Food
Fling
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Project Status: Completed
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Project Type: Team Project
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Project Duration: 6 months
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Software Used: Unity
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Languages Used: C#
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Primary Role(s): Lead Designer
About Food Fling
Food Fling is a 2 player online food fight game that was developed for my Bachelor's Degree in Game Development final year project. The game started off as an idea of trying to combine my love for food and action style multiplayer games, which evolved into this game in the end. The game was made using the Unity engine alongside a team of 2 programmers with my assistance in building the game's level and VFX. This project has given me a lot of inside into not only how to manage a team but also how to think when making a multiplayer game.
gameplay mechanics
Dish Effects
Having Dishes in the game have their own unique effects when thrown by the players adds a layer of depth to the game's combat while being a cool game-changing item for the players when used at the right time:
The idea for this mechanic came when we wanted to showcase more foods with a deep and interesting cultural history for the countries we were using for the game. After researching and thinking about how we could fit them into the game without changing anything already established, we came to the conclusion to add effects to them. This worked because not only were we able to add food that looked very different from the basic ones we have that do nothing when thrown, but it also added another level of complexity and fun when used alongside the basic foods, hazards and character abilities.
The different effects for the Dishes where some would deal extra damage, heal players or even pull players closer to another player, added very unique interactions between the characters and the game arena itself. Players strategized where they were able to perform insane moments in a match by utilizing their character's abilities, the Dish's effects and the hazards around the arena which has led to very clever and clutch wins. Making sure it spawns less frequently than regular food is key to ensuring the game remains balanced and players think carefully when using a Dish so not to waste it,
Player Tag Team and abilities
A way to compromise when designing the game to be able to showcase all 4 characters the game originally had with the tight time frame we had for delivering the project while still making them a fun and key piece in the game's combat:
The original idea for the game was to have 4 different characters each with an ultimate they could do when a meter or charge is filled up from doing damage and playing the game. Similar to the mechanic in Overwatch. However, due to certain technical difficulties we had when actually creating the game on our side, I had to rethink and figure out a way to still include all 4 characters in the game while still finding a reason why they should be included. This is because the assets for them were already made and the original pitch for the game heavily leaned into having the 4 characters. Removing them felt too much of change in my books.
After consulting a fellow lecturer and brainstorming a few ideas on my own to find a solution, we decided to have a tag team mechanic for the game where players were able to switch between 2 characters with different stat increases and decreases in their abilities. Similar to how a fighting game would work. This not only solved the problem of how to include all 4 characters but more importantly, by having each character have a strength and weakness, players were able to come up with very fun and powerful combos using each character's strength to make up for the other's weakness. This made the combat more exciting and deliberate where the player's choice of characters mattered and could greatly impact their chances of winning.
Arena Hazards
A clever way to keep players on their toes when playing and having to keep an eye out for something other than the opponent, but also as a way to help them in a match if they can take advantage of it:
Within the arena or level of Food Fling, there are 3 major hazards the players have to watch out for, a water hose that shoots water, a cat that scratches and a dog that steals food. The reason they were included was back when I was thinking of the overall design for the game to pitch to my lecturers, when I prototyped a very simple block out of the game, just having 2 players running around throwing food felt boring and the issue came up where it was very easy for an experienced player to make a match very onesided. So, I did my research into different multiplayer action games and came across Bake N Switch and Deep Rock Galactic.
Both games had very few similarities to Food Fling but what they did have was the inclusion of randomly timed environmental hazards that could really make it difficult for the players if they were not paying attention. I decided to prototype that into the game and having the inclusion of these hazards not only levelled the playing field by giving the experienced player something else to keep an eye out for, but also the ability for players to combo with these hazards with different dishes. Having this double-edged mechanic has led to some crazy, fun and tense moments in the game where a well-timed Dish throw with the hazard managed to win the match for a player sitting on 1 heart while the opponent still had 5.