Pizza Quest
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Concept
By day demon hunter, by night Rider for her trusted pizza parlor, always ready for a fight. In a colorful city shrouded in darkness, dart through dangers to deliver pizzas still hot and slicing ingredient demons sent against her by Micidial Pizza. Use the pizza cutter as a weapon to slice the enemies that stand in your way, making the pizzas more appetizing and increasing the pizzeria's profits. Speed through the city's alleys on your trusty scooter to speed up deliveries and climb over obstacles you encounter on the way. Unlock new skills to improve yourself and make customers happier and happier!
Design Goal
The goal of the game is to create a fast-paced experience that puts the player under pressure. For this reason, we chose an open map inspired by traditional Italian villages.
Theory
Creating a city in a video game and in real life can be very similar processes, but they differ in design and functionality. In real life, an urban planner designs the city to meet the needs of its citizens, whereas in a video game, the designer must structure the spaces according to the game system and its mechanics.
In our case, we needed to keep the player moving to guide them towards the delivery points. For this reason, we opted for a landmark-based structure, designing the spaces according to the process you see alongside.
This process was studied through the article that you can find at this link, and from this study, the following workflow was derived.
The objective should be asymmetrical for the player:
- the shorter route involves a path with numerous enemies scattered across the map, but has smoother traffic;
- the longer route, on the other hand, has obstacles that hinder the player (environmental problems, an impassable motorcycle, or simply a more complex path), but features fewer enemies.
Design
Map
Layout
PERYPHERY
Area A-5
Roof Path
Ground Path
Protrusion for jumping
Houses
Streets
Ramps
Blocks
"This area is characterized by two enemy zones located inside the courtyards of the block. The player has the possibility to avoid them, but some of the delivery points in this area are inaccessible, so that the player can still see them and wonder how to reach them. There is a ramp that allows the player to overcome this obstacle with the scooter (also to quickly reach the healing area), while to return, they can use a ramp nearby where they land. If the player starts from below, they have the chance to climb onto the roof, cross it entirely on foot, and face the enemies in the upper area. To reach the scooter: zone A-5 connects to zone A-4 through a shortcut at the top. In this way, the player can stay on the rooftops of that area to go back and retrieve the scooter they left behind when they first climbed onto the rooftops.
PERYPHERY
Area A-3
Roof Path
Ground Path
Protrusion for jumping
Houses
Streets
The delivery point is inside, and the player must necessarily go through the enemy zones if they want to reach it from the ground. If they choose to climb onto the rooftops instead, the entrance to the lower courtyard should be visible from the roundabout, encouraging the player to explore. Once inside the corridor, they will notice an element that allows them to jump onto the rooftops and from there follow the critical path to reach the delivery point.
PERYPHERY
Area A-8
Roof Path
Ground Path
Protrusion for jumping
Decorative Blocks
Ramps
Houses
Streets
Blocks
The distinctive feature of this area is the huge ramp located in the middle of the main road. This is excellent for indirectly guiding the player’s route, making it one-directional. However, the player will still have the possibility to go back through the side streets if they take the wrong path. They also have the chance to jump over the enemies.
In the center of the housing block, the player has the option to climb over a fence to reach the opposite side, but they must temporarily abandon the scooter.
PERYPHERY
Area A-7
Roof Path
Ground Path
Protrusion for jumping
Raised protrusion
Ramps
Houses
Streets
Blocks
The area will be blocked by barriers that prevent the player from accessing it with the scooter if they approach from the wrong side (the lower one), but there will be a small alley allowing the player to enter on foot. Inside the area there will be enemies, but to avoid them the player can climb onto a nearby dumpster to reach the adjacent block and then climb onto the roof, where a scaffold will allow them to access the other side. It will not be possible to climb onto the roof from the upper part of the map, in order to balance the available paths.
Alex Artuso
Yo, I'm Alex. An Italian game and level designer passionate about cinema and stories.
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