Top-Down Details
This game changed a lot from the idea's conception to the final product. I started with the idea that a thief was stealing artifacts from a museum and the ghosts were protecting their property, but it changed into a nightguard putting artifacts back. I also originally had the idea of a flashlight that allowed you to see the ghosts, but with the short development cycle I was not able to get this mechanic to work.
The final product was very well received at my college's Game Fair, including overall positive reviews on "fun factor".
Before I went into the game engine, I started with a paper prototype. The point of this prototype was to answer my questions about how the rooms should be laid out and how fast movement should be. I found out what movements players made and was able to adjust the layouts to make it more challenging.
The next step in my process was to make a whitebox prototype. I worked exclusively on the game's programming before inserting any art assets to make sure everything worked properly first.
The final game played the same as the whitebox prototype, but looked much better. The art helped to tell the story of the game without any dialogue. Programming this game had challenges, like placing the gems into their stands, but I was able to learn a lot in a short amount of time.