PROJECT HIGH LIGHT

Using pickups to shape your own character

Level Layout & map consistency

Trophy instead of Traditional HP bar

2D Rigging Animation

AI supported Art Design & Scripting

Game & Core Mechanics

Matches are time-limited competitive encounters between two players.Instead of a traditional health bar, the game uses a central trophy control system to represent momentum. Taking damage shifts the trophy toward the opponent’s side, and victory is achieved by pushing it fully to the enemy side or maintaining positional advantage when time expires.

Characters are built around three core archetypes — damage-focused, speed-focused, and defense-focused — which define baseline playstyles but can be dynamically altered during the match.

Combat unfolds in real time within an environment that continuously introduces disruption. Special events occur every 30 seconds, including bomb spawns, rotating platforms, and pickup bonus phases. These events create unpredictability and provide opportunities for momentum shifts and comebacks.

Replayability is driven by a pickup-based stat modification system. Players can collect up to 10 pickups per match, modifying five attributes: attack, defense, speed, dodge rate, and critical hit rate. Different combinations allow players to reshape their build mid-match, encouraging adaptive strategies and emergent playstyles.

​​​​​​​Overall, the game emphasizes positional control, resource timing, and environmental awareness, creating a competitive experience driven by momentum rather than simple damage accumulation.

Level Design Goals

• Test player execution skills

• Gradually escalate player pressure

• Create comeback opportunities for disadvantaged players

• Reinforce strategic commitment

• Encourage players to adapt strategies

Player Experience Goals

The goal is to create an accessible and easy-to-learn competitive experience that supports a wide range of playstyles through player-driven stat modification.

This encourages experimentation, replayability, and skill improvement over time. Dynamic level events introduce variability and prevent one-sided matches, enabling momentum shifts and comeback opportunities.

Level Structure

Player Journey Diagram & Pacing Design

Player Decision Structure

ART DESIGN

​​​​​​​For the overall visual style of the game, I aimed for something fun, quirky, and intentionally non-hardcore. Centered around this vision, I designed the characters, backgrounds, VFX, UI, and other game art elements. The final presentation feels cohesive and visually harmonious, successfully capturing the tone I originally envisioned.

Character Design

Using keywords "American comic style," "simple colors," and "bold lines," I generated a series of images with ChatGPT-4o. These images served as inspiration for designing five original characters.

Characters ChatGPT4o generated (Left)  Characters I Designed (Right)

2D Animation

Considering the short production timeline and the heavy workload of a solo project, I decided to use skin rigging for animation instead of time-consuming frame-by-frame animation.

VFX

To enhance the sense of impact and highlight the game's quirky tone, I used comic-style onomatopoeia as visual hit effects, and personally created both attack and damage sound effects for the characters.

Background

In line with the character design, the environment features bold outlines and blocky colors. To reinforce the combat theme, I incorporated a stylized arena frame that is attached to the camera, dynamically moving with the characters.

Narrative Design

Before the fight starts, I introduced the story through comic slides and AI voiceovers, helping players instantly connect with their tribe and step into the battle in the character.

Setting the narrative part in the beginning also helps not disrupting the battle.

Playtesting & Iteration

Multiple playtesting sessions revealed issues related to control responsiveness, combat clarity, map readability, and match pacing. Several adjustments were implemented based on player feedback.

Control & Combat Responsiveness

Early testing showed that jump input timing felt unresponsive, so jump detection was changed to trigger on key press rather than key release.Players also reported inconsistent combat feedback: characters could rotate during normal attacks, allowing unintended back hits, and special attacks could be interrupted, reducing their impact. To address this, movement and facing direction are now locked during attack execution. Special attacks also apply a short stun to the target, reinforcing their sense of impact and commitment.

Map Design & Movement Flow

Players felt that excessive traps discouraged movement. The number of spikes was reduced and repositioned to avoid interfering with standard platform navigation. Spikes now primarily function as aerial hazards triggered by knockback rather than constant movement barriers.To improve readability, rotating platforms were given a clear visual indicator to help players anticipate environmental changes.

Match Pacing & Win Condition

Originally, matches only ended when the timer expired. However, when skill differences between players were large, the disadvantaged player often felt locked into an unwinnable situation. To address this, an early victory condition was introduced: if the central trophy reaches a threshold position, the round ends immediately. This allows faster match turnover and maintains engagement even in uneven matchups.

Planned Improvements

Some issues identified during testing could not be fully implemented within the project timeframe. Potential future improvements include dynamic balancing to support trailing players and clearer item feedback through more intuitive visual representation and stacking indicators. Expanding item effects beyond simple stat boosts is also planned to increase gameplay depth.

Reflection

Overall, I am satisfied with the outcome of this project and its level of functional completeness. Playtesting showed strong player engagement, with many groups choosing to replay multiple rounds, suggesting that the design successfully supported accessibility and replayability.

Through this project, I developed foundational programming skills and gained practical experience in refining game feel for competitive gameplay. I also learned animation rigging and improved my ability to iterate based on player feedback within production constraints. Completing the project within the given timeframe significantly strengthened both my technical confidence and my understanding of player-centered design.