DeepFall Development 

Yes, you are not imagining it, my current game is very different from my original game concept, Lumen & Umbra. The original vision for Lumen & Umbra was a single-player game featuring two playable characters. Lumen, the main character, would be trapped within dark caves and required to solve puzzles to progress through each level. Some of these puzzles would rely on assistance from a shadow companion character known as Umbra. I even created an AI-generated concept image based on my original vision.

Initially, I attempted to design my own 2D character to resemble the glowing figure from the concept image. This was a significant challenge for me, as I had never created a character from scratch before and had only previously worked with sprites through tutorials. During this stage, I quietly struggled and became overwhelmed trying to bring my ideas to life. To continue development, I began using a downloaded character controller while still intending to either create my own characters or find suitable ones from the Unity Asset Store.

By Week 9, after multiple unsuccessful attempts at creating characters, I eventually found two free downloadable characters that suited the concept. I implemented them into the game and successfully added a character-switching mechanic with the assistance of YouTube tutorials and references. However, as development continued, I realised there were several issues with the overall vision, and I could not realistically see the project being completed successfully within the timeframe I had available alongside school and everyday life responsibilities.

As mentioned in a previous short devlog:

“One challenge was getting the second character to follow the player in the background, while still being able to keep the player stationary when needed for puzzle-solving. I wasn’t sure how to balance those two mechanics.
I also struggled with camera switching. I know it’s possible, but without clear puzzle ideas yet, I found it difficult to picture how I’d actually use it in a level within the time I have.
Another issue was choosing a suitable character. I tried several 2D sprites with different physics setups, code, and controllers. Each had pros and cons, but overall the drawbacks outweighed the benefits, which became pretty frustrating.”

Due to these challenges, I decided to simplify the project direction. The main character became a small blob-style character that I downloaded through after researching character controllers. The character controller already included the movement and jumping mechanics I needed, and it provided smooth and responsive gameplay. Although I changed direction, I had still successfully created a controller system for the original Lumen and Umbra concept, which helped me implement the character-switching feature earlier in development.

This transition ultimately led to the creation of Deep Fall. I chose this name because the tutorial level begins with the player falling deeper into a cave system. The goal of the game is to navigate through increasingly difficult obstacles in order to reach the portal at the end of each level. As the player progresses, new hazards and mechanics are introduced, particularly focused around avoiding deadly spikes. Current gameplay features include:

• Simple dead ends that require the player to find the correct path
• Moving platforms where players must avoid falling into spikes or endless pits
• Spike-based platforming challenges, including avoiding spikes placed on ceilings while jumping through narrow spaces 

Character: 

Tarodev has a free downloadable character + controller that I have used in my game. This little guy made it so fun to go through my levels. He has videos that goes into depth about the coding:

GitHub download:  Ultimate-2D-Controller/Scripts/PlayerController.cs at main · Matthew-J-Spencer/Ultimate-2D-Controller · GitHub

Graphics:

AI Generated and/or assisted: