MINUS-G

Brief

Create a whitebox level in a 2D platformer that showcases a particular game mechanic.

Our concept was based around inverting gravity.

Sketches

Increasingly complex platforming puzzles

- At this stage the gravity inversion was triggered at will with a single button press. This feature was changed to gravity-inverting volumes during early development.

Building

Introducing the sliding mechanic

Combining sliding with moving boxes (mechanic from the previous level)

Final segment: Ascending escape

(Homage to the Rat Race level from Battletoads, but going up instead of down)

Final Version

Ventilation Tunnels

- Second level out of 4 in the game, here the player (a lab rat trying to escape from a laboratory) has to travel through a narrow ventilation shaft that requires the use of the dash mechanic to pass through small gaps.

- The vertical shafts feature the same gravity-inverting volumes from the rest of the game, but disguised as fans to create the impression of air lifting/pushing down the character.

Art Pass Screenshot

Final Segment (Release Version)

Extra: Hub/Tutorial level

Hub Area

- I designed another level that serves as a hub area that lets players access each of the four levels in any order.

- The path towards each level features a very simple puzzle that requires players to use the mechanic that will be prominent in the corresponding level.

-Completing all levels lets players escape the lab through the path downstairs.