Last week we talked all about the ways in which you can really customise the game for yourself, but this week we thought we’d go a bit silly and introduce you to…
THE GHOSTS!
In Moving Out, you can ‘slap’ all sorts of things. What kind of things, you may ask? Well, I’m happy to let you know that the exhaustive list includes other movers, mailboxes, NPCs, delicate vases and well… all the movables.
Now back to that Ghost. The Ghost of Packmore’s Past is actually very friendly, but it’s just in their nature to be very ghost-like. We’d ask you not to hold that against them. But what can old Ghostie do? Games of chasey – this is fun, running is good for you – it’s especially important during isolation to keep your fitness up, after all. Ghostie also tries to bust you by grabbing you with those creepy and ghost-like arms – oooOOooo don’t get caught!
In the event that you don’t want to deal with the skeletons in your closet, you can try blocking their path with stacks of items. Unlike your more sophisticated, garden-variety ghost, old mate Packmore can’t pass through material objects, so they’re stuck if you try to block them in. If only all ghosts were as accommodating.
Now, if you’re a real hero, you can offer yourself as bait and lead Ghostie away from the other players to save the day. They will thank you by passing the level and offering social distance appropriate air hugs from exactly 1.5m away.
Now, if you do get close, never fear, you can SLAP old Ghostie to stun them for a few seconds to escape.
I knew we’d get to the Ghost slap, eventually.
Thanks for chilling with us, Stay safe!
Moving Out Monday #13 - Assist Mode and Accessibility Options
Hey Movers,
This week we’re excited to showcase some of the great work we put into our assist mode and to highlight some of our accessibility options! We really wanted to give all our players lots of control over how to play the game, so we made it a priority to create tools to make that happen!
In terms of accessibility, we worked heaps on the controls. We have a super cool Hold/Throw toggle that takes away the need to hold down triggers for extended periods of time, plus you’re able to remap the keyboard controls on PC.
We made a point to include a dyslexic-friendly font to make our written words as legible as possible, and we also added a scalable UI feature.
When it came to our assist mode, we wanted to give all our players a fighting chance - we reduced the difficulty by removing some dangerous elements and slowed down the hazards. We also slowed down enemy movement and chase speeds and made sure that slapped enemies would stay stunned for longer. You’re welcome.
To make levels easier, we also increased the time limits – this really helps players finish without the added pressure of that super quick ticking clock!
Last but not least, we gave players a never-fail option. If you’re really struggling to progress to the next level, we have good news for you. With level skipping, you will never truly get stuck.
We knew going into this game that we wanted to make something for everyone. We were excited by the challenge of making the game accessible to every player we could imagine and we really wanted you, the players, to be able to experience the game with both your families and your friends, regardless of skill level or requirements more generally. We can’t wait for you to play the whole game through, in any way you like. Let us know in the comments below which features you’re looking forward to most of all and tell us how you think they might help you play the game in YOUR way.
Until next time, Stay home and stay safe xoxo
Moving Out Monday #12 – A World of Destruction
Hey Movers,
Last week we took you ‘behind the camera’, but this time we wanted to share with you the crazy mayhem of destruction that you’ll find in our game. It’s a whole world of comedy, colour and chaos, and it’s a blast to mess around in!
We have all sorts of weird and wacky objects in Packmore, from old-school CRTs to giant plush giraffes.
Aside from deliverables, there’s a lot of physics-based objects to break and smash; but do be careful, these are people’s homes and workspaces you’re moving through – then again, no one ever cried over spilt... pizza.
There’s also the matter of Fragile Objects. These require teamwork, so please do handle with care. Or don’t. But if you don’t you’ll need to handle that object again, so better to be safe than sorry!
Lastly, we wanted you, the players, to forge your own paths through this world. To that effect – don’t let windows get in the way of you living your best life. Charge through those like they don’t exist!
Until next week, Stay home and stay safe!*
*No funnies here – please stay home – Team SMG and Team17 are working from home like it’s nobody’s business and we all need to do our bit!
Moving Out Monday #11 – Technical Problem Solving
Hey Movers!
Last week we went all in on the World Map, but today we’re gonna touch on some of the technical problems we had to solve during development.
First up, let’s talk about Steve’s* Magic Camera! You’d think the camera would be simple, but we had to consider things like: framing all the characters to make sure that everyone would stay on the screen at the same time and crucially, designing the size of the levels so we wouldn’t zoom out too far and lose all legibility.
We also found that when players were walking up ramps and stairs, objects could get caught on the ground. One solution we tried was to make the ramps super long for a shallow angle of elevation, but this wasn’t really workable from a level-design perspective.
In the end, we created a system whereby the characters would automatically raise their arms up when approaching ledges or walking up ramps and stairs. Chaa-ching!
Another issue we faced were complications with item respawning. We had to consider things like: how would they respawn with items in the way? How would we indicate something being blocked? We had to think creatively to solve those issues, and we added respawn markers and indicator graphics to make things pretty clear.
In the end, game design is a complicated mix of unknowable things and every game is different. It’s only when you’re putting all the pieces together that you can see the tech problems that need to be solved, but that’s part of what makes designing and building games so much fun.
Now that the demo is out, let us know in the comments what you think about the technical considerations and pay attention to that camera, especially if you’re giving it a shot with multiple players. We’d love to hear your thoughts!
*Steve is one of our amazing developers and he totally nailed the camera in our game!
Pre-orders & Free Demo!
Get ready to move on April 28th – pre-orders for Moving Out are now LIVE!
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Pre-order and get ‘The Employees of the Month Pack’ – four exclusive movers to represent you on your journey to become a certified Furniture and Relocation Technician (F.A.R.T):
‘The Employees of the Month Pack’ movers from left to right: Sprinkles, Bruce, Professor Inkle and Dials.
If you’re a fan of couch co-op fun and own Overcooked! or Overcooked! 2 you’ll get 20% off when you pre-order Moving Out on Steam!
But wait, there’s more…
A free demo is also available now! Grab your co-op buddies and try Moving Out before launch! Steam players can also utilise the Remote Play Together feature here on Steam to play over an online connection.
Moving Out comes to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on April 28th 2020!
Last week we got you grooving with emotes and dances, but this time we thought we’d get you racing through the Moving Out overworld!
Welcome to Packmore!
Lots of concept work went into the world map because we wanted it to be both fun and functional. Early on we started with some abstraction and a board game sort of feel.
As we progressed, we made the decision to take a more real-world approach so it would echo the levels, but keeping the board game feel. There were lots of elements to consider though. From the environment itself to the buildings and the truck, we had to do a lot of design work, which was super fun!
We also needed to make sure that the levels were clearly defined – the map is a tool to navigate through the levels of the game after all - so we tried lots of different things to make them pop.
Even though the world map needed to be functional, we also really liked the idea that you could have oversized physics items to play with, so we kept this board game element all the way through.
We hope you have fun exploring the Packmore world as you progress through the game. It took a lot of development and planning, but we think it was worth it!
Until next week,
Keep Moving!
Moving Out Monday #9 – Emotes and Dances
Hey Movers!
Last week we talked about truck sizes, but this week we thought we’d let the art team run rogue and show you some of the cool animations we have in the game – specifically Emotes and Dances!
We started with emotes in the game. These included clapping, a face-palm and a thumbs-up.
Once we added these and saw how excited people were - they used the emotes so creatively - it spurred us on to add some dances to the mix as well!
The dances had to fit the exaggerated anatomy of the Movers, so this was a particular challenge for our animator. A lot of dances focus on leg movement that didn’t really translate because our Movers have teeny-tiny legs (we love them for this, though). Likewise, their wonderfully large, but perfectly-sized-to-pick-things-up hands, also posed a problem.
On top of the character’s proportion… issues, the isometric-like camera generated some legibility considerations. It also complicated how the animations need to be crafted.
We also wanted to make sure everyone could get in on the action, so wheelchair Movers have their own unique dances on top of the ones they can already do!
Thanks for joining us again this week and we hope you’ll love wiggling your Movers as much as we’ve loved bringing them to life!
Until next time, Movers!
Moving Out Monday #8: Truck Sizes
Hey Movers,
Last time we jumped into the liquid guava pools of Moving Out FX, so this time we thought we’d talk about the tangerine element that is pretty much in every single level – the TRUCK!
Each Moving Out level can be played with up to four players, and this makes for some real considerations when designing the levels themselves. From the number of objectives to the ratio of heavy to single mover items, there’s a lot to consider. One huge factor is that the number of items changes as the player takes on bigger jobs, so as the game progressed, we noticed a real problem that needed to be solved.
How did we solve that? Well, it seems pretty obvious now, but… different sized trucks! This solution was super elegant and scalable, as controlling how finicky it is to fill the truck with items changes the level difficulty itself! Different truck sizes also had the added benefit of adding a mini game inside the core level design and gives all our wonderful players the freedom to be creative in their stacking.
Are you the sort of person who wants to load the truck as high as you can to completely eradicate that empty space?
Maybe you’re a neat freak and you want everything done in an orderly manner? Go on, get your tetris on.
