Duet: Light Between Us

This project was developed as part of Full Sail University's Capstone Project. The development team was given an elevator pitch to build the design from with a timeline of five months. The team was able to bring the project to an Alpha state but without a proper art team or audio engineers, where unable to bring the project to full term.

Duet: Light Between Us takes the tried and true classic of Action Platforming, and throws another ingredient into the mix: a second character. The player will be able to control one of two characters at anytime, both of whom are tethered to each other with light. One character is skilled at melee attacks and forceful motion, while the other is better at ranged attacks and quicker actions. The game will utilize 3D assets in a two dimensional plane, giving it a modern look for the classic genre. Players will be able to move and act as one character, all the while the other follows behind, working in tandem. Players may have a preferred character to use, but both will be necessary to solve some of the fast-paced puzzles involved in the game. These puzzles will tie directly into the physics involved with the tether that ties the characters together.

Duet: Light Between Us most closely compares to a 2.5D Action Platforming game. The reasoning behind this is linked to both the original pitch video as well as our vision for what the game could be based on the original creator's vision for it. We are planning on this game taking on a high-fantasy theme due to the story laid out in the pitch (there is, after all, a dragon to slay at the end of all of this!). We are planning on making the playable area a 2D area for the player to explore and interact with, while giving the background a 3D, making the whole screen look more immersive. One particularly effective example and inspiration for this is the game, Trine (gameplay example). The environment will be interactive and multi-layered, allowing for some environmental-style puzzles which will use the unique setup of two types of characters being played at the same time.

The biggest novelty that our design brings to the genre is the way our linked characters will function. The inactive character will have a simple AI that causes it to follow the active player about. Each character will be designed and balanced to compliment the other and allow for different gameplay. As such, the player will be able to switch between the characters at will.

What makes our duo so unique is that they share a life pool. The player must maintain awareness of both characters during gameplay to ensure that they do not perish. In addition to this, the characters can only travel so far apart. If the distance between them becomes too great, they will begin to take damage. This allows for the team to design puzzles that play into this feature.