Project Overview
Pluto is an unforgiving resource management game created in under 48 hours for Ludum Dare 38's Compo entry. A newly terraformed planet must hit 1000 colonists to be considered a colony - turning it into "A Small World" (theme).
It is designed with simple controls in mind to allow the player to focus on strategy rather than complex systems to fulfil them. While the balance isn't perfect, in the time I had I still created gameplay that people found fun.
Design Objectives
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Very simple controls that are easy to pick up after an initial play session.
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Take a usually complex genre and simplify it while keeping challenge.
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Create all assets in 2D and apply mobile design principles.
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Scope everything for 1 person in under 48 hours.
Platform:
Windows/PC
Engine:
Unity
Scripting Language:
C#
Pipeline:
Unity 5, Photoshop CC, Audacity
Project Completed:
April 2017 (Ludum Dare 38)
Team Size:
1
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Gameplay Journey
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Started with a rule of having a minimal amount of buttons on the screen - there would also only be one available gameplay screen.
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Resource management allowed multiple uses for buttons while applying strategy.
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This in turn then acted like a puzzle and required pre-thinking.
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However it ended up being hard to balance as puzzles are susceptible to dominant strategies.
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To increase the need for the player to think about their actions the day system was added to all actions - also allowed an implicit goal of winning quickly.
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Initially the game was too easy so random events were added to push the player to prepare for an inevitable setback and test their limits to come back.
Simplicity In Art
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In keeping with simplicity and scope I created an art style based on Destiny's director art.
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Quick concepts in Photoshop gave me all of the templates to export which sped up the process.
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Each element was easy to animate which made getting the player's focus much easier (in terms of what was interactable and what wasn't).
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As with any game jam project it's hard to show polish and have a great game but this art style allowed me to do both.
Sound Design
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One of the main things I took from this jam was the importance of good audio.
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Audio was the only element of the game I didn't personally create.
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I chose sounds based on conveying the vastness of space and being relatable to the action they're paired to - Mass Effect Andromeda is a big inspiration.
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The music ties the game together as something well packaged - it is ambient enough for a strategy game but the drums help you keep pace.