IVY ZHAO

ARTIST & DESIGNER



FRIEND SHIPS.



KIDS HOSPITAL SCREENPLAY | SHERIDAN DESIGN WEEK



Sink pirate ships, collect hidden treasures, and help sailboats find their way to the dock with the help of rubber ducks!


FRIEND SHIPS is an interactive toy developed during Sheridan Design Week with the challenge of utilizing Screenplay, Holland Bloorview Kid's Rehabilitation Hospital's pressure-based grid input system, to entertain kids of all ages while waiting for their appointments.


ACHIEVEMENT ♡

Awarded Best in Discovery - 2nd overall among over 30 projects


+ Role: Game Designer, 3D Artist

+ Tools: Autodesk Maya, Photoshop

+ Engine: Unity

+ Platform: PC

+ Development Time: 4.5 days

+ Team Size: 5


PLAY ON ITCH.IO >

RESPONSIBILITIES.



  • Pitched game concepts, solved design challenges, and ran playtests sessions along with team members over a period of 4.5 days
  • Set art direction and asset list, created 3D models and particle effects
  • Integrated art assets and effects into Unity
  • Wrote and edited video introduction




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DESIGN HIGHLIGHTS.



Our intention with this game was to help entertain kids of all ages while they wait for their appointments with a focus on accessibility since it would be installed in the hosptial's waiting room. We needed to design a simple game with a short and calm gameplay loop so the kids would not be too excited and be able to leave when it was time for their appointment.


Alternative Controls

The hospital provided their Screenplay technology to be used as the controller for the game. Inputs are triggered by physically standing or walking over a tiles on the grid floor.

Find more info about Screenplay here!


In our case, stepping on a tile will drop a duck on the corresponding tile in-game.


Game Objective / Goal

Guide the sailboats to dock at the pier in the middle by dropping rubber ducks! Every time a boat is docked, fish will spawn in the water (to subtly represent score).


Our 3 Core Design Pillars:

  1. Accessibility
  2. Fun to watch
  3. Ability to join & leave at any time (no FOMO)


1. Designing for Accessibility

Since there may be kids with limited mobility (e.g. wheelchair or limited movement), we needed a mechanic to allow them to impact the game just as much as anyone else. The mechanic also needs to have a unique feature to give the player a sense of importance.


The Mechanic

Kids could sit on a tile to spawn a whirlpool that will affect the movement of boats and cause an explosion of colour as long as they're on it. It is also the only method to sink enemy pirate ships!




Stepping / Quick Taps - Duck Drop



  • Pushes nearby sailboats and their colour trails


Staying on a tile - Whirlpool Spawn



  • Whirlpool pulls in colours and boats
  • Allows the player to guide boats to the pier / dock in the middle
  • Can also sink pirate ships!


2. Making the Game Fun to Watch

Inspired by kids craft activities and hand painting, having bright and colourful particle trails being left by the boats that could be mixed like paint provided dynamic visual appeal to the game. We wanted the kids that didn't want to participate to also be entertained.


I settled on a bright and saturated colour palette to grab the kids attentions effectively.








3. Join and Leave at Any Time

To prevent the fear of missing out, we chose to have no lose state to account for kids joining and leaving at different times. We also implemented easter eggs in the form of events for the excitement of discovery and replayability.


If the kids were too invested in the game, there would be a hard time trying to get them to leave for their appointments but we also don’t want them to be bored quickly. This way, anyone can join or leave at any time without the fear of missing out and also prevents the game from being uneventful.


Events



Docking Sailboats



  • Spawns fish in the water
  • Visual depiction of score
  • Allows everyone to contribute on their own time since there is no end state


Pirate Ships



  • Will sink sailboats
  • Sink them with a whirlpool!


"X" Marks the Spot!



  • Drop a rubber duck over the "X" to find hidden treasure!
  • Need 3 to spawn treasure island


Ultra Rare GOLDEN Boat!!



  • Occasionally, a rare golden boat will spawn


DESIGN CHALLENGE -
Giving all kids the same opportunity to interact and make an impact in the game



The controller required physical movement which would make it harder for kids that had mobility issues to interact. We needed a mechanic that required minimal to no movement and persists as long as the player is on the tile. A player with mobility issues would stay on a tile with more of their attention focused on the screen longer than one that is walking around.


















Hazards? Opposing Teams?

The initial idea was for the player staying on a tile to spawn hazards in their vicinity (acting like traps). After hosting playtest sessions, we found that other players would avoid those areas and it wouldn't but fun to watch if no one else wanted to interact with them. This mechanic would split players into opposing teams or isolate the less mobile players.


The Solution

To facilitate inclusivity and teamwork, it needed to be a cooperative mechanic.

The solution was to change the hazard being spawned to only affect the "bad guys" (pirate ships) and no longer sink normal sailboats (only pull them in). This would give stationary players the ability to re-direct the boats to the dock like moving players can. In addition, being stationary is the only way to sink pirate ships so the role of standing/sitting still is important!


A whirlpool worked well because it also made it fun to watch due to boats leaving colour trails. The player stuck on the tile would be able to watch the chaos as a bunch of different colours get pulled in and mixed.





THE ART.



Since we didn't have a lot of time, we decided to go for a low-poly 3D style with assets that didn't need any rigging or animation. After creating a mood board and asset list, I assisted with modelling the assets, creating particle effects, and integrating them into Unity.



Particle Burst 01



Lighthouse Particle Burst



Pirate Ship 3D Model



Lighthouse 3D Model



Treasure Chest 3D Model



Mood Board