If real mice love cheese, then what about a clockwork mouse?
Help Chedda on his quest to discover what it means to be alive via the neighborhood cheese boxes.
Controls:
Press Go to start the level and then Press the swap polarity icon to swap polarities on our mouse!
This game was a submission ScoreSpace Jam #18 🕹️
You can play the game here
Rankings based on 126 total submissions for the ScoreSpace Jam #18 🕹️. We placed top 15% in the overall category.
For this game I was involved with Chedda's game design and level design.
The game involves one mouse whose only ability is to swap its own polarity in an attempt to reach the handle at the end of the level and move onto the next stage. There are a total of 6 levels in this game, with the first few levels introducing various simple concepts to prepare the player for harder levels in the future.
The Universe:
Chedda is a very simple sentient clockwork mouse that's interested in one thing: Cheese. But his yearn for cheese is not for the simple reason of its sharp cheese-like deliciousness (though that is one aspect of cheese that he quite enjoy). He yearns to find the answer to the question of "Am I a real mouse?". His logic is that since mice likes cheese and since he likes cheese as well, then he is just like a real mouse. But every time he runs this idea over in his mind he could never agree with it in entirety. So one day he decided that the only way he'll be able to truly know is if he goes around the world and snack on every single cheese in every fridge to see if he could truly understand cheese and therefore really believe that he too can be a mouse. So he departed from his clockwork hole-in-the-wall and set out on his cheese-filled journey!
Main Character and Abilities:
There is one main character:
Chedda
Basic abilities:
None
Chedda can't freely be controlled by the player unfortunately. He is a sentient being and prefers to move on his own.
Special abilities:
Swapping polarities
The mouse can swap his polarity to change his interaction with various interactive elements in the game
Controls:
Click Go to start the level
Click the change polarity icon to swap the mouse polarity
Comments:
the click input provides multiple functionalities. The first functionality is starting the level and starts moving the mouse. The second functionality is swapping the magnetic polarity of the mouse. The tertiary functionality of clicking outside of the main levels of the game is interacting with the UI elements of the game.
Gameplay Elements:
Interactive elements:
Magnets
There are two types of magnets: The red colored magnets (which have positive polarities) and the blue colored magnets (which have negative polarities). When the mouse is of the positive polarity, the mouse will repel itself from positively charged magnets (red magnets) and be attracted to negatively charge magnets (blue magnets). When the mouse is of the negative polarity, the mouse will repel itself from negatively charged magnets (blue magnets) and be attracted to positively charge magnets (red magnets).
To-do-list
To-do-lists prevent the player from passing through them in the level and will have to be circumvented through interactions with magnets in the level.
Rewards:
The ability to play the next level
Upon interaction with the Fridge Handle with the mouse, the player is moved to the next level to progress.
Graphics and Styling:
We wanted to keep the aesthetics of the game to be as cute as possible to give the game a lighter tone and overall brighter experience. Lighter colors were chosen for various assets in the game and the mouse character was given a friendly and cute appearance. The Art was done by Canvas. (Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flatwhitecanvas/)
Music and Sound Effects:
Chedda's music and sound effects will be of a lighter nature considering there are no serious elements in the game nor are there any elements that require music of a more dramatic nature. The music was done by Edward Tru. (YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsplBaxdelyeWbU4wqfloSQ)
Game audience:
I believe that Chedda will appeal to a more casual audience (and not hardcore gamers). The gameplay is very easy to understand and introduces the player to new things in a manageable way. In Chedda, the gameplay is kept simple so that it's accessible to all and to increase the player challenge, the levels are designed as interesting puzzles that encourage the player to utilize their knowledge of magnetic interaction between the mouse and the various magnets and to-do lists in order to complete the level. interesting puzzles coupled with the fact that there is no serious consequence for messing up in any given level further mitigates the frustration of the casual player and encourages them to work their way towards completing the level and allowing our existential clockwork mouse the opportunity to get that sweet cheese in the fridge. In terms of further increasing the reach Chedda has on its audience, I believe it's important that a game has familiar elements to make it easy for players to familiarize themselves with the game and understand it but also have new elements that help distinguish the game from existing games in the same genre. In the case of Chedda, there are familiar concepts of swapping magnetic polarities that are easy for a player to understand with a newer concept of interacting with obstacles near magnets that limit free movement for the mouse to provide new and interesting gameplay without confusing the player with complex concepts.
Level Design:
For each level, given the time constraints for the game jam, we wanted to introduce a few concepts. The first concept was being able to press the swap polarity button which allows the player to understand the interactions between the mouse and the various polarized magnets. The second concept is understanding the interaction between the to-do-list and the mouse (where it acts as a solid obstacles that blocks the mouse). The last concept is the understanding the goal (the handle) can be placed in different locations around the level.
The first level can be shown below in its entirety.
The Second Level can be shown in its entirety here:
The Third Level can be shown in its entirety here:
The Fourth Level can be shown in its entirety here:
The Fifth Level can be shown in its entirety here:
The Six Level can be shown in its entirety here:
