A Game of Cheese
A Game of Cheese is a casual, exploration focused open-world platformer loosely inspired by the hit TV show Breaking Bad. Experience life through the eyes of the members of a rat colony residing in the walls of a drug lab situated somewhere in 2005s Albuquerque.
Key features:
- 3D platforming & exploration
Jump, climb and vault in first person to explore a messy basement of a low-time drug dealer who enjoys their product a little too much.
- Mesmerizing visuals
A chaotic, grimy 3D environment meant to immerse you in the rat experience.
- Puzzles
Observe your surroundings to solve simple environmental puzzles and retrieve cheese from rat traps scattered around the basement.
- Upgrades
Increase your speed and improve your jumping ability by discovering hidden upgrades in form of Albuquerque’s most infamous drug – Methamphetamine.
- Circle of life
Upon death, resume the experience where your predecessors left off. Did they leave behind anything that could be of use to you?
Engine: Unreal Engine
Development time: 7 weeks
Team size: 9
Platform: PC
Level Design
UX Design
Game Design
I have created approximately 90% of the game's world. The process included whiteboxing, tweaking of lights and atmospherics, implementation of assets and prop design.
I created a number of quality of life solutions. This involved mostly the HUD, player mechanics and interactions with the environment.
Together with the rest of the design team, I have co-created and iterated the design of the core gameplay loop and various lesser mechanics.
GAME PILLARS
Exploration
Traversal
Puzzles
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Complete freedom of movement - if you see it, you can reach it
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Nonlinear
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Secrets
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Supported by player guidance mechanics
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Intuitive controls
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Everything is a platform
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Heavy emphasis on verticality
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Simple and rewarding
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Utilizes the environment and physics
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Encourages exploration
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Open-ended solutions
Explore the environment
CORE LOOP
Deliver cheese to checkpoints
Obtain cheese & upgrades / solve puzzles
BLOCKMESH / PROP DESIGN
Due to verticality of the level, I made a decision to begin with a blockmesh, rather than a traditional 2d sketch. Going straight to blockmeshing allowed me to test prototyped mechanics early and see how level geometry would affect gameplay.
COUCH
Another significant advantage of this method was instant visualization of the macro-scale level design and interconnectivity between different areas, which was very beneficial for the open-world nature of the game.
COUNTER &
CUPBOARDS
STAIRS
TANK (LATER CHALKBOARD / RECORD PLAYER)
This approach also gave me an opportunity to create quick prototypes of environmental assets. This required a lot of iteration and constant co-operation with the art team.
For this process I used a tool called SuperGrid, which allowed me to quickly adjust level geometry and keep track of dimensions.
DESIGNING KEY AREAS & PLAYER GUIDANCE
In the example to the right you can see how I have highlighted ascendible edges and framed intended paths.
Holding the RMB triggers the Smell Vision, a mechanic which allows the player to use their heightened sense of smell to detect collectibles and checkpoints.
During the early iterations playtesters had a difficult time navigating the level, which was caused by the large, open space. To help guide the players I have blocked off certain areas, decreasing visual overload.
