Micro Machines 

Level Design q&a - Idea generation - Blueprint & Bubble Diagram

Micro Machines Level Design Analysis

Design Questions: Micro Machines

Where are the levels set?

The levels are set in various different everyday environments, these include a bath, sandbox, breakfast table, workbench, an office, poker table and many more.

Why?

The levels are set in everyday places because it is meant to replicate the childhood of the player, basically where a child would imagine tracks in their mind and use a toy car to race against the imaginary racers.

What is unique about the track layout?

The track is made up of everyday objects such as cereal or nails, these make the barriers and layout of the tracks and give a uniqueness against other racing games.

What else is featured in the track design?

In the various tracks jumps, obstacles, hazards and water pools are featured in the levels to add an extra layer of uniqueness and replay ability to each level as every car has different driving styles that better suit each environment.

Apart from levels/races what else changes in the game?

The opponents that the player races against changes throughout the tournament of levels. Also, the different hazards that are encountered in the different levels change based on the environment that the player has entered. In addition to this, the vehicle that the player drives also changes from level to level, these all come with different driving abilities.

Design Questions: My Micro Machines Game

Where is the level set?

In my Micro Machines game I am planning to create my level in a swimming pool, but the environment will change if the player is to jump out of the pool. It will change to a busy garden filled with toys, BBQs etc.

Why?

After playing Micro Machines, I have combined a few level design ideas and decided to incorporate a new game mechanic where the player's vehicle will change from a boat to a car depending whether they are present in water or not.

What is unique about the track layout?

The track layout is very unique because it will feature a change in environment and also various boosts and power ups. Also, the track will be laid out using typical summer garden objects such as spatulas, BBQ racks, chairs, tables, parasols etc

What else is featured in the track design?

In my level, I will include multiple hazard types and also include a shortcut system where a shortcut route will appear if the player has met a certain condition; this can be in the form of picking up a secret object or driving into the unknown and hoping for the best. The level will also feature a change in environment and playable vehicle based on different conditions of the player.

Apart from levels/races what else changes in the game?

In the race the environments that the player will face will change, resulting in vehicle changes as well. This can be done by including invisible objects that trigger a global variable changing the animation and design of the vehicle sprite. For example the vehicle will change from a car to a boat when they enter the inflatable paddling pool and will change back to a car when they exit the water. In addition to this, power-ups and boosts will change the play style of the game.

Idea Generation:

Workshops -

Race Surface - The race surface could be represented by a table and multiple rusty tools such as saws, hammers and spanners.

Track Layout - The track layout could be represented by spilled nails and tools.

Obstacles and Hazards - The hazards and obstacles throughout the track can be represented by moving chainsaws, oil spills, sawdust and off cuts of wood.

Game Students’ Room -

Race surface - The race surface of the track in the game students’ room could be represented by tables, desks, messy carpet, PC’s and Consoles.

Track Layout - The track layout can be represented by spilled Pot Noodles, wires and piles of books.

Obstacles and Hazards - The hazards could be represented by exposed wires, liquid spills and dust.

A Study/ Office -

Race surface - The race surface of this track can be represented by desks, printers, wall partitionings and office chairs.

Track layout - The track layout can be represented by piles of paper, coffee mugs, chair legs and table legs.

Obstacles and Hazards - The hazards in the office level can be represented by spilled coffee, printer ink, shredders, shredded paper and moving chairs.

Bubble Diagram

Level Blueprint

space Invaders re-skin 

Idea Generation

Idea Generation

Idea 1- 

Theme - Toy Story

Player - Buzz Lightyear, Woody

Aliens - Emperor Zurg, Evil Doctor Porkchop, Toy Story Aliens

Barriers - Barrel of monkeys or cardboard boxes, trash bags

Weapons - Mixture of toys - Yo-Yo, Buzz’s Laser, Woody's Lasso, Snake in a boot launcher

Idea 2-

Theme - Minecraft

Player - Steve, Alex or Iron Golem

Aliens - Creepers, Zombies, Spiders, Skeletons

Barriers - Obsidian or Bedrock

Weapons - Mixture of Minecraft weapons - Bows, Crossbows, Snowballs, Potions

Idea 3-

Theme - The Dark Knight - Batman

Player - Batman

Aliens - Batman Movie villains - Joker, Ivy, Bane, Riddler, Mister Freeze, Scarecrow and Clay Face.

Barriers - Batmobile

Weapons - Batarang

This first idea of theming around Toy Story came from a game that I used to play as a child on the Nintendo DS Toy Story 3, this featured a similar game mode that allowed the player to encounter enemy waves and the player, Buzz Lightyear would have to defeat the wave of enemies before the timer ran out. I think that this idea would fit the game mechanics of Space Invaders well because I could quite easily adjust Space Invaders with Toy Story elements. I think this would be a great choice for a theme because Toy Story is still a very popular movie series and this is proven by the IMDB list that I found ranking Toy Story as the 76th most popular movie of all time. (IMDB Amazon, 2024). The second idea was to theme my Space Invaders game around Minecraft, by choosing a Minecraft theme I would be able to incorporate an array of different power-up abilities or potion effects that would positively or negatively affect the player. Also, the enemies or aliens could easily be adjusted to a Minecraft form as most enemies can throw weapons e.g., arrows, tridents or webs. Also, I planned this idea because Minecraft is still a chart-topping game despite being released over 10 years ago and has been ranked the second best selling video game in the world, with over 300 million copies sold as of 2023 (IGN, 2023). The final idea was to theme my game around The Dark Knight, this would include many Batman themed enemies and weapons. I think this would be a great idea to execute because The Dark Knight was ranked the 3rd best movie on the IMDB chart list (IMDB Amazon, 2024).

Bibliography:

IGN. (2023) The 10 Best-Selling Video Games of All Time [Website]. Available from: 

https://www.ign.com/articles/best-selling-video-games-of-all-time-grand-theft-auto-minecraft-tetris [Accessed 25 January 2024]

IMDB, Amazon. (2024) IMDB Charts, IMDB Top 250 Movies [Website]. Available from: https://www.imdb.com/chart/top/  [Accessed 25 January 2024]