Perhaps speed is more your thing? Throw everything in there with abandon, but do be careful - you don’t want your items to topple or there goes your play time!
Something as simple as changing the truck size changes the capacity of the delivery zone and that makes all the difference. User testing was crucial to figuring out the right size truck for each level too, so another shout out to that excellent group of people is in order. Thank you lovely testers!
So when you get your hands on this game and you’re loading that truck up like a boss, just remember to let your inner truck-sorter have the reins – you’ll do just fine.
Team SMG, moving out!
Moving Out Monday #7 - FX
Hey Movers,
Last time we shared our love for all the helpful folks who put their hands up to test the game, so today we thought we’d give you some excellent eye-candy and deep-dive into FX Land!
Games are such a mix of art, design and tech and FX really is the quintessential blend of all three. With Moving Out, game-play really drove the FX, but sometimes the reverse was true as well. Our tech artists really had to stretch themselves to achieve some of the effects you get to see and experience in the game. From smoke to fire, fluid to… bodily fluids… ahem… sweat, we have it all!
Being in the realm of Technical Art, FX can be /really/ technical, but we know you’ll be able to follow along, so let’s jump in with a SPLASH!
Fluid bodies and liquids play a big role game-play wise in Moving Out. Sometimes they’re death traps, sometimes they’re a requirement of other game elements. We really like it when game-play shows us that we need to make something to ‘fill a hole’ visually – an entire self-levelling fluid system was built because the game-play and story called for fluid-filled, deliverable objects. Our tech artists were really proud of their solution here – it’s all shader-based and conceptually it’s pretty neat.
Now, here’s something else to blow your mind. Did you know that our smoke, flames, and fluid splashes are all made the same way with the biggest difference being… gravity?! Don’t let anyone tell you that physics isn’t fun again.
Sweat was another game-play driven effect. We iterated a lot on this because it really is a visual indicator for the game mechanics. The sweat is a clue that you’re doing something in a less-than-efficient way in the game, and hey – you might need some help if you want to smash that time! Originally, we were more literal with the treatment: it looked like water, it was a little sluggish and tear-drop shaped. This didn’t really communicate the urgency that the sweat needed to though, so we made the sweat particles smaller, longer and speedier. This got the idea across cleanly and acted as a seamless, visual cue for players, one that we think is pretty elegant and effective.
At the end of the day, FX really bring the game to life. Smoke chugging from car exhausts, conduits that light up for game-play – all these effects help to really build the world into something that’s visually appealing and simultaneously communicates super important game-play elements. We think our tech artists did a great job of making the world feel extra polished and we hope you do too.
Why not tell us in the comments what effect you’ve liked most that you’ve seen so far and let us know how excited you are to interact with these in game!
Today we thought we’d talk about… YOU, the players! User testing is such a big part of what we do here at SMG that we try not to make a final call unless it’s passed the ‘people test’. It’s pretty great how many ideas have come from watching the playthroughs and we love being inspired by our players. With ideas being shared so organically, it’s a far cry from an isolated development experience!
One of the standout game mechanics that was born through user testing was the co-throw. In one of the playtests, the players tried to chuck a photocopier over the side of a balcony. At this stage, we’d only really let users throw smaller objects, but these testers opened us up to the idea that we could try a cooperative throw! By working together to swing big ticket items and releasing at just the right moment, we could allow players to throw hefty objects over balconies, pools and into fully loaded trucks. This simple idea changed the game so quickly!
Another cool element that came from watching the playthroughs was to do with the animals. One time a player was chasing after a goose, trying to catch it to give it a hug. We thought this was such a cute idea that we added this functionality to the game and now you can grab and hold all the animals. It seems so obvious now, but without user testing we may never have gotten there.
As for the actual user testing process, we recorded gameplay footage and captured tester audio which gave us unfiltered, on-the-spot, contextual user feedback. It was this sort of immediate sharing of ideas that led us to ‘the macaroni.’
We’d seen that there was a hole in the gameplay, so we added a large, curved item to our list of movables. We weren’t sure what this would be art-wise, so we just dropped it into the game as a big, yellow tube. One of our play testers was so excited at the sight of what they called the ‘giant macaroni’ and their enthusiasm was so infectious, that despite it being a large, curved sofa in game now, it is and always will be known to us internally as ‘the macaroni.’
User testing played a huge role in the development of Moving Out. From early versions of levels to suggestions and bugs, our players really helped guide our decisions by showing us so quickly what did and didn’t work.
We’d like to thank everyone that was kind enough to play the game throughout the development. Games are such a collaborative process and good ideas can come from everywhere. So thank you to all of our testers for being so enthusiastic and for helping to make the game what it is today.
