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A Chirp in Space Design History
Solo Project | May 2024
A Chirp in Space is my senior project, conceived out of an interest in exploring feelings of loneliness as well a player-controlled day/night cycle. The platforming mechanics revolve around the player's control over day and night. By directly engaging the player with environmental elements, the player feels isolated and small in comparison to the space around them.
The initial concept was relatively simple, but has been constantly expanded with "habitat" levels that behave as "mini-prototypes" of various game mechanics interacting with the core game mechanics. Likewise, the game was expanded with basic platforming mechanics, such as disappearing platforms, trampoline platforms, and moving platforms.
In A Chirp in Space, the player is an injured and flightless bird living on a space colony. Their family flew away to a new planet, leaving you behind. You use bird space technology, such as a planet rotator (day/night cycle control) and a boost jetpack (double jump) to collect Rocket Ship parts to repair your ship and return home.
Design Document
Watch the Trailer Below!
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The initial gameplay loop was simple: the player would rotate between day and night to traverse platforming challenges and collect "Rocket Ship Parts" (shown as a yellow sphere above) to rebuild their Rocket Ship and return to their family.
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In this initial prototype, character movement, collection, doors and keys, and planet rotation was implemented.
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At first, the player can only collect and return one rocket ship part at a time. This was done to prevent the player from getting stuck on one path, but was later updated to allow the player to collect multiple parts at once.
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Players can rotate between day and night to traverse platforms. They can also grab day and night keys, which is indicated in the UI. These keys can open day or night doors, but can only be held at their respective times of day.
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The first habitat I created rotated the camera when the player rotated between day and night. With this constraint, the player was tasked to complete a simple platforming challenge.
After further development, this habitat was removed from the game in favor of more engaging challenges.
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An additional gear rotation challenge was designed. However, instead of guiding a ball through the gears, the player rotates and climbs along those gears to collect a planet key.
The initial sketch of the first level.
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With a core gameplay loop built, a series of sub-levels, dubbed "habitats," were implemented. These rooms all focused on unique mechanics and challenges that helped break up the gameplay loop to keep players engaged. When a player completes a habitat room, they receive a planet key, which is not bound to day or night and opens planet doors.
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The second habitat I created is a simple gear rotation puzzle, with the gears rotating alongside the planet rotation mechanic. A moving platform was placed vertically to heighten the challenge. When the player overcomes the challenge, the ball will reach a button, which will unlock the planet key.
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After developing a set of mechanics and habitats, I began to build new levels that converged these ideas together and created a flow between the core gameplay loop and habitats. Ultimately, I also decided to allow the player to collect multiple Rocket Ship parts at the same time. However, the player was prohibited from entering habitats while holding rocket ship parts. This improved player flow while also pulling players away from a path, allowing them to reset and find new paths as well.
The first level in Unreal.
The second level in Unreal.
The initial sketch of the second level.
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Alongside the new levels, a series of habitats was designed.
This habitat focused on laser rotation, a key visual divergence from previous levels.
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A puzzle with invisible walls that only appear in player proximity and during the day or night.
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A platforming challenge where day and night rotate automatically without player control.
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In this habitat, the player bounces off of particularly bouncy trampoline platforms to reach disappearing platforms.
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Another laser rotation puzzle was made with a bigger emphasis on "chaining" together lasers.
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The player rotates various platforms in 90-degree increments to complete a platforming challenge.
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A challenge with a slowly moving platform. The player must quickly complete additional challenges to grab keys to open doors as the moving platform progresses to the planet key.
And so, development continues! Stay tuned for more updates!
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The first pieces of art were implemented in this build, allowing players to gauge the feel of the character and their in-game interactions.
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Updating the door element helped with communication, both in and out of the tutorial.
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The tutorial space received a visual update to create a more strong and consistent visual aesthetic.
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A new menu was made to more consistently represent the game and environment.
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The game world was still greyboxed, but some elements were being updated.
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The ground and background environment elements were updated to help flesh out the space.
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The ground and background environment elements were updated to help flesh out the space.
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More designed UI was implemented to help clarify actions in the tutorial level.
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In what I call the "Screenshot Build," the environment around the first level was fully built, allowing me to take screenshots for initial advertising.
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The door design was updated with an animated texture to make each door feel more like a "force field."
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Green Goop ~ A Birds worst enemy. A bubble effect was added to the goop to reinforce it's danger to the player. This also helped make the environment feel more involved and active.
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A Shader was made to create a more cartoonish environment.
The main menu was updated and presented in windowed mode, so that the player could easily move the game between screens. This, alongside many small UI changes, focused on improving and polishing the play experience, from menu to gameplay.
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The new shader was applied to all levels, creating a cohesive aesthetic.
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