SQUISHY WORLD
PROJECT DETAILS
PROJECT DETAILS
Team: 4 Members
Semester project I made with some friends. The game initially began as a platformer, but as I
developed a familiarity with Unity over time, it started chasing bigger market ambitions and is
now promoted as a shooter & platformer hybrid.
Initial Design Goal: Develop an interesting toy with a fitting environment while remaining constrainted to my technical
limitations as the lead programmer. Then make the transition to an engaging game.
Time: 5 Months
Engine: Unity
HIGHLIGHT INVOLVEMENTS
Squish Physics
Initial goal was to create responsive, engaging movement with no art assets- just Unity default shapes. Out of this, we established our theming pillars: Action, cuteness, and their child, chaos.
Shoot & Aim
We wanted to make a chaotic combat system where players felt skillful/lethal in contrast to the cute Marshmallow character, so I designed an experimental shooting system; with a small 2D screen size inspired by Intrusion 2, and a time slow down in mid air, making a silly Marshmallow look like James Bond.
Game Responsiveness
Simply adding particles to the game did not feel enough. We wanted the game & its identity to stick out at all times, so we made the player's jump height affect particle size, emphasizing Squishy's body physics, and enemies were turned into burned toast on death.
Falling Platforms
After writing down what feelings & expectations came with the game, I began designing the first level mechanic: Falling Platforms. The goal was to force players to move fast, and to push players into flow state by punishing hesitation. The Level Designers had a lot of fun working with this, creating multi-task situations & rhythm-based sections.
Hat System
To offer a sense of customization, we added hats to the game. I worked with my teammate Toni to design the hats to match the game's narrative. I told her my aims, and she came up with ideas & drew them. Players loved them! Some even replayed the campaign to try out the hats.
In Squishy World, you are a burnt marshmallow with a heart of gold trying to prove his worth after being rejected from a baking competition.
The project started after we were simply given the task of making a prototype that had toy-like elements for our Build A Toy class. After people thought the squish was satisfying, we decided to expand on this.
We assembled a team of 4: I was joined by a narrative designer, artist, and level designer. My Role was a generalist one, but I focused mostly on Design. To come up with level mechanics, incorporate concept art & mechanics design by my teammate,
Squishy World went on to be a project that taught me a lot about Unity, and to me that was useful to learn how to conserve material when designing future concepts for Unity or any other engine. It was a great way to experiment with game feel, teamwork, and storytelling all things I want to keep building on in future projects.
