Breakout Brew

A 3D multiplayer platformer in which you must collect potion ingredients to escape the clutches of an evil witch!

Development Time: August 2017 to May 2018 (I joined January 2018 to May 2018)

Team Size: 11

Development Platform: Unity 3D using C# in Visual Studio 2017

Platform: Windows PC

Role: Minigame Designer

About the Game

Breakout Brew is a multiplayer, arena-based 3D platformer where you play as a tiny mythical creature trying to escape from the clutches of Cortilda the Witch. Run, jump, dash, and collect magical ingredients in order to reverse the effects of her shrinking elixir, allowing you grow big enough to escape. But beware because the more you steal from Cortilda the angrier she will become, casting spells and placing traps in her very own home! Join your friends in adventurous multiplayer platforming to steal her ingredients and be the first to escape, or work together to outsmart Cortilda and escape her clutches before she returns home.

My Work on the Project

Role: Minigame Designer

Work:

Brainstormed and drafted minigame ideas
Pitched minigames to the team
Collaborated in the design and creation of minigames

Download Here (Windows)

Level Design

Pants On Fire Mini Game

Along with Zach Phillips, another game designer, I was tasked with creating mini games for Breakout Brew. We presented our ideas to the team who helped us narrow our focus and choose games that they would like implemented starting with Pants On Fire. Pants on Fire is a mini game in which as players collect more potions, they shrink in size and move faster. Players, constantly moving, can stun each other to make their opponents drop potions. At the end of a certain time, the player with the most potions wins. Since we had the basic game rules, the next step was to begin drafting level ideas.

Our main focus was trying to encourage competition and player interaction. There were three main features for the level that we decided on—small, circular, and reminiscent of the main levels. We knew that we wanted the level to be small because, especially as the players shrink in size, a small level would encourage more interaction. We wanted the level to be circular so that no players would get stuck or cornered by opponents. Finally, we wanted to bring in elements from the different levels in the game as a way to tie it all together. From the main levels, we were inspired by the verticality and the different props. With this in mind, we separated the Pants On Fire level into three sections--one for each actual level—and tried to create some levels using prefabs. We decided to add a spinning plant in the middle of the level as a way for players to reach the second story.

First top-down iteration of the Pants On Fire level

Once we had a plan, we got into the game and began to build the level. In order to keep the artists from their work on the actual game, we had to use only assets that were already created. As a result, we chose to put large bookshelves around the edge of the level and fill the shelves with books and other objects to manage where the player could go. When we were actually building the level, we decided to not have the three sections representing each level because the area was so small that all of the objects we placed were obtrusive to the gameplay.

Once we finished building the level, we needed to decide where and how many potions would be placed. Knowing that 4 players was the maximum, there should at least be 4 potions. Since the player with the most potions at the end wins the game, we needed there to be a limited amount to encourage competition but enough so that all of the players could experience the effects, smaller size and faster movement. We doubled the potions to 8 and placed them around the level. Once we spread them out so each player had equal access to 2 potions, there were a couple of spots, like above the plant in the center of the level, that would draw players in. After putting potions in those spots, we ended the level with 10 potions.

Final version of the Pants On Fire level

Obstacle Courses

Another minigame that the team wanted to be added were obstacle courses. Checkpoints were placed around each of the main levels and players have to reach each point before moving to the next. In the actual game view, only one checkpoint is revealed at a time. Between the three levels, I placed the checkpoints in the kitchen level, and Zach and I worked together to place the checkpoints around the bedroom level.

When placing the checkpoints, I kept into account the route that would best familiarize the player with the level, the player's visibility of the next checkpoint, and the distance between each. In the picture of the kitchen level below, I placed a high concentration of checkpoints in the same area because of the verticality of the section makes it difficult for the player to see where to go next, requiring a lot of checkpoints close together.

Beginning points of obstacle course in the kitchen level

Various points of obstacle course in the bedroom level

Development Process

Along with Zach Phillips, another game designer, I was tasked with creating mini games for Breakout Brew. Since we were brought onto the team and were just helping out, we met with them a couple of times to figure out and fully understand what they were hoping for for the mini games. After learning as much about the game as we could, the next step was brainstorming ideas. We created a shared document, working independently but also building upon each other's ideas. We had a week to come up with as many games as we could before we pitched them to the team.

Shared mini game brainstorming document

After discussing scope and possibilities for the games, we narrowed it down to three that we would try to make for the alpha version: Pants on Fire, Obstacle Course, and the Floor is Lava.

Zach and I met weekly along with Daimen Paquin-Nault and David Horntvedt to work on our first minigame, Pants on Fire. Zach and I planned out the whole game, including the mechanics, level design, objective, and player stats. Using assets that were already created by the team, Zach and I made the level and implemented the values that would change the players’ stats during the game. Daimen and David ensured that the minigame made it into the game and that everything was functioning properly.

Once Pants on Fire was finished, Zach and I worked on the Obstacle Courses. Daimen and David created checkpoints for us to place around the main game’s three levels–Kitchen, Greenhouse, and Bedroom. I placed the checkpoints around the Kitchen level, Zach placed the checkpoints around the Greenhouse level, and we collaborated in placing the checkpoints around the Bedroom level.