Making the forge minigame

Hey everyone!

I'm currently putting together the game in code again, so at the moment there is no new art to wow you with :)

But instead I'd like to tell you a bit more about the forge minigame that I added in the previous update. So let's take a closer look at that!


The concept

Now I don't just want to add random minigames to the game. So I always try to let the mini-game connect with the story it appears in.

And this minigame is part of Y-jie her storyline, who is a plasma-smith and who is currently forging her own... well,  pleasure droid.

Now to put Keen in another uncomfortable situation, I thought it would be best to let him forge the key part of the pleasure droid.  Which is of course the metal rod ... as Keen calls it :)

Game Design

Now in order to come up with a game design,  I tried to analize what the essence of forging really is.

And in my opinion, forging is all about  reshaping heated metal by hammering on it. And you have to do it with a certain speed, because the metal cools off again, once you take it out of the oven. So then we get a game about skill & speed.


Prototype 1

Next I mixed up the game design with the story elements & came to the following first prototype.

Here you see  a heatwave that shoots through the Metal Rod.  And the idea was that you had to hit each heated square once, to hammer the Metal Rod into shape.

Soon after I made a color variant, where I tried to improve the readability of the mini-game.

Now the prototype I made, was litterally the image you see above. And I would be fake-tapping my finger on my screen, to see if the timing worked.

It was okay. But after fake-palying it a few times, I figuered the game should be less about speed and more about control.


Prototype 2

So next, I came up with this.

I lowered the speed, and randomized the heated areas. This made the game much easier (and so it fits better to the tempo of the main game).

But to avoid oversimplifying it, I had to add an new challenge. So I decided you had to hit each heated square 2 times (to reshape it into the perfect Metal Rod).   

I also needed a losing-condition. So if you accidentially would hit a square 3 times, instead of 2 - it cracks. And if you make 3 cracks you lose.

And that alltogether became the final version of this minigame ;)

Making the Art 

So next I made all the art for the minigame and gave that to Rob (programmer), who would make a working game out of it.

Here you see some of the various parts I drew for the game.

Final Result

And this is how it all came together in game! (This is 3 times faster then the actual game)

Well, I hope you found this an  interesting read!

I also love to hear what you thought of this minigame, did you like it - or can I still improve on it?

Let me know! :)   

All the best!

Robin