Windfolk - Sky is just the beginning
Windfolk - Sky is just the beginning is a indie project developed by 8 people full time.
Windfolk is a third person shooter with a main flight mechanic
The player plays Esen, a soldier who fights to protect the floating islands and the world where she lives.
The player has to put their skills to the test using different flight modes combining it with dynamic combat.
Different weapons and abilities allow the player to defeat his enemies in various ways.
The player can play two different game modes, single-player (campaign) and arcade mode (races and combat arena)
Responsibilities
In the development of "Windfolk - Sky is just the beginning" I have been working as different roles Game designer and Producer.
As Game designer I have been doing different kind of tasks:
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Game designer: Creating mechanics /documentation missions, level flow, etc...
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Level designer: Creating different levels of the game.
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Technical designer and scripter: Making systems for the game (race system, etc...) scripting the missions and tools for art/design department.
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UI designer: Designing and programming the UI for the game.
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Another tasks: Creating a music and sound system in UE for the game.
As Producer:
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Organizing the production of all departments.
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Managing times and tasks.
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Talking with publishers, externals, etc...
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Human resources.
Level design
The main challenge we faced was to create a level where the player had the possibility to reach all the places.
This, together with the size of the maps and the distance we had to move, was a problem both technically and in terms of design.
To solve this, we divided the levels into zones where the action was focused and using the racing system (among others) within the levels so that the movement between zones would be entertaining.
Mechanics
The game has two core mechanics: Flight and air combat.
To complete the experience and take advange of freedom we created simples but funny mechanics for player and enemies, having a funny combat and all the time.
This was a big challenge, because this was the first time creating and game with flight and air combat mechanic as core.
Air race design
"Windfolk" has an arcade mode in which the player can play different races.
I designed and programmed the air racing system and designed/implemented arcade and story mode races.
The biggest challenge was to achieve the necessary balance by balancing the resources (gasoline/energy) within the race and make it a fun experience.
User interfaze
I've been working on the UI of the whole game. We did several iterations to have the current one
One of the biggest problems was to reduce the amount of information on the screen, for weapons, skills, and health of enemies.