A Bachelor Project Turns Into A Career Launch For Two Game Designers From The ZHDK Zurich.

 

Out & About in an interview with both developers of “Plank Builders – Relive Childhood Memories”. 

As part of their post-studies activities, they also founded Diditopia Games. Based in Basel, they undertake various freelance projects while simultaneously working on the release of their game “Plank Builders”. “Plank Builders” is a peaceful construction game that allows players to enter a child’s fantasy world. Magical marbles have the power to bring stuffed animals to life. The game allows the players to work together with the cuddly toys to plan, build and explore different buildings constructed from small wooden boards. The players explore new areas through their construction, magic marbles and other stuffed animals.

*

Out & About: How did your idea for Plank Builders originate?

Diditopia Games: The idea for our game came from childhood. Like most of us, as children, we used to build our own worlds in our bedrooms or living rooms by using various construction planks. After we created the world, we played in the room with our imagination using stuffed animals and other figures using our imaginations. 

Through this, we had the idea of trying to capture this feeling of complete immersion as a child in a peaceful play world through digital realisation. The importance of mentioning that fantasy can be experienced as a child would have through digital realisation is particularly important.

For example: as an infant, one built a house out of blocks for stuffed animals and imagined how the stuffed animal was going to live in it. Players can now interact physically with the constructions they’ve built through avatars that control the virtual environment.

“The idea for our game came from childhood.”

Your game was in its early stages during the pandemic (2020 – 2021). At that time, many people around the world were missing social exchange with friends and family. This loneliness is also experienced in the game. Is there a specific message related to Covid-19 that you want to address in the game?

Initially, it was not our aim to reflect on the Corona pandemic in our game. Having already had so much coverage in the media and among friends and family, we did not want the players and ourselves to deal with it in the game. We yearned for our time as children, when we could play quietly and in peace.

However, after a while, the steady stream of new information about restrictions, case numbers, crisis meetings, etc. became too overwhelming for us and we began to yearn for a time that was different. This subconscious nostalgia is something we have been trying to address in our play.

So, basically, would you like your players to perceive the game as a relief from the stresses of their everyday lives?

Exactly, for us, creating a relaxing game experience was part of the central design principles from the very beginning: Lighting, music and game mechanics should allow the players to enjoy a relaxed, peaceful flow of gameplay.

You created «Plank Builders» as a bachelor’s thesis. Was it challenging to move forward with your game idea with your mentors, or did their input and feedback support the game?

At the beginning of the project, a majority of the lectures were skeptical, and we were somtimes harshly criticised. The core points on their part were that our project was too big and also very complex. As a result of the discussions, we were not able to present a clearly reflected vision of our project. Following some time, fairly fustrated, we decided to do our own thing. 

It ended up with best Grade 6.0, so it seemed worth it. We remained true to our first ideas and are very proud of our achievements. Nevertheless, we would like to point out that some of the docents’ feedback was useful for the game.

“During the course of our Bachelor’s thesis, we tested the state of our current game with about 80 participants.”

What was the deciding factor for continuing developing the game after your bachelor’s degree and what were the difficulties you had to face after graduating? 

There were several factors that convinced us to continue the project. Our teachers and ourselves have been surprised by how far our game prototype has progressed. We still have a tremendous amount of work to do, but fortunately, the amount of work seems to be possible. 

During the course of our Bachelor’s thesis, we tested the state of our current game with about 80 participants. All the positive feedback about the game experience was very encouraging for us to carry on with the project and complete the game. After completing our Bachelor’s thesis in the summer of 2021, we were still caught up in the Corona pandemic. We realised a home-office setting would not be effective for a Master’s program.

During the summer, we decided that it was the most appropriate time to take the risk of starting our own company. Both our personal and financial obligations are minimal and we have a very good perspective on starting a start-up. Only time will tell how far we will progress and if it works out. We are very pleased with the current situation and its development.

