Zoey and the magic paintbrush
Zoey and the magic paintbrush
Trailer
Zoey Level Details and Progression
Levels 1-7: A deep dive
Level 1: Green Bridge
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Challenge Rating: Easy-Peasy (Easy)
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Level Summary
Level 1 focuses on teaching players about the UI, green lines, and gems. The dotted line helps players know where to draw the green line and how to get to the end portal.
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This is the intended solution to Level 1.
Here is a picture of the animated tutorial showing how lines can be drawn, and that Zoey will collide with them.
Design Goals:
​My design goals with Level 1 were to introduce the core gameplay concepts to the Player through use of tutorial imagery and a simple solution. In order to succeed, the Player needed to draw a line connecting the platforms. Every minimal thing the Player needs to know to succeed in the game is represented here: The differences between the Draw and Play Stage, that Zoey will interact with the environment, that one can draw lines that Zoey will interact with, that gems need to be collected, and that reaching the end portal wins the map.
Gameplay
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Players see a quick animated tutorial, and then are presented with the level. Player eyes are intended to be drawn to both bright colorful portals and the green dotted line, the arrow indicating the starting area, and the angle of the level indicating general level flow. A smaller depiction of the tutorial animation remains to assist in conveyance of the basic mechanics.
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When players hit the“Play” button, Princess Zoey spawns from the A1 start portal, and if no line is drawn, Zoey will roll down towards the green dotted line, collect the B1 gem, and will fall out of the level, indicating that something about the line is incomplete, and that the Princess can interact with her environment physically.
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When the line is drawn across the dotted line, Zoey will roll towards the portal collecting all gems along the way.
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By collecting all gems, the player will naturally roll into the Exit Portal A2, and will have won the level.
Level 2: Turn-Around
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Challenge Rating: Easy-Peasy (Easy)
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Level Summary
Level 2 focuses on teaching players about the eraser tool and reinforcing what they learned from Level 1.
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Gameplay
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Players are brought straight into the level without a tutorial, as no new UI tools are presented. Here they are given a similar green-dotted line to indicate a new way to draw lines, which also will bring them into direct interaction with the Star Pickup.
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Should the players not draw a line, Zoey will fall and roll off the level without collecting any gems. If the line should be drawn, the player will collect all gems, and due to the physics, will fly off the edge of the line towards the portal, indicating in a more concrete way the limits of the physics of the environment.
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Should the line be drawn properly, the player will collect all Gems and exit via the A2 Portal.
Here is the solution to the level as intended.
Design Goals:
Level 2's design goals were to reinforce the core concepts introduced in Level 1, while teaching the Player that they could do more than connect platforms. By creating curved lines, Players can maneuver Zoey to the other side of the screen.
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Additionally I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce the Eraser tool, by forcing the Player to contend with the Green Lines blocking their path. I introduce this mechanic specifically at this stage, as it would be too much to introduce in Level 1, and we've given the Player just enough Paint to paint a version of the solution above, meaning that they may need to erase and try again for a more precise line.
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This is the solution as intended.
Here is a picture of our animated tutorial, teaching the Player to Erase.
Gameplay
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Players are presented with a short animated tutorial indicating how to use the eraser tool. Afterwards players are presented with the level to begin strategizing, their eye drawn to the portals and the bright thick green lines within their path. Once again, a smaller version of the tutorial animation remains visible on the left-hand side.
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Players spawn from A1 start portal, and if they do not use the eraser tool to remove the green-lines, Zoey will roll into the large green-lines and will not be able to move forward. This forces the player to find another solution, in this case the eraser tool.
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Once the lines are erased, the player will be able to collect Gems B1 and B2, and will roll out of bounds, unless they draw a line along the green-dotted lines. These lines indicate new ways the player can draw lines for later on in gameplay, in this case using a curved line to go the other direction.
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After players have drawn all lines, Zoey will roll towards the A2 Exit Portal having collected all Gems.
Level 3: HillSide
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Challenge Rating: Easy-Peasy (Easy)
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Level Summary
Level 3 teaches players to leap over gaps or obstacles and introduces the star as an additional pickup.
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Design Goals:
My focus for Level 3 was to compound the concept of the curved line to demonstrate how one could create hills for Zoey to roll across gaps. I continued to use the dotted line in these early stages, as I wanted to be sure the Player knew how to perform these maneuvers to better enjoy the more challenging later levels.
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I also introduced the Challenge Star in this level, and placed it so the Player would have to run into it, showing them how it relates to our UI, that it wasn't dangerous, and to encourage the Player to grab it moving forward as it has a special noise and effect when grabbed. The goal was to introduce that grabbing these Stars was attractive, so that the Player would challenge themselves to grab it again when the challenge at a higher rating.
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Level 4: Marble-Slide
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Challenge Rating: Easy-Peasy (Easy)
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Level Summary
Level 4 reinforces green line skills and has no dotted line as multiple solutions are possible, and to act as a challenge to players.
Gameplay
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Players are presented with the level with no dotted lines. This level exists to reinforce the lessons learned thus far, by having similar geometry to levels 1 and 2.
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Should players not draw a line, Zoey will roll and collect Gems B1 and B2, rolling out of bounds on the bottom layer near B3, indicating to the player the general flow and layout of the level.
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If players only connect platforms as per Level 1, they can collect all of the Gems and technically succeed in the level. If Players also draw a curved line to change direction as per Level 2, they can collect all gems and the Star Pickup. This teaches players that the Star is an additional challenge based upon what they have learned thus far.
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After collecting all Gems, the player will exit via Portal A2.
This level was the first to really use the Challenge Star for multiple solutions.
This solution was a throw-back to the very first level, and was easiest for the Player to understand.
