COULISSES

Overview

Platform :
Mobile Android

Engine :
Unity 3D

Release :
April 2023

Language :
French

Team size :
10

Role :
Lead Game Designer, Game Designer & Level Designer

GENRE :

Puzzle, Reflexion, Education

PITCH :

Go behind the scenes of a theatre ! As a stage manager, go up and down the sets to reach the rope to raise the curtain.

This puzzle game will make you discover the universe and the vocabulary of the theater through simple and fun little levels.

Don't wait any longer, go behind the scenes !

Objectives

The objective of the Coulisses game was to fulfill the resquests of a client coming from the Domaine D'O, Montpellier.

The client had three main desires for the game :

- To create a game that could be enjoyed by players as young as 8 years old.

- To develop a game that would be engaging and long-lasting.

- To use the game as a tool to introduce players the Domaine D'O and its upcoming events.

After presenting three different game concepts, the client ultimately decided to choose a mobile game.

What we decided to do

To complete the client's vision of the game, we as a team, decided to incorporate theatre expressions and references to the Domaine D'O such as their buildings.

With this approach the team aimed to meet the client's request while also providing an entertaining and informative gaming experience for players of all ages.

We created a game with 10 levels and an additional tutorial level. Each level presented players with various tasks that needed to be completed.

However, there was a special task in each level that related to theater expressions : The Harlequin task .

To facilitate learning and understanding, we incorporated a dictionary within the game. This dictionary contained all of the words and expressions that players learned while interacting with the character Harlequin.

By including this feature, we aimed to enhance the player's experience by incorporating educational elements while maintaining an enjoyable gaming experience.

TEASER

ROLE

Communication & Organization

I was responsible for organizing, supervising, and reviewing the team's work during the development of Coulisses. In this role, I was actively involved in coordinating team activities using tools such as Hack’n’Plan and Google Sheets.

Additionally, I served as the primary point of contact with the client and facilitated meetings to present and discuss updates on the Coulisses project.

Game Design

Our goal was to offer three different types of tasks in our game, namely pressing a button, pulling on a rope, and turning a crank.

We wanted to create a gameplay mechanic that could be reused in multiple levels with varying levels of difficulty. As such, players would need to pull, press, or turn to interact with their phone optimally.

We also insisted on getting as close to theater as possible by including a common final task for each level : opening the curtains with the rope to make way for the show. This decision was made to allow players to understand when they have reached the end of the level and to feel the satisfaction of completing it by finding their way to the curtains.

Writing & Narrative Design

For my side of the work, my responsibilities included writing the dialogue for the character Harlequin, as well as defining and explaining various theater expressions within the game.

With regards to Harlequin's dialogue, we aimed to create a character with a distinct personality and tone. We wanted his dialogue to be witty and humorous, which was consistent with his arrogant and deceitful nature.

Level Design

The primary challenge we faced when developing this game was creating a 3D level design within the constraints of an isometric view for a mobile. Due to these limitations, we had to carefully consider how to construct a compelling level design.

Our objective was to incorporate more verticality into the level design, while also taking into account that the game camera can be rotated. To ensure that the entire level was visible from any camera angle, we had to use a shader to hide one side of the level.

This required us to design the level with great care, so that players could easily navigate it regardless of the camera angle.