Subversion Inc. presents…

1. Subversion Inc. presents…

2. Overview • Goals • Balanced Asymmetry • High tension between hunter and hunted • Close call moments • Story • Raven, a young girl, possesses a magical talisman given to her by her dying mother • The Wizard, who greatly desires Raven’s talisman, which will give him immortal life, kidnaps Raven • As Raven is being captured, she notices magical portals in the ground • Afraid of being sacrificed, she manages to escape from her cell and steals a cloak to blend in with the Wizard’s minions and begins looking for talismans to escape the Catacombs.

3. Development • Started out as a cop vs. serial killer/thief game • Tense • Dark • Many subtasks (murdering five people, stealing three items, etc.) • Shifted to scientist game • Closed area • Objective to gather items in order to escape • Hunter controls the environment • Decided on medieval Catacombs game • Game engine lent itself well to medieval game • Fit maze environment • Allowed for magic

4. Map

5. Map • Small enough to force encounters • Enough carefully chosen paths to give raven some options • Central room to make navigation faster but riskier • Outer rooms, slower navigation, less risk of being found • Enough exits from rooms to make entrapment difficult

6. Map • Each room was designed to have a different theme • Smoke room makes visibility hard for the Wizard • Forest room is difficult for Raven because of the collisions

7. Barriers & Talismans • Barriers are placed in the middle of every hallway • Makes barrier placement intuitive for the wizard • More room for Raven compared to other schemes • Placing barriers at the end creates death traps • Talismans always appear in the same place on a given map • Rewards experienced players • Wizard knows where Raven is when she takes a talisman • Raven knows where to go for certain talismans • Helps beginners • Until talismans are learned, a power can be attached to an area

8. Minions • Minions wear one of 10 possible color cloaks which are randomly assigned • Have different behaviors such as walking through hallways, moving to face each other after a collision, moving in different directions randomly, and standing still. • Minions are placed on the map depending on the map difficulty and desired effect • Example – Corridor walkers on corridors • Example – Many friendly minions together

9. Minions • React to Raven when raven runs either chasing her or running away from her • Discourages running to promote encounters and increase game length • As the game goes on can narrow the areas Raven can freely travel • Minions do not move diagonally in their normal behavior but they do move diagonally when running away or chasing Raven • Makes it easier for Raven to mimic normal behavior • Makes it easier for the Wizard to notice when Raven is being chased

10. Exit and Character Placement Two exits, Raven, and the Wizard are spawned in different locations every new game Spawning locations are designed to be set in different quadrants of the map to ensure Raven, the Wizard, and exits don’t spawn next to each other

11. Proximity Rings • There are three proximity rings to alert the users to the proximity of the opponent • Closest ring is roughly the size of the screen • Second closest ring is roughly a quarter of the map • Each ring has a unique song associated with it • Songs were chosen to convey changing sense of urgency • There is a HUD representation to show ring changes

12. Wizard

13. Wizard • Unique character model • Distinct from minions • Raven sees the Wizard coming • Knows when to focus on blending in • Speed advantage over Raven • Raven cannot easily escape • Game does not devolve into chase • Exploration • Can visit many rooms quickly and catch up to Raven • Triangulation • Quick movements on edge of proximity rings allow for narrowing down Raven’s location or tracking movements

14. Wizard • Barrier placement • Wizard’s resource for strategic hunting • Limit Raven’s ability to navigate the map • Can eliminate the direct routes through the map • Can seal off specific areas forcing Raven to develop a counter-strategy that is more predictable • Potential to trap Raven in a corner room • When closing in on Raven in certain locations, can completely block all exits until the player attempts to capture

15. Barriers • Blocks corridor between rooms • Barriers placed on specific spots in center of corridors • Map limit of 4 • Wizard cannot block off too much of the map • Small corner rooms and long corridors still possible trap zones • Removable • Wizard has the freedom to lift the previously placed barriers • Allows Wizard the capability to move through his own blockades • Triggered at a distance • Closest barrier spot to Wizard highlighted, activated by button • Can strategically cut off escape routes without being immediately next to the spot • Wizard’s attention not consumed by barrier placement • Can do so quickly while still running through the map • Doesn’t distract much from focusing on character movement

16. Capture • Small capture radius • Sufficiently small to rule out chance guess • Large enough to catch a moving or surrounded Raven • Miscaptures costly • Penalties • Removes all placed barriers • Wizard is frozen for several seconds • Cool down period before Wizard can capture again • Allows Raven to briefly escape the Wizard • Forces Wizard to narrow down characters and be as sure as possible

17. Raven

18. Raven • Identical to other minions • Blends in perfectly • Behavior and music distinguish her from the rest • Ability to run • Draws attention of minions • Possible to run, but discouraged

19. Talismans • Objective for Raven • Balance sneaking with item retrieval • Wizard aware of remaining talismans • Wizard tracks opponent’s progress • Gives sense of urgency • Signals location of Raven • Encourages encounters • Capture subset • Raven develops strategies for retrieval • Order along with use • Gives player options • Discourages camping • Powers • Makes game play more fun for Raven • Balanced with Wizard’s abilities • Ability to evade and escape

20. Talisman Powers • Rush • Minions charge the Wizard • Hinders Wizard • Shifts attention away from Raven • Rabbit • Minions move around the Wizard frantically • Increases Raven’s speed • Allows Raven to blend while moving quickly • Disorients Wizard • Chameleon • Raven does not attract attention of minions • Gives freedom of movement • Changes color of Raven’s cloak • Blast • Destroys doors around Raven • Frees Raven from traps • Deafen • Disables music for the Wizard so Raven can slip away

21. Changing the Game

22. Heads Up Display • Talisman display • Layout corresponds to map location • Wizard can easily see where Raven has just been • Gives new players basic layout • Highlight available talismans • Inventory system for Raven • Proximity zone • Visual component for proximity • Wizard barrier inventory • Shows doors placed

23. Testing • Procedure • 3 rounds of testing • Half of the sessions in the same room, half in different rooms • Metrics about game play were recorded • Testers would answer a questionnaire after playing three games as each character • Iterations and refactoring after each testing round

24. Testing Results • Round 1 • Music moods were not mapped intuitively • Face-to-face encounters were the most enjoyable • Difficult to use talismans • Round 2 • Map size was adequate • Barrier placement and positions not intuitive • Capture cool-down needed visual feedback • HUD refactoring very helpful • Round 3 • Barrier usage increased • Initial player balance achieved

26. What Went Right • Game engine • Simple to use • Looks good • Achieved desired tension • Wizard must study AI behavior to win • Raven must work to blend in • Replay value • Competitive vibe • Team cohesion

27. What Went Wrong • Balance • More experienced players find Wizard unbeatable • Newer players have more difficulty with the Wizard • Learning curve • Player abilities were confusing • Wizards do not know what to look for • Collision bugs • Bug with the game engine • Lingering bugs

28. Future Development • Balance • Wizard’s power • Increasing over time • Additional proximity ring • Changing window size for the Wizard • Handicap • Auto-balancing game for different levels of players • Proximity zones dynamically change with threshold • New maps • Maps for different difficulty levels • Different barrier count • Based on the complexity of the map • New features of AI • Minions can walk across the map and try to pass all the talisman locations until the end of the game

29. Future Development • Balance • New features of AI • Some minions can change behavior randomly every minute • Erratic minion behavior and false positives • Additional features • Achievements • Teams • Single player • Visual cues and effects • Tutorial levels