Puzzle Game analysis Monument valley

For my level analysis i'm doing the first level of Monument Valley an isometric puzzle game for iOS.
Due to the fact that Monument Valley is an iOS game the mechanics are relatively simple due to limited sources of input. Players can tap on the map to tell Ida where to go, and manipulate the map in a variety of ways. There's pull knobs, rotating cranks buttons and ladders. The game then layers then on top one another and takes advantage of the isometric perspective to create some really satisfying puzzles.

In the second level of the game the player is confronted with a central, rotating crank that moves an L shaped block.  The goal is on the upper level but there's no way to reach it initially. The main types of puzzles in this level are Sequence puzzles in how you move Ida  and rotate the platforms about.

Players see there's a switch on one side so must rotate the block into position fairly standard procedure. The goal is on the upper level but there's no way to reach it initially. The main types of puzzles in this level are Sequence puzzles in how you move Ida  and rotate the platforms about.

After this a new switch appears however this one is a bit trickier to get to.

You have to backtrack to the starting position and then rotate it. This move teaches the player to experiment with the cranks.


After backtracking and hitting the other switch it raises the crank to the upper level. At first glance it makes the central platform seem impossible to reach.

Thanks to the games perspective with proper rotation the platform can take you from the lower floor to the higher floor where there's a straight shot to the end.

Game Design Ideas

Hero Prop Ideas

1. Holo Sword: Is a sword that charges up based on kills and has an alt mode that creates a deflector shield.

2. Blink Daggers: Daggers that can be used for attacks but also can warp you behind targets.

3. Gauntlets of creation, an enchanted gauntlet that can be used to create terrain that can be jumped on.

4. Twin Pistols: Rapid fire pistols of opposing elements that can only hit the opposing element.

5. Launcher Grenades: Shoot's out sticky grenades that stick to walls and create a launch pad.

6. Powerglove: Shoot some old school retro goodness with charge attacks

7: Tracer mssile: Shoot a missile up then paint a target to re direct it.

8: HoverBoard: a board that hovers and let's you slide on things.

9: Air Thrusters: let's the players double jump / thrust to different sides.

10: Phase belt: a belt when activated allows the player to phase through walls and enemy projectiles.

For Game Design I made a trailer showcasing my race track and my car driving in it. I wanted to go for a dangerous/adventure feel to the trailer.

Programming Arcade Pitch

For the final project we're tasked with recreating an arcade game in blue print. My partner Steve HONG and i chose to do Arkanoid a pretty simple game that gives us room to make custom mechanics in the form of power ups.

Game Features List

• Player Movement - STEVE
• Left and Right
• Ball Logic - Jason
• Block Collision/destruction
• Ricochet off of walls and paddles
• Killed when falling off the screen
• Block Logic - Jason
• 1 or 2 hit points
• Indestructible
• different point values
• HUD  - STEVE
• Lives
• Score
• Game State
• Failure state/ no lives left
• Win State/ Cleared level of blocks
• Power Ups

• Laser Cannon HONG
• shoots lasers that break blocks
  
• Enlarge HONG
• Extends the Width of the paddle
  
• Catch - jason
• Causes the ball to stick and move with the paddle until fired
  
• Slow - jason
• Slows the velocity of the ball
  
•  Break HONG
• Creates an exit on the right side of the screen that causes you to go to the next level
  
• Disruption - jason
• Causes the ball to split into three instances
  
• 1 up - HONG
• Gains an extra life.
• Movement Behavior
• Falls from destroyed bricks

Art Asset List

• Paddle HONG
• Ball jason
• Bricks jason
• Laser projectile HONG
• Power Up Capsule 
• divided by power up
• HUD
• paddle image
• high score font.
• Sound FX
• Ball bounce - Jason
• Block Destroyed - Jason
• Laser Shot HONG

UE4 Template

We'll probably use the Top down camera as it already sets up the camera for us. Arkanoid is a top down game with few moving components so the top down  camera will probably work best. The trickiest part of it will probably be coding the ball logic but luckily we found some really nice tutorials that cover that aspect.

Attract Trailer Research

For my research trailer i chose the recently released Trackmania Turbo. I think the trailer does a really good job at showing off the sense of speed, and ridiculous tracks the series is known for. It also shows off the environments fairly well all while maintaining the speed of the race. The cuts flow into each other fairly well, and at the end of the trailer you're left wanting to see more.

HUD MockUp

For programming we were tasked with creating a mock up of an in game HUD for the racing level. I took inspiration from older car HUD shapes and wanted to give them a flat complimentary color scheme that matches the level.

There's space for the lap number, best time and current time, player kills, player health, speed and gear.

Barrel Challenge

For programming class we were tasked with making an exploding barrel. I made mine an ancient chest. Below is the blue print for how it works.