Ika’s Odyssey is a puzzle-platformer in which you play as Ika, a wounded woodpecker who lost his ability to fly. Because of his injury, he’s forced to walk his path of migration before winter’s frigid grasp brings him an untimely demise.I was the sole developer for this project, meaning I was responsible for everything in the end product – all design, programming, art, and music was made by me.This project’s development lasted 8 months, and the game’s runtime is ~5 hours. There are 60 puzzle-box levels, each harder than the last. The game was developed using Unity.
My philosophy on game design is that the interplay between struggle and satisfaction is the core of any memorable gaming experience. Making the player feel the push and pull of these opposing concepts is my ultimate goal when designing. This feeling can take many forms in different genres: for example, in horror games, the struggle may be running away from a monster’s pursuit, while the satisfaction is managing to get away unscathed. Removing either of these elements would result in a game feeling flat and unbalanced, so it is imperative to ensure the player feels struggle and satisfaction in equal measure for a memorable experience. For a puzzle game like Ika’s Odyssey, I started with this core dichotomy between struggle and satisfaction in mind – what should the player be struggling for at this moment? How can they overcome these struggles in the most satisfying way? How can my design decisions support these feelings?
Lock: An obstacle in the level that may prevent progression or can be interacted with to alter the environment.
Key: An item in the level that can interact with Locks, either removing Locks from the level or altering the Lock’s state in order to progress.
It would be highly unsatisfying to simply find a Key laying right next to a Lock to complete a level. To prevent this monotony, I designed a crafting system for the game. Most levels can only be completed by finding raw materials and using them to craft the necessary Key to progress.To craft an item, both playable characters must be together and holding one item each. If the items have a compatible crafting recipe, they will combine the items into a new item. For some Locks, one combination is enough – but others require several consecutive combinations before the correct solution is found. Many Keys also have reactions to environmental elements in the levels. Any item with a fire element can burn down wooden obstacles, melt ice, and illuminated darkness, but will also be extinguished when submerged in water.
The player’s objective in each level is simple: Get both characters to the Exit Arrow, typically located at the rightmost area of the level. However, as the level designer, each level in Ika’s Odyssey has two objectives:
1. Add to the player’s knowledge
2. Test the player’s knowledge.
This is accomplished through a combination of Locks and Keys that the player has not yet encountered.
1. Outline objective for the level.
a. What does the player need to learn for the next level?
b. How can they prove mastery of the previous levels?
2. Decide which obstacles should populate the level.
a. How should they be placed?
b. How can this arrangement mimic an organic, believable environment?
c. How can these obstacles test the player’s knowledge of previous problems?
3. Determine the necessary items and environmental components to circumvent obstacles.
a. Ensure the obstacles are seen first, the player should already think about what they need to look for.
b. How can these solutions iterate on the player’s knowledge?
4. Block out a general layout for the level.
a. Use simple polygons to plan out platforms and points of interest
b. Mark potential locations for items and obstacles
5. Prototype level.
a. Use Unity Tilemap system to quickly create multiple versions of the level
b. Iterate on what works, cut out what doesn’t work
c. Experiment with item locations to find best flow for level
6. Playtest.
a. Gather player data for initial level layout.
b. Pinpoint pain points of current design
c. Incorporate notable feedback into the next design.
7. Add environmental art.
a. Don’t place things haphazardly: this step is vital to maintaining the illusion of the game world.
Story should be a motivational force for the player. Not every player is intrinsically motivated to complete games — many need a larger objective to motivate them to engage with games on a level-to-level basis. However, there is a fine balance to be struck when it comes to story and gameplay. They should complement each other while each having room to breathe on their own. Given the pace of Ika’s Odyssey, I opted for an end-of-world check in approach. Each world (Day) is comprised of 5 levels, and the focus of these levels is to gradually introduce new mechanics to the player. Excessive dialogue and character interactions in the midst of this would serve as a distraction to the player and break the flow of learning and mastery. The migration logs give a glimpse of Ika’s personality and motivations, as he opines on the previous level and prepares for what’s ahead. Each log entry is warmer than the last, as Ika becomes fond of his traveling companion, and comes to see that he needs him more than he’d like to admit. Narrative should feel natural and should never be a nuisance to a player. This approach allows players to engage with the narrative as much as they please, and can be ignored or sped through on subsequent playthroughs.
The core theme of Ika’s Odyssey is hope, but more specifically that even hopeless circumstances can be conquered with teamwork. This is propped up by the mechanics of the game: no level can be solved without using both characters.The crafting system requires the characters to be together, and for each character to bring an item to the recipe. Individually, each character is useless – but together, they have the tools and the skillset to conquer anything.
One of the most important aspects of this project’s development was maintaining detailed documentation for all facets of development. As sole developer, I had to take meticulous notes and frequently create new goals to stay on track. My goal was to finish the game in a year, but my self-imposed deadlines and diligent design documentation helped me complete the entire project in just 8 months.
Feel free to reach out for new project discussions or just to talk games!
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