Have you been working on any other exciting projects as a team or as individuals, and describe how the process of finding your game mechanics for “Plank Builders” was?

During the course of our studies, we worked on a great number of very different projects. As examples, we each picked out two projects that personally we enjoyed very much, as well as one we collaborated on. Although they do not resemble “Plank Builders”, they have helped us in developing Plank Builders further. The game mechanics are a story of its own with many obstacles to overcome, due to the fact that it is a long-term working process. 

At first you start with an idea/vision that intrigues you. Then you try to give this idea a shape that can be played according to game mechanics (rules and actions that the player can carry out). It is by no means the case that you define all the game mechanics and then just implement them one time. In the course of the game development process, both new and already existing concepts are constantly being discussed, modified, deleted or implemented.

Is there a clear division of work between you in terms of responsibilities, or are you sharing a lot of the work?

At the start of the project, we collectively defined and recorded the basic approach to the game. In the course of our bachelor thesis, we were in daily communication regarding minor modifications, tests and mutual feedback. 

Up to today, we have a very clear division of work during the development phases. Jonas takes care of all the visual aspects of the game: Deciding on the style, modelling, animation and the texture of items, as well as the character design. It also includes the creation of new Shaders, light calculations and many other visual touches. He handles our Storytelling, although this is purposely only about Environmental Storytelling. In other words, in-game items that give clues to the background story.

Mathis is focusing on the programming of the game, including things like: The controls of the characters as well as the AI figures. The elaboration and implementation of a physics-based construction system, camerawork and the execution of the game mechanics. He also handles major parts of sound design and project management: recording, editing and implementing game sounds, organising playtestings, coordinating various work processes and setting milestones.

“A small stuffed animal monkey is lying in the room, a small magic marble floats through the window and accidentally lands on the tip of its nose.”

What roles do players take on and in what ways can they change the room and their world? 

A small stuffed animal monkey is lying in the room, a small magic marble floats through the window and accidentally lands on the tip of its nose. As if torn from a deep sleep, the little monkey jumps up and springs to life. This is the character that the players can control directly. Now the players have to get to work because the other monkeys, which are scattered all over the children’s room, have to be reached and called to life. The players begin by building bridges, stairs, houses and many other constructions in order to get more monkeys to wake up. Unnoticed by the players, the whole game unfolds in the imagination of a child.

How did you come up with the main characters and the idea of using objects from the 90s in the playroom? 

The main point in this decision is a certain nostalgic aspect, which we want to include in our game. Since the original idea of the game, among other aspects, came from our own youth. We would like to bring the game as close as possible to memories of our early childhood years. Therefore, we decided to create the game in a setting between the 90s and the 2000s. While talking to our friends, we noticed that we had similar objects. So the design of the monkey, as the current main character, has its origin in this time and has been set up by us for “Plank Builders”.

Have you thought about the price of the game? 

Well, at the moment we are having a very hard time with that. Currently we are in the process of searching for publishers and will discuss the price in more detail at a later stage. On average, indie games in our category are priced between 15 and 25 CHF. We will base our pricing on the average. The game will soon be testable at no cost. We have been given an exhibition booth at Fantasy Basel where we will be presenting “Plank Builders” in May (26.5 – 28.5). Now we are looking forward to the event and hope to promote our game in Basel.

Is there a platform or several platforms where one can financially support you and get the latest updates on Plank Builders?

We are currently in the set-up process and are currently working on spreading the awareness for our game. At our Discord server everyone can follow our process and contribute their suggestions on the game. We are excited to hear new voices and welcome more folks to support our journey.

Towards the end of March we were given the great opportunity to fly to San Francisco to the GDC (Game Developer Conference) and present our game. It is a great hope that we will receive some direct financial support. We are hoping to find a publisher that will support us financially. In case this doesn’t work out, we will then activate our Kickstarter campaign and update the site.

Interview by Martha Kapfhammer