Black is a 3D thriller game about a kidnapped young child who woke up in an abandoned research facility.
Black is inspired by visual impairment and the desire to create a game with social impact and inclusivity in mind. The game was a challenge to produce as my team and I struggled to create a game that was based on this unique inspiration.
Black
Roles
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Producer
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Design Lead
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Level Design Lead
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Cinematic Designer
Date
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Fall 2021 - Spring 2022 (6 Months)
Team Composition
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2 Designers
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8 Programmers
We initally wanted to create a game that would provide a unique and out of the ordinary experience for our players. As I have experience working with the Visually Impaired during my past internship at Dialogue in the Dark Singapore, I wanted to create something meaningful to help encourage the community to be inclusive towards people with disabilities in their daily lives.
The gameplay constantly evolved throughout the first half of our development, and we went through several iterations within a span of a few months. The goal of translating the experience of visual impairment into a game was a huge challenge.
Initial Game Concept
The Challenges
The game started out with a player character and their guide dog companion. I have heard a lot of stories involving how people misbehave when they encounter guide dogs and wanted to do my part in educating the community. We came up with 2 versions of the gameplay: an experiential focused exploration game or a minigame-based local co-op.
However, they quickly turned out to be a bad idea as there was no motivating factor in the gameplay for players to move forward. Our lecturers also mentioned that in a local co-op, there would be very little reason why players would choose to play as a human over a guide dog, which sounds more intriguing.
What should our Gameplay be like?
10 Blind Mice
After countless brainstorming sessions, we finally decided to scrap the guide dog idea and move on to a different concept.
Our player is now on her own, without her guide dog companion! Should she be blind? Partially blind? Sighted in an environment with limited light?
Scrapping the guide dog idea made the whole team disorganized and indecisive. It opened so much room for creativity. Everyone wanted the ideas that they have kept contained for months while we were restricted to the guide dog concept to be heard and implemented.
Lack of Knowledge and Understanding
As it turns out, almost the entire team did not know anything about visual impairment. Even though the design team went to interview the visually impaired guides at Dialogue in the Dark and did a lot of research, it was difficult to understand visual impairment compared to the experience of directly working with visually impaired individuals as your colleagues.
Redefining our Game... But Wait!
The designers decided to have an emergency discussion with our lecturers to finalise the game concept. After the discussion, we were torn between using Echolocation or the Sense of Touch as our main mechanic. As our lecturers did not mind using either of them, we came up with gameplay possibilities for both mechanics. It turns out that both options were feasible.
However, the lecturers challenged us to take on the sense of touch as our main mechanic, as it was more unique and they wanted to see how we could translate the sense of touch into gameplay. We took on the challenge.
Back on Track
The design team went back to discuss our gameplay changes with the team and asked for ideas on how we can incorporate the sense of touch as the main mechanic in our game. Our discussions went much more smoothly compared to when we first scrapped the guide dog idea. We realised how important it is to have a shared vision that everyone can work towards as a team, and also the importance of asking the right questions to prevent discussions from going out of hand.
Level Design
Level Design Process
When coming up with ideas for my level design, I tend to start with sketching on paper before transferring it to a digital copy, and finally create a grey box rough prototype to see how it feels to be in the environment. I also go through a lot of iterations and playtesting to make sure that my level design goals are clear to my players.
Paper Sketches
Digital Layouts
Prototypes (Minecraft -> Unity -> Custom Engine)
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Level Design Document
For our game, I created a Level Design Document based on the Intensity curve I have determined for the game. This includes a mood board, gameplay beats, intended player experience, encounters, mechanics, gimmicks, time, bubble diagram, goals, obstacles, solutions and level layout maps.
Detailed Documentation
I made sure that I included as many details as I could in the level design documentation so that my team's 3d modeller and programmers would understand what is required to make the game come to life. In the asset list that I have provided my 3d modeller, I made sure to write a description of the assets needed, indicate the metrics, priority levels, and went through the list with her during a separate meeting.
Takeaways
We had a lot of challenges along the way while attempting to create something so unique yet memorable. If given a choice, I would still do it all over again. I have no regrets about deciding to work on a game inspired by visual impairment, and I am glad that my team members willingly chose to walk this path of uncertainty with me.
I feel that what I have learnt throughout the 6 month-long project was irreplaceable and truly the most valuable experience I will ever take away from my student life in DigiPen. Thank you for looking through the process and challenges we had during the development of this project. Let's continue to strive to make a difference in the game industry!