Date: February 5, 2015

Though I have walked through the valley of the shadow of doubt, I shall fear no task: For I am back, and the systems comfort me... Dylan Goff, system's designer, has returned. My week of reflection has brought me to the realization that my burden from last week was not at all attributed to Astrocyte or the potential failure of Hyper Syntax; I realize now that I just didn't like the game all that much!

New Influence

I realize now that Hyper Syntax was incredibly done by the time I came to it. It had systems in place, bugs that had to be worked around, yada yada yada.. These hindrances, plus my new arrival on the team, made it seem as though I carried no influence on the project. That's a bit of a bummer, but that isn't the case anymore! Know why? Game Modes.

In one of our meetings, we discussed the problems with the game's current 'Deathmatch' mode. Specifically, it's that no one wanted to engage each other, for risk of making a mistake and killing themselves. Players had the EMP, but they didn't have enough agency with it to make them feel comfortable. To fix this, I proposed two changes.

1. Respawns - Previously, death meant being out of the game. This made games relatively short and intense, but only because you move so fast and had to finesse your way through light trails and obstacles, else you lose. I suggested respawning as a means to eliminate the fear of death and moved the game type towards a more objective based style.

2. Rings - Capture the flag; it should be fairly obvious what that means, if you've ever been to a summer camp or elementary school. By implementing an objective that every player wants in order to finish, we introduce a need for players to interact. Now, after flying through a ring, you hold it until death, being EMP'd or another player snagging it. While holding it, your timer counts down until reaching 0, signifying your victory.

Bam, problem solved, right? Maybe, only testing will tell.