we decided to scrap the hidden objects idea due to player feedback. Since the fox power is primarily used in the fall level and the fall level’s disaster is a windstorm, then the fox should help the player navigate through it. We decided to create a series of cyclones with the challenge being that to navigate through them, the player would have to activate the fox power. The idea was the cyclones would be created as a ¾ cylinder that would be too fast to get through normally. After activating the power, they would slow down and the player will be able to time their navigation through the rotating volumes.

Early prototype of cyclones.

After even further playtesting, the players felt there were too many cyclones, the timing took too long, the colors were hard to look at, and did not link the vision power with the fox. While attempting to remedy these issues, my team had a meeting with some faculty in our department. At this juncture, we adjusted game scope and, accordingly, two of the team members, Kat and Andrew, redesigned the fox power.

Foxes, especially in Japanese folklore, are known for being sly and wise. Focusing more on the latter, they decided that the fox power should help indicate to the player where to go next. Now the fox power creates a path of paw prints.

First prototype of wisdom power.

Our ideas – and prototypes – evolved drastically from initial conception to final implementation. Being prepared to cut, redesign, and iterate through ideas is essential for the development cycle of any game, especially when it is limited by time and resources.

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Author: Cameron Pyfferoen