Bubblemancer is a 1st person VR ready post-apocalypse zombie V.S. warlock survival game. The player blows air to the magic artefact to bubble up monsters and snap the string to burst them to one hell of pain!! This is made possible with a custom game controller.
I have been wanted to make a play experience inspired by the KETSU and METSU combo in Kekkaishi (結界師), one of my all-time favorite animes. I had this idea since Microsoft Kinect came out, the gesture of pointing at a monster and create a barrier seems like a perfect fit for sensors like Kinect. However, I never got around to make it. Now I might be able to achieve that dream with this new controller that I am building.
I use the MDA theory when it comes to designing playful experience. It is a very straight forward and friendly framework no matter if you are a player, a developer, or a game designer. It helps you systematically break down a playful moment to tiny little things you need in order to (re)create the moment.
Aesthetics:
Create an embodied play experience that is similar to the KETSU and METSU moment in Kekkaishi with a speciality controller.
Dynamics:
1. Look at the target
2. Blow bubble at it (Particle Effect)
3. Enclose it in a bubble or attach to it (Sound)
4. Snap the string to send out a shockwave (Visual ring ripples out on the ground)
5. Shockwave bursts bubbles (Particle Effect and Sound)
6. Burst bubbles damage the target
Mechanics:
1. animated target walking towards camera
2. animation of crunching in a bubble
3. collision and placement of bubbles
4. shockwave collision (distant, speed & time)
5. damaging calculation
This is what I got:
