So I want my game to center around the simple theme of drug addiction and relapse.
My goal is to have at least 7 levels. In each level, you control a character I can only describe at this point as a drug addict, moving through various environments trying to find your way through the next. There will be moving obstacles in the form of pills/ pill bottles, as well as other objects which will help aid you on the path to “rehab” (don’t know what they will be yet). The character will have a health bar, and with every pill/ bottle you hit, your health decreases. The “helpful” objects, when collected, will increase your character’s speed so it’s easier to move through each level.
Your character starts out slow as molasses, and the environments and objects start out as completely blurry and distorted, and as you progress through each level the images become more and more clear so it’s easier to find out what you can collect and what you’re supposed to avoid.
The final level, where everything is crystal clear, will have either some giant obstacle or an obstacle disguised as something helpful, which, upon contact, will restart you at the first level, thus demonstrating a “relapse.”
I don’t know how much of this I should reveal, but there’s only one way you can exit the game.
Link to previous game, not 100% finished but still has most of the mechanics I want to incorporate: https://www.dropbox.com/s/p4l2ykzsj2e790d/testfatty2.gmk
The reverse of difficulty progress (seems to start harder, and get easier until you’re tricked on the final level) is really interesting. I think it illustrates your idea well
For your game maker game, I love the gameplay – even though the patterns are predictable, you made it surprisingly difficult! The concept is pretty amusing and I like the simplicity of the art, but I agree that the backgrounds don’t really complement it. I like the idea that someone brought up of becoming bigger or slower every time you eat the unhealthy food. Maybe instead of making you faster, the healthy food could give you a shield or something.
For your proposal, I like the idea of everything starting out distorted and becoming clearer as you break out of your addiction. I think a similar gameplay mechanic to your previous project would work great. I think it would be cool to have more obstacles to navigate in your environment (walls? roadblocks?) or a time limit as others mentioned.
I like the suggestions given in class, but this just might be me but I really like the simple game with the fat guy and the sweets. It is less depressing, but I think you could go either way. Great start.