Hey everyone!
It’s Pugstorm’s resident Associate Game Director, Felix here again 👋 Today I’m going to share a sneak peek at some of the ways we’ve been experimenting with fun and (mostly) efficient ways of traversing around the world KYORA. So what is our approach to 2d, verticality and gravity…
🛠 All footage shows experimental ALPHA gameplay - title in development. Visuals are work-in-progress!
Staying Grounded
Gravity is a humble but core part of the gameplay in KYORA, and as such we must treat it (and in extension verticality) with great respect. This requires us to spend a lot of effort on movement systems and options, and come up with fun ways to utilize it in the best ways possible. In general, we think of movement as having two broad ‘modes’: controlled and uncontrolled.
Controlled mode is when the player feels in sync with what their character is doing. They might be running around in a cave, jumping to cross a gap and landing exactly where they wanted, or perhaps they are skillfully stepping in between two attacks, avoiding both at the same time. There is a sense of “I’ve got this, I’m in control”. From this, satisfaction emerges from skillful play.
Uncontrolled mode is the exact opposite. An explosion might have just launched the player into what we refer to as “tumble” mode (you might have seen it in earlier GIFs!), literally blocking all input until recovery. Or, the player might have simply stepped into a hole they didn’t realise was there, plunging down into darkness. In uncontrolled mode, there is often a sense of “Wait, oh, crap!”. It serves to surprise the player, and the lack of control is the canvas from which chaotic physics fun can emerge. As such, it is important that the game has systems that can interact through physics, creating unpredictable scenarios!
🛠 All footage shows experimental ALPHA gameplay - title in development. Visuals are work-in-progress!
What goes down, must come up
Gravity needs to feel impactful, and of course, it is much easier to descend than ascend in KYORA. Inevitably you will tumble out of reach of something shiny and will need to make your way back up. Typically games solve this with checkpoints, teleportation, and complex rope and tunnel systems. We will have some of those options, but we also want to provide enough tools for you to ascend without constantly having to “paint staircases” everywhere (though that is of course a valid strategy, too!).
Wait, how do I land this thing?!
In sandbox survival games (or sandbox boss rush in our case), traversing the worldspace needs to be considered carefully. Our goal wasn’t just to make exploring feel frictionless, we actually want you to enjoy it! Even though it is a "digging game", digging can't be the only thing you're doing! At points in KYORA you will have to navigate airspace if you want to progress, and what better way to do that than with a Da Vinci-style glider!
In the below video you can see some initial experiments of the glider in action, alongside another propulsion mechanic we'll get onto shortly...
🛠 All footage shows experimental ALPHA gameplay - title in development. Visuals are work-in-progress!
Whilst this is still work in progress, the glider is something that is very close to our hearts, and something I knew since very early on in the project that we simply must try. The fantasy of soaring through the air is such a universal thing across all of humanity that it felt like a no-brainer to put in, but it also means that the sky is literally the limit when it comes to how enjoyable you can make it feel.
We’ve gone for a fairly realistic, energy-conserving flight model, simulating dynamics like lift based on angle of attack, induced drag, offset chord angles, aerodynamic stalls, and more. This might sound like overkill for a 2D sidescroller game, but many of those components are important to sell the “feel of flight”. We think that we’ve managed to capture at least part of that fantasy we mentioned earlier, and we think that you’ll agree when you try it!
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice
Last time we spoke about ‘juice’ - the parts of the game that feel super satisfying and moreish to play. As you’ve gathered, we like to believe that it’s about the journey not the destination, and so we wanted to make getting from A-to-B feel special and even a little whimsical.
So, this time we’ll be looking at an experimental feature called Gust Beetles. They are little clouds of critters that you can use to propel yourself through the air and can come in handy when using your trusty glider. You can of course get a bit crazy with them. How about setting up an ad-hoc elevator?!
🛠 All footage shows experimental ALPHA gameplay - title in development. Visuals are work-in-progress!
There will be moments where you really do have to reach up high and you just can’t make it without a little help from some little things we like to call slingshrooms. It’s a throwable that throws you! You hold and charge to throw, and when released you are yeeted forward in an uncontrolled tumble. Useful, but unpredictable!
🛠 All footage shows experimental ALPHA gameplay - title in development. Visuals are work-in-progress!
Remember, these are all completely experimental at this stage, but we’re really happy with how they turned out and wanted to show you the fun things we’re working on so far.
Until next time, if you have questions, ideas or just want to let us know what you think, drop a comment or join our X, Insta, Reddit, our lovely community newsletter or our official Discord channel - we always love to hear from you.
Remember folks, tumbly safely!
- Pugstorm & Chucklefish