Raven Realms
Take flight through shadow and light in Raven Realms! Use the agility of a bird to maneuver through 5 levels as fast as you can.
Platform PC
Genera 2D Sidescroller
Role Systems Design, Level Design, Programming
Team Size Solo
Duration 11 weeks
Systems Design Overview
Design Pillar: Speed
Speed was a design pillar for this game. I wanted players to feel a great sense of speed, and be able to control their speed through movement to fit their skill level. Players gain speed by using Tap Flap and lose speed by not inputting Tap Flap after a few seconds. Beginner players can stay on the ground going slower while experienced players can stay in the air and gain speed.
Core Mechanic: Realm Switch
Realm Switching toggles the green (light) and purple (shadow) obstacles on and off. The obstacles are first used as walls the play must go though. Hitting an obstacle toggled on resets the player to their last checkpoint. Later levels add in obstacles with two colors, or position them differently, giving the player choice to go through either obstacle. This opens up different routes players may follow through a section of a level. Players can find the easier route through a level to better their final time.
Player Control
The ‘Tap Flap’ movement gives players a small increase in speed and height when they use it. I was careful to tune the player character’s gravity, force of their Tap Flap, and its cooldown so players would not be spamming the input, instead tapping it rhythmically.
Slower Play
Faster Play
Level Design Overview
Level 2
Level two introduces horizontal obstacles. I wanted the player to have more varied interactions with the obstacles. Putting them horizontal gives new challenge while also being quick to implement. The Dive input can also be used to get past the horizontal obstacles easier.
Level 4
Level four’s focus is on angled obstacles. Angled obstacles allowed for more player choice as to when players would move through the obstacle. The angled obstacles create a larger zone where players can Realm Switch. They may go through it right when it comes up or Realm Switch past it when they have no more room. These gave more variation in player pathing, resulting in less linear levels. They were also quick to implement since I only needed to rotate my original obstacle.
