Off The Rails
University Coursework Project, March 2019
'Off The Rails' is originally a Flash based web game developed and published by Nitrome¹. The university project I was tasked with was to build a game from the ground up using the Unity Game Engine.
The main focus of the project was to create a game that featured basic keyboard controls, interactive UI as well as a heads-up-display that displayed relevant game information, and entities that interaction with each other. Having a deeper understanding of game design, I set aside my own challenges for the project to see if I could incorporate some of my own innovations throughout the aspects of video game design (Level Design, User Interface Design just to name a couple).
To preserve to unique and specific pixel style of the game, all of the assets are either recreated pixel-by-pixel in Photoshop, or entirely custom made. This was a tedious process, however was necessary as none of the assets are openly available online, and many of the assets required adjustments to function as desired within Unity.
Main Menu
I believe that unifying the user interface with the game world immerses the player more and creates undeniably more enriched game-play experiences.
The main menu is where I took some creative liberties and deviated from the original game to bring in these innovations. Since the main menu is the first thing the player will see before entering the actual game, it is crucial to inform the player of how the game will be interacted with. It is also a great space to set the tone for the game straight away.
Tutorial Stage
The tutorial stage is the first playable stage in the game regardless of whether the player is returning or is playing for the first time. This allows the tutorial to be replayed at any point upon relaunching the game.
Controls
Furthering the art direction from the main menu, the controls, along with the controllable handcar are the first thing the player sees upon entering the tutorial. By having the information right there, it encourages the player to press the keys displayed. Once the player moves forward, and hence moving past the sign, enforces the idea to the player that they are physically progressing, even at such an early stage.
This concept is carried on throughout the tutorial to regularly give the player confirmation that they are progressing, and that they are picking up new mechanics by progressing in this manner.
