With the support from New Zealand on air, and thanks to the creative wonders of Yoozoo, Watermark Creative was able to bring Epicool Kai Karting to life, a game that features our favourite characters from the Vloggingtons show in a crazy food fight to see who can get the most likes!
The game can be played on its own or with a mate as each character flings, flies, flails and fails their way to victory against everyone else!
GAME CONCEPT
The idea was to take memorable moments from the Vloggingtons kids show and create a fun and lighthearted solo and local co-op experience with a competitive edge. We wanted the game to be easy to play, and reward players for doing so in creative ways, earning special awards for successes and mishaps alike.
After throwing a few different ideas around we settled on a game which we thought could be played well as a single player as well as a local co-op.
We also took into consideration the possibility that it could be played on smart devices in the future, and designed the game mechanics and UI around that.
Initial Game concept sketch
CREATIVE DIRECTION
& GAME DESIGN
We aimed to retain the show's mixed media visual and narrative style throughout the different parts of the game.
We used the gorgeous photographs of hand made landscapes for the backgrounds, the characters and their karts were designed based on their personalities and episodes, and the main level was designed with assets from the show.
photo of hand made background from the show
Hand made backgrounds used in level design
The game's design and UI incorporates elements from vlogs, social media, and memes, as seen in the show and real life platforms.
The character's 'likes', are visible throughout the game as emojis popping out from each character's avatar, a number of 'views' is present throughout the game, and the winning character's dance screen is a selfie video.
Meme and selfie moments from the show
Winning character's selfie dance screen in game
The Vloggingtons show has a variety of gags and quirky items that we integrated into the game as projectiles, obstacles and power-ups.
Some of these included the floor turning to lava or numnums, slime ball shields, and even space potatoes.
The floor turning to lava and numnums as seen in the show.
The floor turning into lava and numnums during gameplay
Each projectile item had a unique throw direction which players learn through experimentation, and each character has an item strength and weakness based on the show, which meant players had to pay extra attention to which items they should use against others and which they had to avoid getting hit by.
Items from the show that we used as projectiles and power-ups
Characters' strong and weak items
UI & WIREFRAMES
The game's UI was designed to reflect the show's hand-made, paper cutout feel, youtube and social media visual language, and gaming vernacular.
Although the game was primarily designed for desktop, the UI was developed with smart devices in mind to allow for potential updates.
Initial UX flow
Once we had a good idea of what the game was going to be and had a basic UX flow in place, we created wireframes to guide development and artwork creation.
This ensures the game's flow and basic elements are defined, and allows for early user feedback.
Wireframes and final design
ANIMATION
Characters, avatars and icons were animated in Spine, whilst kart trails, emoji particles, and special effects were created using Unity.
By using both softwares we were able to use a skins system for the characters and their avatars, to show which item they were holding, and stacking skins when necessary.
Skin system: no weapon, holding pizza, wearing pumpkin head, holding pizza + wearing pumpkin head
Each of the 4 main characters had over 20 unique animations. These were used for the different game screens, as well as to react to moments during the main gameplay, such as picking up items, getting hit, winning an award, jumping ramps, driving over lava or numnums, etc.
Flo's 20+ animations seen throughout the game
Flo's animator controller
CHALLENGES
As with every project, we encountered a few challenges along the way.
Game Design Challenges
Game design challenges included finding a gameplay design and controller scheme that worked well for co-op gameplay as well as solo.
We went through various iterations, including game mechanic options and controls for up to 4 players, but we decided that the game was much stronger as a solo gameplay with up to 2 players.
Controller scheme concept for 4 players
We really wanted to let players engage with the game without too much handholding, learning the ins and outs of the game through discovery rather than tutorials. We included a 'How to Play' screen but we kept the instructions very light, allowing players to understand the game's objective and controls, yet discovering how to master it through play.
The main game level was designed to start off simple and become more complex as it went along, first introducing players to projectiles, then later adding obstacles and power ups.
How to play instructions
RESULTS
The game has been well received, and has appeared on 'What Now' Sunday kids TV show, which is pretty much the equivalent of a Super Bowl ad in this space!
We were stoked to receive high praise from Julian Stokoe (the creator of the Vloggingtons Show), and we're incredibly proud of the final result.
We thoroughly enjoyed the process of making the game, and would love to hear if you enjoy playing it!
Cheers!
The Team
Lead Game Design
Shannon Jahnel Lanktree
Game Programming
Josh Van Den Heever
Interaction Design
Nicholas Harris
UI / UX Design
Sam Bunny
Animation
Shannon Jahnel Lanktree
Meng Hong Yong
Hollie Secomb
Producer
David Way
Character & World Design
Yoozoo
The Vloggingtons Created By
Julian Stokoe