PROJECT OVERVIEW
As part of my studies, I was tasked with creating a game in a team over 6 weeks based on the tastes and criteria of an invited client.
Tommy Gaudet, a Quebecois content creator, was selected by the teachers for us to deliver a game that reflected his rich and absurd universe.
ROLES
- Brainstorm visual elements & puzzles in team
- Level design
- Pixel art & spritesheets for characters and some environments (plants & houses of the Imaginary World) with Aseprite software
- Asset integration in Unity & Level Art
- GAME SUMMARY -
With the help of his imagination and his friend Nounours, a child must travel between the real world and his imaginary world to defeat the corruption and minions of the Lady in Black. Petit Héros is a humorous adventure and light puzzle game, evoking the retro pixel art style, inspired by Earthbound and The Legend of Zelda.
A Tribute to Imagination
The game is a tribute to our client Tommy. It promotes imagination, absurd humor, and letting go, while also featuring numerous "easter eggs" related to Tommy's content.
At the beginning of the game, by picking up a simple stick, the Child unlocks a whole new world of possibilities! For him, the stick is the source of his imagination: it’s his hero’s sword!
- Challenge: Create two overlapping worlds -
A side-by-side view of the Real World and the Imaginary World
I had to create two parallel game universes, the real world and the Child's imaginary world, while ensuring a balance between the two dimensions by placing environments, NPCs, and objects that would encourage players to explore each world. Our real world can be boring, so I had to make it as captivating as the imaginary one.
I also had to make sure the two worlds overlapped appropriately and were consistent. To achieve this, for each character and environment, I created assets that maintained roughly the same proportions between both worlds.
- establishing the visual style -
I also created a visual style guide at the beginning of the project to ensure artistic cohesion for my colleagues.
- characters-
Here are some examples of character animations. With a bit more time on hand, I would have liked to add more "smear" for a more satisfying and fluid result!
Attack animation of the Child, Real World and Imaginary World
Idle animation of the Mother, Real World and Imaginary World
A Character creation that influences the narrative !
Although there was an overall narrative structure, each secondary character (NPC) and their interactions influenced the narrative and the world in which it takes place.
I had a lot of fun thinking about the types of characters that could exist in the contexts of the two parallel worlds. I gave each of them a unique style and visual personality, which then directly impacted the writing of their dialogues for my colleagues.
The Newspaper Man and the Black Knight
The conspiracy theorist and the Leprechaun
The Man of the street and the Magic Merchant
Pupp and Sir Pupp
Ribbit Villagers
Villagers
Golf players and Magicians
Neighbourhood inhabitants
- Level Design -
- Conceptualize the 3 levels with my level designer colleague.
- Contribute to creating quest elements for each level.
- Balance and populate the 2 parallel worlds by placing NPCs, level art, and objects to encourage players to explore each dimension and every corner of the map for fun interactions.
- Balance and populate the 2 parallel worlds by placing NPCs, level art, and objects to encourage players to explore each dimension and every corner of the map for fun interactions.
Blocking level 1 - Real World
Blocking level 1 - Imaginary World
The little hero begins his adventure in the residential neighborhood. He can immediately grab his weapon and explore the surroundings and the new parallel world.
Objective: Talk to the various NPCs to find a way to move the car blocking the exit of the neighborhood and continue to the next level.
Blocking level 2 - Real World
Blocking level 2 - Imaginary World
The adventure continues in a park where a first "mini-boss" blocks the way : The Newspaper Man / the Black Knight.
Objective: Find a way to move the man with the newspaper blocking the exit bridge. By progressing through the islands of the level and talking to the NPCs, the player will discover a water source and use it to wet the man's newspaper, allowing him to pass afterward!
Blocking level 3 - Real World
Blocking level 3 - Imaginary World
The adventure ends on a golf course actively used by golfers and ducks.
Objective: Find a way to unlock the portal to the forest. The little hero must retrieve the keys to one of the golfer's carts in exchange for his radio, which will allow him to wake up and confront the final enemy boss : the Black Serpent.
The game suggests that the story will continue, but it's getting late, and the little hero must return home for dinner !
- Complete Gameplay -
*ribbit*