OCT // 2019
SUPER MOTHER QUACKERS
Team of 7 ( 3 designers ) • 2 weeks • Unreal
SUPER MOTHER QUACKERS is a competitive and hectic multiplayer game where you take control of your own Mother Duck. Collect ducklings, and steal those of your opponents. Dash and dodge your way through an arena jam-packed with hazards. Bring your baby ducks back to the coop and rack up your scoreboard.
Requires gamepads
THINGS THAT I DID
UI DESIGN AND SCRIPTING:
I art directed and scripted the menus and HUD using Photoshop, Blueprints, and Widgets.
MULTIPLAYER / GAMEPLAY SCRIPTING:
I scripted the camera system, multiplayer functionality, and animations.
SOUND DESIGN:
I selected and handled the audio assets and engine implementation.
DESIGN PILLARS
COUCH GAMING CHAOS:
Making the players feel invested in a hectic game experience and get competitive as f**k.
INTUITIVE UX:
Making the player feel immersed in the gameplay by using your chain of ducklings as diegetic UI.
PICK-UP-AND-PLAY COMBAT:
Making a multiplayer experience that’s easy to control and enjoy, from beginners to diehards.
GAME LOOP
The goal of the game is to bring as many ducklings as possible back to the coop.
STEAL THEIR DUCKLINGS
RETURN TO COOP
Increase your score
FIND WILD DUCKLINGS
DASH INTO YOUR OPPONENTS
DESIGNING FOR CHAOS
DESIGNING FOR CHAOS
We discovered during playtesting that players felt more competitive the longer the duckling chains became.
LOW RISK - LOW REWARD
Bringing a few ducklings back each time will slowly but surely increase your score.
HIGH RISK - HIGH REWARD
Collecting a long chain of ducklings will give you a higher score but leaves you vulnerable to your opponents.
HOW COULD WE ENCOURAGE
THIS PLAY STYLE?
BLUEPRINT SCRIPTING
UI DESIGN
I designed, implemented, and animated all the menus and in-game HUD elements. Our focus was to provide good visual feedback and encourage a high-risk playstyle that felt chaotic. The render size of the score animation is dependent on the number of ducklings following you. The more ducklings, the bigger the number size.
SCORE SCALE-UP
Zoom and drag (right click).
CAMERA
The camera follows the players by continually calculating the average location between them. Their distance to one another also determines how zoomed in or out we are. This lets us intuitively focus on the action and makes sure that all players are visible at all times.
CAMERA DISTANCE
Zoom and drag (right click).
MULTIPLAYER SETUP
The multiplayer setup is handled in GameMode. A function spawns the number of players set earlier in the Menu Widget and gives each player a unique Player ID.
SPAWN PLAYERS
Zoom and drag (right click).