Additional Project – Initial Ideas & Final Product

When it came to finally creating my game, I had several things to take into consideration, with it being a starter maze game, I needed to create a maze that was not overly complicated but at the same time not so simplistic that the player would be able to just breeze through it with no problem. Below are several screen caps of my initial designs for a couple of maze ideas along with a rough idea of a menu system that I had in mind.

 

 

 

 

 

These initial ideas were just things that were rattling around my head, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted a bright and colourful menu system sat in the center of a maze as is shown in the third image. I also wasn’t entirely certain on the mazes themselves as these are something that I haven’t worked on before so this was a rather unique challenge for me and was a welcome change in terms of design work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These two screen caps are of the final product that I created within Adobe Flash. The menu is fairly simplistic in the design, I didn’t want to use anything overly bright and colourful in the end, which is where it differs from my initial idea. While the menu is basic in appearance, it does what I wanted it to do and it leads straight to the first maze of the game, which is represented by the second screen shot that is showing the maze design I worked with. The maze design I worked with is present within the first screen shot of my initial designs and I felt that this was the better of the two mazes to work with in my game as a starter level while the second one has more misdirection and ways to lead the player down the wrong alleys while the first one is a much better blend between misdirection and being able to complete it within a short time and progress.

 

Additional Project – Maze Game Research

The first thing I did in terms of research for the Maze Madness project was look into various different types of maze flash game that appear on the internet. Using prior gaming knowledge of Flash Games, I uploaded the website www.kongregate.com so that I could look at the different maze games that it had to offer before I started planning my own game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking at a maze game called Talesworth Adventure: The Lost Artefacts, I made sure to note how the menu system was displayed on the main page of the game as I need to make sure I know what to be working on within my own designs for the maze game.

 

 

 

 

 

The levels themselves were set out so that the player had to work out where to place items within their inventory in order to guide their characters avatar through each level without them falling into pitfalls and traps that have been placed around the level map. As the player progresses through each level and moves onto the next one, the difficulty increases and they have more traps to work around to keep their character safe, using only the items in the inventory that they are offered for that level.

 

 

 

 

There is a nice little feature within the game. When the player clicks on the map button within the game, which will bring up the “map” which is in fact all of the mazes the player has navigated, showing them in the shape of what I would describe as “Tetris Pieces” although of course it is likely just a design choice by the creator of the game.

 

 

 

 

Labyrinth Runner

This is another Maze Game from the game site Kongregate. It is a much simpler game than Talesworth Adventures, with only a set of levels to choose from and a colour for the characters avatar as the only options for the game itself.

 

 

 

 

 

While the mazes become more difficult as the player progresses through the levels there is little variation within the game itself. The game is filled with basic colours, such as the different ones that can be chosen for the character colour while the mazes themselves are set in white on a black background, basic colours that are none the less effective in placing the players attention on the maze.

Additional Project – Maze Game Proposal

Additional Project Proposal

Name: Maze Madness (Working Title
Genre: Maze
Game Type: Flash Game

There are three goals that I shall have achieved by the time the project is finished:

1. To have a working game with a maze level and working menu system.
2. To have a working maze selection so that the player can choose which maze to tackle.
3. Working character avatar (Circle) that can be directed through the maze.

Research

In terms of research, I shall be looking into existing maze games and their menu setups. It is also understood that there are many different types of maze games with many different forms of challenge for the player to undertake, and so through looking at these different games, I will be able to find and maybe incorporate different challenges into the project design in order to offer the player something different and challenging. I shall also be researching mazes that exist in real life, such as the maze that is situated outside of York.

Development Programs

The main program I shall be using will be Adobe Flash.