The second rework

- What Happened ? -

The feedback we got from the players was not really positive. Long story short: one player controlling the camera was not really fun, because the player controlling the camera could screw over the other player. Having the camera right behind the player was a bad position, it covered  a big part of the screen,and it made it so that you cannot see what's right in front of you. There was also almost nothing to do, and the things we could do were really hard, because of the camera.

- What did we change? -

The camera now moves on a rail that tracks the two players and makes sure the players are both on the screen, so nobody moves the camera which means that nobody can screw over the other player. The second problem is also solved by this, you have a better view of your surroundings. The playing field is also bigger, we added enemies, traps and some parkour so you actually have something to do in the game instead of just being in a test area where there is almost nothing to interact with.

- Small Q&A -

Q: What camera can replace the bad camera mechanic we have right now?

A: One of the teachers recommended to look into a dolly camera. So the first thing we tried was to find out what it was and how it worked, a dolly camera is basically a camera on a rail which can move over that rail freely. It has also some other mechanics like following a target, looking at a target, etc. After a few tests we made the camera look at the players and follow the players around, as the players move further away from each other, the camera's FOV changes so they still fit on the screen, if the players get closer, the FOV decreases so you have a more "zoomed" in experience. The result can be seen in the next GIF. because we didn't want a top down  camera position we fiddled around with it some more and we ended up with a better camera angle (second GIF).

Q: The game doesn't really have a "fun" mechanic, how are you going to fix it?

A: Again, right now the biggest flaw we have is in the camera, so we first need to address that (more info in previous question), after we fixed it, we started adding traps, which made the playing field already interesting. There wasn't really a goal, so we added a goal. You have to collect the Golden Sphere to finish the level. Also, the enemies were 'static' and didn't really do something . They just attacked when you were in range, now when you get in range the enemy tries to attack and if you get out of range the enemy follows you. So far, we have a level that is playable, has a goal and there are obstacles (traps or enemies) which try to prevent you from finishing the game.

- What happens next? - 

When we get greenlit, one of the first things we have to think about is level design: "Where are we going to put the traps? Where are the enemies going to be? Is there only one way to the finish or are there several ways to finish the level?". After that getting a character model in the game is something that can change the "fun" mechanic drastically. The UI should also be a priority so we know what the player is going to see and what he won't be able to.