Blending genres can be a great thought experiment that can lead to creative new game ideas, but translating those ideas to an actual working game isn't always so simple.
With our game, Arcane Golf, we started with a typical mini golf game, but played from a different perspective. This immediately presented us with a few difficulties one might not associate with miniature golf. For instance, gravity became much more of a factor from a side perspective than a top down one. Ironically, it was a simple element of golf so typically affected by gravity, that presented the hardest design challenge. The cup, or hole (or in our case the portal) where the ball would be aimed no longer worked like normal. Our gravity, like all gravity, pulls the ball downward (on the Y axis, in our case), but from a side perspective the target for the ball would be in the background (on the Z axis). Instead of a place for the ball to fall into, naturally affected by gravity, we had to create our own physical force separate from gravity to simulate a similar experience to the ball circling the hole and falling in. This simple element is just one of many ways that altering a genre's typical format can ripple outward causing a number of unforeseen effects, and for us it was only the beginning.
Had our game stayed a simple mini golf experience from an a-typical (but not unique) perspective, that might be the end of this post, but as we progressed, our game became more and more unique within that space. We would eventually do away with elements such as "par" (a suggested amount of shots to complete a given hole), in favor of a much more rigid system where we dictated exactly how many shots a level would take- no more, and no less. With this system in place, we were free to explore a number of puzzle-like elements that allowed us to dictate when and where a player could shoot the ball, by limiting their shots or control of the ball, and even giving them more shots as the level progressed through power ups and special creatures. As our repertoire of creatures and powers expanded so too did the play experiences a player might experience on any given hole.
We found that as we designed levels and leveraged all of our new creations, some levels might challenge player's reflexes and timing, while others would challenge their aim, or puzzle solving skills. With this came a whole new set of issues for us as game designers. How do we balance which types of elements and challenges a player will face at any given time, and how do we do that with a variety of player types in mind? Some players that want to play our mini golf game might come to the experience hoping for a game of precise aim and timing, while others might see the puzzle elements and be less interested in the reflexive traits. Others still might want a mini golf game, but not be prepared for the need for quick reflexes since most golf games don't have you changing the ball's direction mid-shot. For every type of player that might try our game based on one of the genres we built it from, we had to consider how we scaled the difficulty.
If any single element scaled too much for a player ill-equipped for it, we risked losing their interest. Ultimately, we settled on focusing on level complexity and creating peaks and valleys instead of a steady increase in difficulty. For instance, if we had a large level built around carefully navigating a maze like structure with precise control and reflexes, we might then give the players a few quicker levels built around less mechanical skills, such as a short puzzle or matter of timing. This way, players wouldn't become frustrated with mechanics they weren't expecting, and would be rewarded for pushing through a level they might not be the best at with a number of levels that better cater to their skills. Of course, as players progress the overall difficulty would increase, but the peaks and valleys would remain, and past experience would encourage players to complete those challenges they weren't originally expecting, especially now that they had learned they could complete them.
We'll find out whether we succeeded in our goals July 26th, when Arcane Golf launches on Steam. Thanks for reading!
