IVY ZHAO

ARTIST & DESIGNER



BACKSHOT.



VR ARCADE PINBALL | SHERIDAN CAPSTONE YEAR PROJECT 2019-2020



Sponsored by Another Reality Toronto with the design challenge of creating a fun and easy to pick up VR arcade game.


Backshot is a pinball-inspired arcade game with Breakout-style physics where players use the flippers to smack balls to rack up as many points as they can by hitting environment objects and completing bounties in the arena.


+ Role: Game Design, Technical Artist

+ Platform: PC / VR / Oculus

+ Tools: Maya, Amplify Shader Editor, Photoshop

+ Engine: Unity

+ Development Time: 2 Semesters

+ Team Size: 6


VIEW GAME DESIGN DOCUMENT >

RESPONSIBILITIES.



  • Solved design challenges and ran playtests along with team members - using observations to iterate on design choices
  • Designed level events and ball interactions - translating pinball mechanics into VR contributing to establishing core gameplay
  • Conceptualized themes and layouts for levels
  • Created shaders using Amplify Shader Editor in Unity for VFX and animation
  • Tracked and organized tasks for AGILE sprints in Jira and Confluence
  • Maintained GDD
  • Presented sprint results bi-weekly




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DESIGN HIGHLIGHTS.



Our goal was to create an interactive experience that couldn't be recreated in real life with the use of virtual reality. Since our sponsor specialized in VR arcade spaces, the game needed to be easy to understand, competitive, addictive, and playable in a small environment with little to no movement with around 5 minutes of gameplay.


3 Core Gameplay Pillars



1. Easy to Pick Up



  • Attracts new players of all skill levels
  • Simple controls - swing your controller to hit the ball and push the trigger button to shoot a ball
  • Progressive level design for a less overwhelming experience – the level is expanded and gets more difficult as the game goes on


2. Juice & Flashy Visuals



  • Both hitting the ball and watching the ball collide with environment objects has to feel good
  • Attracts spectators and keeps them watching
  • E.g. Beat Saber – the feedback from the controller and the visual effects makes slicing the blocks satisfying


3. Score-Based Gameplay



  • A key element of an arcade game!
  • Results in competition and replayability
  • The main objective of Backshot is to get a high score to appear on the leaderboards
  • Missions and bounties for more points


DESIGN CHALLENGE #1 -
Making pinball/breakout mechanics engaging in a VR environment



We first playtested a ton of different pinball machines and noticed there was a lot of time spent just watching the ball bounce around and players have little control of where the ball actually goes.

  • Watching a single ball bounce around in VR is not engaging and slow-paced as both the player and a spectator
  • Pinball has a difficult learning curve - new players have a hard time understanding what to do and the game is hard to master


Researching the Market

I playtested and then compiled a list of pros and cons for games that had similar mechanics so we could look at examples of possible design solutions. We also tested with a physical prototype by playing squash.



SOLUTIONS.





Spawning Multiple Balls



  • Adds chaos and keeps attention (there is always something bouncing around)
  • Makes it easier for new players to hit things and continue playing for longer
  • Losing a ball no longer ends the game - there is less importance on where and what the ball hits so the player no longer has to *only* look at the ball


Level Events and Object Interactions (Spectacles)



  • A shark appearing and granting extra points when hit, triggered when the level’s objective is completed
  • School of fish doing things in the background
  • Pufferfish exploding and destroying all balls in its vicinity when hit


Visual Juice & Controller Feedback



  • No longer only watching the ball - when objects get hit, the effects grab attention
  • Haptic feedback is really important - hitting the ball in VR needed to feel just as satisfying as hitting a ball with a racket in real life
  • Through our physical prototype, we also decided the balls needed a visual trail to make it easier to follow


DESIGN CHALLENGE #2 - Level Visibility



In both Breakout and Pinball, the ball is limited movement on one dimension BUT the player can see the whole playing field.


In our VR environment, the player would not be able to see objects if they were placed similar to a pinball machine due to camera/player placement. There is also difficulty gauging the size of the level.


Tilting the Level/Floor?

I created some quick level mockups to test visibility.

The tilted level slightly increases visibility however most objects in the back are still blocked.





SOLUTION - Expand the levels vertically and place objects on all axis.



Tilted + Vertical Level Design



  • Fills the player’s entire field of vision (horizontally and vertically)
  • There is more space to place objects that won't be blocked
  • No reason to restrict the ball’s movement vertically in VR
  • Floor tilt prevents big open space underneath/behind objects where the ball could get stuck


90(ish) Degree Vision Cone



  • Keeping most of the action happening in front of the player
  • Limiting the width of the level prevented the player from being overwhelmed and having to physically turn or move
  • It also keeps scope down (less objects to make and place)


(X) Flat Horizontal Level Design



  • No reason to have the level layout similar to how it is in a pinball machine
  • Top down camera/player placement would remove "pinball" feel


CHALLENGE #3 - Shaders



The shaders we had planned to use from the asset store did not work with Unity's post-processing effects. We also did not have previous experience making shaders.



SOLUTION - Make our own..



With the use of Amplify Shader Editor and a lot of googling, I managed to create new shaders that worked perfectly for our needs. We also did not have time to rig and animate the fish so I created a wavy shader we could just slap on easily.



Particle Effects



Wavy Fish Shader



Ball Trail Shader



Cell Shade(r)



PHYSICAL PROTOTYPE TAKEAWAYS.



We figured that playing squash and tennis would be a good way to test our idea quickly without having to build anything. Our initial idea was to have the player use two rackets to hit the balls (similar to having 2 flippers in pinball) however through testing with squash, we discovered that players use their dominant hand to hit the ball in most cases. In cases where the ball would go towards the player's non-dominant side, the player would still try to hit it with their dominant hand despite having a racket in their other hand.


We also noticed that haptic feedback would be really important, hitting the ball in VR would have to be just as satisfying as doing it in real life.





PLAYTESTING.



We hosted playtest sessions for our digital prototype with multiple groups.


Some of our takeaways from these sessions include:

  • Ball visibility - the ball needed a trail as it was hard to keep track of
  • Issues with our shaders from the asset store not working
  • Needed more interactable objects in the environment (to hit)
  • Players only used one hand/controller





OVERALL OUTCOMES.



  • 1 Level of a polished VR experience with basic interactions and simple ball physics
  • Knowledge of VR game production
  • A framework for future content production




GAME DESIGN DOCUMENT.



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