Dance Is Cast
Gamejam : TUFR02 (2021)
Theme : Alea Jacta EstDuration : 48h
Two games developers and a sound designer
Dance Is Cast is a rythmic puzzle game that requires dexterity and memorization In this game immersed in the 80’s where disco music reigns supreme, the player, interpreting Michael Jackson, seeks to rise to the top of the «Disco Throne». To achieve this, he must go through various disco scenes dotted with traps.
Goals and Challenges
The player must find and memorize one of the good paths to reach the exit of a level. Based on a grid-system composed of «true» or «false» boxes, he can only move on boxes adjacent to him. If the box on which he moves is true, then it can continue, otherwise he is brought back to the beginning of the level.
Also, he must move on the beat of the music. Indeed, if the player is out of time, he is sanctioned and the level is reset. To know the beat, he can either be based on his hearing or also by looking at the ball which is getting bigger
What have I learned ?
This game was my first participation in a Gamejam. The imposed format of making a complete game in only 48hours was unknown to me and my partners. As a result, we first learned the importance of prioritizing tasks, managing time and knowing how to compromise if necessary to ensure that the game is released on time.
To talk about the game itself, we realized the importance of the signs & feedbacks that were missing in our game and could lead the player to misunderstanding. This is the case especially during death, where no visual sign allows to know if the player was out of time or on a "false" box. Moreover, the game suffers from a lack of gamefeel: a simple addition of screenshake (quick to implement) would have already made the game much more enjoyable and satisfying.
Finally, our biggest mistake was to not putting checkpoints after each room. In this version, the player reaches a checkpoint after passing through 3 rooms. The objective was to increase the memory work. For example, if the player is in Room 2 and does a mistake, he is brought back to Room 1, which he must remember in order to return to Room 2. Nevertheless, this return to the starting point was a source of frustration that we realized during playtesting at the end of the Jam. It would have been wiser and more favorable to put checkpoints after each room, and make rooms whose difficulty gradually increases.
Honorable mentions
Our game was rewarded with the prize of the best atmosphere thanks to its music. Our bias, at the announcement of the theme, to start on a musical game worked. Indeed, Indeed, we wanted to differentiate ourselves from other games by making maximum use of our sound designers.
Different atmospheres rooms
