Idol Run

Idol Run is a 1st-person VR game where the player has to race to the finish by climbing over, under, and around obstacles. Additionally, the player has to throw themselves from hand-hold to hand-hold to progress through the game.

After the game jam, everyone on the team loved the project, and we decided to present the game at the upcoming OrlandoIX tech and gaming convention. We worked on the game for another weekend, allowing me to create another level with newly created mechanics.

Play the game on your HTC Vive:

Highlights:

1st-person, 3D, virtual-reality game
7-person team
Lead Level Designer
Worked on for additional weekend after game jam
Created both campaign levels
Created traversal puzzles for a VR play-space
Worked with other level designer to create cohesive experience
Presented at OrlandoIX tech and gaming convention

Screenshots:

Level Designs:

The Process:

The climbing mechanic is rewarding to use, and after a little time playing with the mechanic myself, creating levels was easy. Since Idol Run is a speed-running game, all levels were designed to let skilled players take advantage of deep mechanical knowledge.

The most important part of the level design was to make it easy enough to play through, while still encouraging speed-running game play.

The other level designer had never worked in Unity before. This gave me the opportunity to teach him the fundamentals of level design, as well as show him how to navigate the Unity engine.

OrlandoIX

Convention Takeaway:

Idol Run had a positive response at OrlandoIX, with players playing for 10-20 minutes at a time. However, there were a couple of major problems with the level designs.

Because we developed the game so rapidly, levels were only playtested by our team. This resulted in the levels being much more difficult than we expected. Most playtesters only got through the first campaign level, and at a much slower time than expected. All created levels should have been much easier.

Additionally, we didn’t take into account child players. Because all of our playtesting was done by adults, the distance between hand-holds was designed for wingspans of 5-6 feet. This size requirement made it difficult for kids to play and enjoy our game.

In the future, I must take into account every kind of player. This is achieved with playtests by diverse people. If we had done this for Idol Run we could have avoided these issues.