Mechanics
Mission: Create Mechanics that keep the wholesome feel but challenge the player in some way.
One of the most difficult things to convey during brainstorming ideas for this game was trying to keep it inside the "wholesome game" boundaries.
We had been studying about it but when it came to designing mechanics and goals it still felt like we had a lot of questions about what would fit into the theme and what would not.
Strategy:
We decided to use one of the most cozy things nowadays to inspire us: the lo-fi endless music Youtube video.
The idea was to create a cozy place where a girl would be studying and other wholesome activities were available.
We struggled avoiding punishing mechanics to maintain the wholesome feeling and that ended up lowering the challenge in the game and making it very difficult to get a bad result in the end.
Finally settled for two main stats: energy and "knowledge". These stats ultimately have an impact on the exams results.
The initial concept, however, considered more stats for the player to balance. Due to the lack of time and the need to keep the scope really small, we ended up
fusing the concept of "fun" with the main "energy" one.
This caused some kind of inconsistency in each mechanic's result as they were meant to be opposite, but the effects not always made complete sense.
- Using the notebook: increases knowledge but lowers energy
- Any other activity (watching TV, sleeping, drinking coffee and playing with the cat): adds energy but lowers study (in different amounts)
We added a mixed activity that allowed the player to boost energy while "reminiscing" about the study topics. This one ended unbalancing the gameplay and making it a
little too easy to beat (as it was pointed out by some play testers).
Results:
Mechanics ended up feeling truncated or limited by the little amount of stats to balance. One very critical improvement for future development work
would be to increase the stats: add fun, hunger and even maybe a bladder meter (inspired by Sims franchise and other similar games).
Game Loop
Mission: Create a game loop that gives the player a goal to pursue.
The main concept was studying for exams. The goal was clear but replayability not so much.
Strategy:
The game happens during night and when the exams time comes, the game ends and the player gets the results based on how
well both stats were at the time.
Ideas for replayability that we added to our nice-to-have list:
- Create a study path, with various different exams that give a meta loop ("pass this semester").
This would have the added benefit of giving the player a sense of achievement that would go beyond one exam.
- Create different mechanics based on the topic being studied. For example, solving short Math or word puzzles, Biology or Physics trivia, etc.
Results:
The game loop ended up being pretty simple and the stats were too few to guarantee an interesting combination when it came to calculate the exam results.
There is certainly room for improvement in terms of balancing and replayability and we ended up with an interesting nice-to-have list, should we consider putting more work into this project.
