Summary
Solo project (Jason Nago for the UI)
Date: 2022 (~1 month)
Tools: Photon Network (PUN), Unity3D, C#, Git
Description
Prop Hide is a 3D multiplayer party game inspired by the classic Garry’s Mod – PropHunt. It is a deadly hide and seek game where the hunter has to identify the prey among the objects on the map. Both the hunter and the prey have limited health points. The hunter loses health points when shooting at real objects and the prey when hit.
Map design
First of all, you have to know that the hunter has 100 HP and that each missed shot costs him 2 HP. Therefore, I first thought that the map should not contain more than 80-90 objects because the hunter has only 50 shots. So, I created a rather small map with a building taking up almost the whole map.
After a few games of playtesting, I realized that our brain memorize a lot of information. We end up remembering almost all of the elements and therefore, allowing us to quickly identify the hidden players.
So, I extended the map by creating different important areas around the main square. This increased the number of objects to 250 in the map. The choice to make distinct areas with a limited number of different objects and a large number of similar objects is quite voluntary. After several tests, I realized that players could easily count the objects in small groups. It is much harder to remember an area with 30 objects than 10 areas with 3 objects.
I still kept groups of medium-sized objects (5 to 10 objects) and small groups (1 to 4 objects). This ensures riskier hiding places but less studied by the hunters and increases considerably the possibilities for the hunted.
Memory of colors
So, I gave the prey a lot to hide behind. But how do the hunters find the other players? After all, there are about 250 items and the hunters can only shoot about 50! The answer is simple; I use colors a lot. Colors allow us to have reference points for our memory. The example below is blatant: the 3 yellow trash cans stuck together are blatant, while in the picture on the left, there is no choice but to count exactly each group of trash cans.
Same examples here, where the choice of colors simplifies the memorization work and allows the players to quickly understand how the map works.
What I learned
This game is probably my most ambitious project at the moment. I took the risk of creating, for the first time, a game that is both multiplayer and 3D! In the first few weeks, I was mostly in a learning phase and I discovered a lot of things. It is precisely when you step out of your comfort zone that you appreciate the result all the more.
Indeed, I am delighted with this experience, I have always been a multiplayer player, and there is nothing more enjoyable than playing with friends. I really enjoy playing it! It is a rare thing for a video game developer. It is a party game, and no matter if I developed it or if I created the map, my friends always manage to surprise me with new hiding places.
Finally, I would say that I have learned to listen to the feedback of the players. Since I am planning to release version 2 of the game (which is going to be very ambitious), I took the time to listen to their remarks, but especially to understand how and why they felt the need to change a part of the game. This enlightened me as to what was well done and what needed to be reworked.