Dillo's Dilemma - Fort Design 2

Hey yo!

I've been working on blocking out the playable forts for our capstone game, Dillo's Dilemma. Forts are an interesting challenge, because they need to be open and completable in many different ways. In addition, they should encourage creative use of PINGAS, our game's placeable objects. It's been difficult, but I think I finally have a fort that accomplishes this but isn't too small. It MIGHT still be a BIT small... But not too bad!


The breakable structures here give a lot of leeway, but I think that's okay. I think there could still be more obstacles for the player to avoid, it feels too free at the moment. The bowl in the center is interesting, I feel, because it serves as both an obstacle and a potential boon. If the player falls inside, it could be very difficult to escape. Alternatively, if the player was to place a bumper inside, the bowl could then be used as a ramp in every angle. It turns an obstacle into a useful tool, and to this end, represents a perfect use of PINGAS.

This is what I have right now for what might be the fastest entry and completion of the fort. 


The golden cages are the objectives, and the red line is (ironically) the golden path. Right now there's only three, but I feel deep in my heart that I should find a way to fit two more cages around the level. I should mention that these forts are small subsections of larger levers- they aren't meant to be super long experiences. Instead, they're shorter, more repayable, and potentially, difficult enough that they require multiple attempts to clear. 

Here was the original sketch I made before blocking the fort out. I know it's not much, but these things are honestly pretty tough to build without working iteratively and feeling out the geometry in-engine. 


The bowl was the main centerpiece of the fort from the beginning, and multiple ramps to let the player zoom up and into the 'arena' were planned from the beginning too. I still think having an 'arena' on the inside with a lot of obstacles is a cool idea. It'll be tough to size them out, though. 


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