Ian Fienberg
Game Design
Florence Vs Vapora
Summer 2024
Design Breakdown
Florence Vs Vapora was created in Unity with a group formed through IndieCade's Game Design Internship
Inspiration:
Growing up, I played online computer games on websites like coolmathgames.com. One game was called Fireboy and Watergirl. It was a 2D platformer where players could control two characters that interact with the environment differently and use both characters to work together and attempt to reach the temple door at the end of each level.
Theme:
Following IndieCade's Climate Jam theme, Florence vs Vapora features a main character Florence going through the forest, healing plants and animals along the way. Florence is able to seal up CO2 gas leaks as well as provide sick animals with healing flowers, and then activate the healed animals to use their essential abilities.
Obstructions:
If Florence encounters an acidic pool or spikes throughout the forest, she will be sent back to the start of the level and must restart.
Controls:
move left: left arrow key
move right: right arrow key
jump: spacebar
seal CO2 leaks: e
heal/activate animal abilities: e
Animals:
Animals are present throughout each level that each can assist the player in progressing once healed. Each animal has its own ability:
Elephant-Can sit down to provide an extra step in reaching a higher platform as well as hold down a button that opens a door
Bird-Can fly the player up to an out of sight, higher platform
Alligator-Can rest in the acidic pool to provide the player with an extra step in crossing
Boar-Can rush towards and break a breakable wall blocking the path
Contributions:
Florence Vs Vapora was my pitch in the ideation stage of the Internship. I aimed to find a project that was flexible in scope (we could add/remove levels at our pace), but also fit the theme of the game jam (Climate Change). I wanted the game to incorporate artistic elements of climate change while also having simple and fun game mechanics. I took inspiration from Fireboy and Watergirl in creating a symbiotic relationship between two characters. In Fireboy and Watergirl it is each other, but in Florence Vs Vapora, it is Florence and the animals, that she must heal in order to work with in completing the level. Additionally, I added CO2 leaks that prevent the final door from opening, which forces the player to clean up the environment and seal CO2 leaks as they progress through the level.
During the Prototyping and Production stages, I designed levels intended on first teaching the player how to interact with environment, and then encouraging the player to use new methods and means of reaching the end goal.
Group Members:​
This project was put together by members of the IndieCade Game Desin Internship: (Programmers) Jared Kessler and Ryan Pederson, (Artists) Abbey Gorney and Tanvi Mishra, and (Game/Level Designer), myself, Ian Fienberg
Level Design
Pictured left is a preliminary level design sketch I made, demonstrating the various different obstacles and animals the player will encounter throughout the game. This included animals like an elephant, bird, and alligator, each needed in order to progress through the level. Also included are healing potions, which later became healing flowers which can be used to heal sick animals. There are also CO2 gas leaks, buttons that open doors, and acid pools.
As the designer of this project, I designed and developed the levels for the game. I created 6 levels, each increasing in difficulty. This was intended to mimic the anxiety boredom flow channel so that as player's skill increased with each level, the difficulty and complexity of each level would increase as well to ensure a fun and engaging player experience. Blue arrows signify the intended direction for the player to traverse. Grey arrows signify the direction an animal will go when activated.
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​Animals are represented by circles, with an orange circle representing a boar, a grey circle representing an elephant, a blue circle representing a bird, and green circle representing an alligator​
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Healing flowers are represented by purple ovals
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CO2 gas leaks are represented by thin light blue ovals on walls
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Spikes are represented by jagged black ovals
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Acid Pools are represented by lime green ovals
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Buttons are represented by pink ovals
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The entrance and exit to each level are labeled and the exit door is marked by a blue rectangle
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