The Challenge solution was a throw-back to level 2, requiring a bit more imagination to complete.
This level was the first to really use the Challenge Star for multiple solutions.
Design Goals:
Marble-Slide was my first Level to implement our concept of multiple solutions. By slowly introducing the mechanics of the game, I could now remove the dotted lines and allow the Player to attempt to solve the puzzle unaided. For this reason, the solution intentionally mirrors the solutions to Level 1 and 2, to better ensure the Player can connect that previous solutions will aid in future puzzles. I use the Challenge Star here to reward the Player on the more difficult to imagine solution, requiring a more precise curved line.
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Level Summary
The Level 5 teaches players about Red Paint base functionality. As Red Lines allow the Player to accelerate along their length, we wanted to demonstrate this elegantly by sending the Player up a hill.
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Level 5: Uphill-Zoom
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Challenge Rating: Kinda Easy-Peasy (Moderate)
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Level 5 was where we wanted to show the Player how to use Red Paint.
Gameplay
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Players are presented with a uphill cliff to overcome, and a new type of Paint to use. Here we bring back the animated tutorials to show what happens when Zoey collides with a Red Line, and a Red Dotted Line to encourage Players to trace their new Paint up the hill.
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By tracing the Red Dotted Line, Players are able to grab the B1, B2, and B3 gems, along with the B4 Star at the end, acting as a reward for making the connection.
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Players reach the A2 portal and finish the level.
Design Goals:
Level 5 was intended to be the Player's first introduction to Red Paint, a paint that could grab and accelerate Zoey along its length. As the behavior of Red Paint is the most fantastical, I felt it was important to isolate the level to its most basic feature, the ability to defy gravity.
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In order to ensure the Player understood the Red Line functionality quickly, I placed a Red Dotted Line, and an animated tutorial to suggest what the Red Paint could do, and where to place it. Additionally, I placed all level objectives along the intended path of the Red Line, to create a satisfying reward for drawing it properly. These elements worked in concert, to ensure that Players of all kinds with several learning styles could arrive at the same conclusion. Additionally, I also placed a ceiling over the portal to ensure the Player could not fling themselves out of the level by mistake.
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Level Summary
Level 6 is designed to teach players how to use Red Paint to jump over obstacles.
Level 6: Ski-Jump
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Challenge Rating: Kinda Easy-Peasy (Moderate)
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Gameplay
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Players spawn from the A1 Portal and will drop to the angled ice block if nothing is drawn under the portal. I mirror the lessons learned in Level 3 to support this conclusion, in addition to a Red Dotted Line.
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Players trace the Red Paint along the Red Dotted Line to create a shape that will achieve the basic goal of this level, a curved line that will fling them across the gap to the far right.
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By flying across the Red Line, players will get the B1, B2, and B3 gems, but will likely miss the Challenge Star.
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Should Players draw a Green Line to the right, they can ricochet Zoey into the Star on her way down to the A2 Portal.
Level 6 echoes Level 3 in concept. Making hills and using the game physics to impact the Player.
The challenge solution in the map required using Green Paint to act as a wall, ricocheting Zoey to the Star.
Design Goals:
Ski-Jump is intended to be a sister level to Level 3 Hillside. The concept here is similar, draw a line to carry Zoey across gaps, only this time the line can fling Zoey across gaps as well. My goal for this level was to ensure that this concept was learned precisely as intended, as this concept was imperative to understand in later levels. For this reason I provided a Red Dotted Line and an animated tutorial to suggest the intended solution.
As the Player would be by this point more experienced with our level design, I wanted to increase the difficulty of obtaining Challenge Stars. For Level 6, I placed the Star just out of reach of the Player when flying over the gap, and at a moment where no Red Paint remained. Players are required to use the Green Paint as a ramp similar to Level 1 and 2 to ricochet Zoey into the Star, and this fact is left for the Player to discover on their own.
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Gameplay
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Players spawn at the A1 portal, and will roll off to their death unless a line is drawn. The orientation of the level and the visible pickups suggest a line could be drawn to grab both, though connecting to the Star would send the Player upside down.
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Players draw a line connected gems B3 and B2, pointing towards the B4 star.
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Players are flung towards the B4 star, holding position upside down and flying towards the B1 gem. If no line is drawn here, the Player would tumble to their death.
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Players draw either a Red or Green Line to ricochet into the A2 Portal, finishing the level.
Here I needed to be sure Players knew they could fling themselves across the map.
Level 7: Spirals
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Challenge Rating: Kinda Easy-Peasy (Moderate)
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Level Summary
Level 7 reinforces the concept of Red Paint sending the player rapidly across the map, and introduces that the Red Line also keeps the Player tethered until released.
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Design Goals:
Spirals was the first truly challenging level Players encountered in Zoey, and I intended it to act as a suitable bridge for what was to come.
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My goal for this level was to build on the ramp feature of Red Paint introduced in Level 6, with an interesting twist: flinging yourself backwards across the map. As this concept was relatively abstract, I designed the shape of the level and the placement of the pickups to suggest the overall general solution through level geometry. This level was one of the first to require the Player to envision their solution thoroughly before experimentation, and the gap to the left acted as a trap for the hasty. Players needed to draw a line over the gap to ensure they were able to fling into the portal rather than fall to their death.
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...AND BEYOND
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The final 5 levels of Zoey incorporated the ideas introduced above, and built upon them in challenging new ways. By partnering with my fellow Designer Zhi, we were able to ensure that there was a clear cohesion in our design, and each level felt like it belonged in the same game. These later levels incorporated our Anti-Magic Zones, where Lines could not be drawn. I have included snapshots of his levels below, to give a taste of where things went from here.
