Zakumba Astraia
Isometric Adventure game.
Tasks performed: Programming/Game Design
Quick menu:
One of the first things I was in charge of was the redesign of a feature called the quick menu.
The basic idea for this feature was a way for the player to quickly have access to a set of 9 (In total) equipped items and abilities. One of the things that I pitched as a change to the current state of the game was to change this menu to a radial menu.
The original, while functional, was something that the team felt needed a rework. As a part of the feedback documents I created for the team one of my proposals was this switch. My main arguments for this were simple: It used too many inputs , sat away from the player’s natural line of sight and did not allow the player to think about their options.
To use the previous menu you would need to first activate it, then select what sub menu you wanted to use and then select the item you wanted to use. All of this by reading the names of sub menus and items and without slowing or stopping the game in any way.
This kind of menu can work in some contexts, if built with its difficulty of use in mind and as a representation of the effort to pull off a special skill. Helldivers uses a similar style of menu but its deliberate in how it forces the player to stop paying attention to the fight. This was not their intention so a different menu style was picked.
Some other proposals were put forward as the idea gained traction within the development team though I managed to argue to test out my original vision before moving onto further modifications. Overall the progress on the new menu has been well received by both leads.
A devolpment has progressed most of its issues have been ironed out and the art team has begun creating different designs to fit this new menu to the current UI style.
Feedback:
When I entered the team they had just completed a round of playtesting and were looking for feedback on their combat system.
This being my first day interacting with the team I wanted to make a good first impression so I compiled my major gripes with the game into a 6 page document with pictures, diagrams, references to other games and my arguments for and against certain features.
The results were satisfactory in my opinion and I was given the opportunity to take a bigger role within the development team.
