Psybot Project Page

Overview

Psybot is a short 2D Retro Puzzle Platformer built in Godot within 10 Weeks. Taking inspiration from Retro Platformers, Psybot explores the simple Mechanic of grabbing and throwing enemies over the course of 4 Distinct Areas and 29 Levels.

You play as Psybot, a Ruin Exploration Bot that fall down a ravine and onto a crystal that impales it and also grants it telekinetic powers. Still following it's Prime Directive Psybot uses these newfound Powers to explore and fight through the ancient ruins of a Crystal Worshipping underground civilization.

Psybot was the first full game anyone in the Team had worked on and the First Game I had the honour to Design.

Through one of the most productive and efficient Brainstorming sessions I've ever had: we had decided on a Mechanic, Main Character and Setting. Enabling me to start working on ideas for Level Mechanics immediately.

From then on I gradually built upon my first Ideas, defining and refining the Gameplay Loop, Core Mechanics and Enemies. Concurrently I worked on the Worldbuilding, using the planned Mechanics to inspire the Areas Psybot traverses. Creating Lore and even an Alphabet for the Ancient Civilization to aid and inspire the Artists' Environments and Backgrounds.

Though we had to crunch for the last 2 weeks we managed to bring the Game to a finished state that we were all happy with before the Deadline.

The First sketched Pages made shortly after the Team had concluded our first Brainstorming Session.

Working out win Conditions for Levels and Enemy Behaviour

From our first Prototype to the final Product. Hashing out the Details of the Environment and the scaling of the Player and Enemies in relation to it was something we refined at every step of our Production.

Once I has the Tools to make them, creating Levels became a organized Assembly Line. Sketches I had made early on were remade in Engine were I tested and Improved on the Layout before handing it off to David, the Environment Artist, for set dressing.
Later changes to the Level were based on Playtesting feedback.

Some Examples of how my Level Design Improved as I became more comfortable and experienced with the Engine and the Mechanics.

Working closely with the Artist I managed to push for unique Checkpoint rooms and Dialogue portraits. The Dialogue System was one of the last features implemented by me over the course of the second-to-last weekend of development.

The Team

With four artists and one Designer, Programmer and Producer each our Team had everything we needed to create Psybot, except for a Sound Designer.

Our Workflow was highly collaborative, so we split the task of creating Sound Effects and Music between ourselves as well as some royalty-free Music from the internet.