"Loco Puffs" 1v1 platform fighter game featuring two psychopathic cereal puffs. It was created for Global Game Jam 2024, the theme of which was "Make Me Laugh." In Loco Puffs, the more you attack, the more you laugh, leading to a variety of unexpected effects, such as randomizing jump height, crying slippery milk, or freezing you in place so you can catch your breath. I was responsible for level design on "Loco Puffs" and designed the 6 arenas pictured above.
My first goal when designing these arenas was that each one would be generally balanced, providing cover for players to duck behind and encouraging situational types of combat. My second goal was that each level would serve a different purpose and encourage a different play style.
For example, the first pictured arena has two areas of combat - the long hallways on the top and bottom of the map, and the pit in the center. The long hallways encouraged ranged combat (or a risky melee charge), while the pit in the center encouraged quick melee combat or "spraying and praying" with the player's fully automatic weapon. Even on maps that appear more haphazardly designed, such as the arena with the array of floating platforms, I paid special attention to available sightlines of the player's sniper rifle and movement opportunities based on the player's jump height to tweak the position of each platform and ensure both movement and combat felt just right.
Other times, I designed a map around a specific concept. The fourth pictured map features windows that the player can fire but not move through and a large pit that forces the player to take the long way back up or remain trapped below. As a result, player positioning is much more important on this map and trapping your opponent in an unfavorable position can be especially beneficial, resulting in slower and more methodical gameplay.
Likewise, The final pictured arena has a large pit in the center that the player cannot initially easily cross. They must either fall onto a lower level from the top of the pit or cross on the floor at the bottom of the map. However, once the player's laugh level reaches a certain point and their jump height becomes randomized, they gain the necessary movement ability to cross the pit (if they get lucky). As a result, the player's strategy on this arena can evolve over time as they discover new ways to utilize the level's layout.
Thank you to my team at We Could... Games for their work in developing "Loco Puffs" as well - Jason Allen, Grace McGann, Connor Zielinski, David Harkness, Ben Collinson, and Cameron Foister.