Gameplay & Level Designer | A Way Out

What is this game:

Tasting the wonderful omelette rice of Ecila Kitchen, you suddenly got struck by severe food poisoning. Oh no, what should we do now? If I s**t here, my life's gonna be over...

A Way Out is a third-person parody parkour game that delivers a hilarious and chaotic experience. Players take on the role of a JK (Japanese high school girl) enjoying omurice at Elica Kitchen, a maid café. However, disaster strikes when the food causes severe food poisoning, leaving the player paralyzed! Now, you must navigate the café and rush to the restroom—but there's a catch: the only way to move is by using farts to propel yourself.

With ragdoll physics enhancing the absurdity, players will need to carefully control the amount of gas they release. Fart too hard, and you'll risk making a mess that could ruin the entire restaurant! The challenge lies in balancing movement and disaster in this lighthearted, physics-driven adventure, where the ultimate goal is to make it to the restroom in one (mostly clean) piece.

Will you escape in time, or will things take an unfortunate turn?

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What I did:

Leadership & Time management: Spearheaded the development of the parody game "A Way Out" using Unreal Engine and achieved its release at the Global Game Jam within a three-day deadline.

Gameplay Design & Strategy: Designed the core game dynamics and established the game loop to define the experience goal, ensuring high replay value.

Immersive Level Design: Constructed the main level with integrated tutorials, fostering an immersive playing experience and enhancing gameplay quality.

Team Collaboration:  Fostered a collaborative team environment among development team, ensuring alignment between the game's tone and artistic value, thereby enhancing the humorous element and attractiveness of the game.

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What I think:

Inspiration:

The gameplay concept for A Way Out originated from a previously shelved idea I proposed during the prototyping phase of the Ludum Dare Game Jam 2023, themed around "Limited Space".

This idea was inspired by my favorite party game - Stick Fight: The Game, where players control stick figures with ragdoll physics to battle each other. Due to the unpredictable nature of ragdoll physics, players will often be humored by the strange poses the characters present. Building on this, I conceptualized a game where a character, hindered by mobility issues, must use farting to reach a loop of rope hanging above, with the darkly humorous goal of committing suicide. This concept was initially set aside, as we chose to focus more closely on the theme of "Limited Space" rather than "Limited Control."

However, this concept was revisited and found to be a perfect match for the theme "Make me laugh." After further discussion, it was ultimately selected for development.

Gameplay:

After establishing the game's tone, I focused on developing the main character and the core dynamics. With our team's fondness for anime and the desire to enhance the game's satirical elements, I suggested that the protagonist can be a JK (a female high school student in Japan). This decision shaped the game's core dynamics and loop as follows:

Core Objective (Core X): Use farting to reach the restroom at next floor to properly defecate and save maintain protagonist`s dignity as a high school student.

Background Element (Core Y): The protagonist has suffered from food poisioning which impairs her movement ability. As a result, she can only move by controlling her farts adequately.

Game Loop: The gameplay focuses on using farting to ascend vertically, while ragdoll physics and gravity facilitate horizontal movement through freefall after being propelled. This creates a unique and humorous challenge that players must navigate to achieve the game's objectives.

Levels:

As the core gameplay mechanic takes shape, I realized the necessity of integrating a realistic setting to enhance the game's immersion.  Thus, I consulted online blueprints of cafe restaurants to design a simplified two-story restaurant level that would resonate with players.

To increase the difficulty and pace, I designed the path to the second floor to resemble a diagonal route through a rectangular room, filled with numerous obstacles. This not only accelerates the game's tempo but also introduces a comedic element as players navigate through and inadvertently knock over objects and characters along the way, adding to the game's humor and excitement.

For the onboarding tutorial, I strategically placed a restroom on the first floor as a locked door with colorful signs. This setup naturally guides players to the first-floor restroom, teaching players finding the objective and simulating the urgent quest for a restroom when in discomfort. The true destination, however, lies in reaching the second-floor restroom, mirroring the real-life urgency and confusion of

Artistic Tone:

After establishing the game's framework, my focus shifted to refining the tone and theme of our cutscenes, aligning them with the theme of "Make me laugh" theme. This included the introduction of additional mechanics and themes specifically for the cutscenes.

In the process of iterative playtesting with the team, it is apparent that players could exploit the farting mechanic without punishments. To address this, I implemented an energy bar system. Now, if players excessively use the farting key, the propulsion force will significantly decrease, accompanied by distinctive noises serving as a cautionary feedback mechanism.

To further infuse the game with humor, I drew inspiration from "Kaogei", the over-the-top and comedic facial expressions seen in anime, and recommended incorporating such expressions to our artist. I also suggested our artist draw inspiration from iconic tragedy scenes for the game's bad endings to further enhance comedic effect. The outcome has been overwhelmingly positive; our cutscenes have been a hit among playtesters, consistently provoking laughter and enhancing the overall gaming experience.

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