Tropic Thunder
At The Beginning of Concepting
One day the team had a meeting about tracks and how many to have on the initial release. One of these ideas was a tropical track with a dynamic center piece that would change the track as players would interact with it. So my vision for this track was to create a volcano that the RV could punch while inside. Depending on how many times the players punched inside would eventually cause the volcano to erupt. This would cause a few key sections of the track to obtain new hazards that the players would have to face.
On top on focusing on the dynamism of the track, I also wanted each section to really play around with the strengths of the RVs movement. Some of these sections have multi levels of floor that the player could jump up to or drop down. Other parts will be straightaways that the players could use their boost for but also leave them venerable.
It is worth noting that during production, we did have to scale back a bit and ultimately cut the dynamic interactions in favor of making the game feel and look good for our proof of concept.
The First Hill
The Thunder Dome
Respond to feedback
Respond to feedback
In the theme of the game, I really want the players to feel like a professional racer, completed with a stadium aesthetic. I wanted them to feel like they are stepping out of a gateway and into an open field with a crowd cheering them on. So when I made this section, it starts out going up a hill, cutting off the sight of the stadium so that when the players finally make it over the top it gives off the awe and excitement. The platforms are essential to the overall feel to the track, as being able to jump up to another level provides fluid movement, but it also shows the players that this game is surrounded by the movement mechanic and should experiment with it.
Respond to feedback
Respond to feedback
Respond to feedback
After some feedback from the team and changes to the movement of the RVs; I had to make it wider and give the arena more of a tropical feel. In response to the lack of tropical aesthetic, the pillars are place holders for palm trees that also act as another punchable wall that can be used to reach other platforms or dodge attacks. I also added an additional ramp to give players more accessibility to the upper portions.
Cliffside Turn
A Precarious turn
Simple yet effective
Simple yet effective
When making this turn, I wanted the players to be aware of their surroundings. On lap one, everyone would be hunched around each other which would mean a lot of confrontation between players. This would make it very easy for one to get punched off the stage while turning. There would also be a small platform that players could use to secure safe passage. This can be done when the player makes the jump off the highest platform from the arena section to the cliff as shown on the diagram.
Simple yet effective
Simple yet effective
Simple yet effective
Unfortunately through play testing and constant iteration, the cliff was too far for players to jump on. On top of being too far away, it was just too small of a platform to maneuver around and players tend to fall off. To make things simpler and to play with the tropical island theme, the corner will be a lighthouse.
Hitting the Beach
A Sandy Straightaway
Straightaways are generally good for gaining speed and using any boost the player may have to close or further the distance. The boardwalk was added to keep the vertical aspect of the game and give a get away platform for the players, but there was discussion to replace that the boardwalk with an extension to the beach hotel as shown in the diagram. That would have been a destructible area where the players could interact with. This would also keep the cool factor of being a RV racer with giant mechanical arms destroying anything in their path.
Split and Twist
Fork in the cave
Fork in the cave
Fork in the cave
The right turn after the beach gives the players a choice on how to process to the next area. The left road is just a ramp and on the right is a stair-like terrain that players must jump over. The reason around this design was for the right turn on top of the hill. The ramp is objectively the easiest route to take but you can't make a sharp turn right as you would on the stair side. The stairs also helps the player practices one of the basic mechanics of the game.
Over and Under
Fork in the cave
Fork in the cave
If the players go up the ramp side in the previous area, they have an easier access to the bridge that you see in the picture above. Players that didn't can still use the rock to jump up to the platform. The only criticism looking back on this is how there really isn't any reason for the player to use the bridge the whole way through. Then again, I find that the players that use the bridge always use it to their advantage and furthermore improve their movement by jumping off when the time is right.