Abilities

Build Experiences with Abilities

1. Toggle specific Abilities on/off (Gameplay - Parameters tab)

1. Find equipment assets with Abilities (Library - Asset Kits), set as Collectable

1. Design for specific Abilities (see details per Ability below)

Flight Basics

Benefits

• Fly Up - reach new areas in Experiences that take advantage of verticality.

• Hover - maintain altitude when platforms disappear, get a bird's eye view to search, etc.

• Fly Forward Quickly - dash or change direction fast for exploration or agility challenges.

Use Cases

Traversal & Exploration

Advanced Movement & Gameplay

Design Considerations

Balancing & Accessibility

• Flight Duration: Ensure players can't bypass too many challenges and trivialize gameplay.

• Obstacle Placement: Introducing mid-air obstacles, moving platforms, or flying enemies to maintain challenge.

• Timing & Mechanics: Ensuring players have adequate practice with hovering without making levels too difficult.

• Difficulty Balancing: Avoiding the ability from trivializing level design.

Environmental Integration

• Height Management: Providing meaningful reasons to fly upwards, such as hidden areas or objectives.

• Invisible Boundaries & Skyboxes: Preventing players from flying out of the intended play area while maintaining a sense of freedom.

• Environmental Hazards: Designing traps and areas where hovering is essential but limited, such as narrow corridors where players must hover to avoid danger.

• Speed Control & Precision: Preventing overshooting and ensuring players can adjust direction mid-flight.

• Open Spaces: Designing large, open environments that encourage sprint flying.

Skill Progression & Rewards

• Unlocking Progression: Flight could unlock new sections, promoting replayability.

• Path Variety: Creating alternate routes that reward mastery of the ability, such as hidden shortcuts or obstacle-based sections.

Double Jump Basics

Benefits

• Greater Distance - Jump across wider gaps.

• Increased Height - Reach higher platforms, climbable objects, collectables, etc.

• Mid-air Maneuvering - Avoid obstacles and hazards, control momentum, or land precisely.

Use Cases

Traversal & Exploration

Advanced Movement & Gameplay

Design Considerations

Balancing & Accessibility

• Accessibility: Ensure that the combination of Double Jump and Edge Recovery is intuitive.

• Balance: Challenge and reward, but do not requiring perfect timing too frequently.

• Soften Consequences: Use checkpoints near challenging sections to avoid frustration.

• Assist Struggling Players: Offer as help to players who fall far behind race leaders.

• Varied Difficulty: Let players choose courses where the Ability aids or diversifies gameplay.

• Obstacle Spacing: Balance hazard placement to challenge without making jumps unfair.

Environmental Integration

• Visibility: Ensure platforms, hazards, and useful items are not blocked from the player view.

• Jump Length & Height: Ensure jump distance and height are considered in the level design.

• Complexity: Vary movement with stationary, rotating, moving, sinking, and disappearing platforms, hazards to avoid, and useful objects in sections and throughout the world.

• Signposting: Use lighting, shadows, VFX, or other visual cues to indicate jumpable surfaces.

• Feedback: Hint at best jump timing and reward success with visual and audio cues.

Skill Progression & Rewards

• Risk vs. Reward: Place valuable collectibles or shortcuts in areas requiring difficult jumps.

• Scaling Difficulty: Start with simple jumps and introduce complex combinations over time.

• Player Choice: Offer multiple traversal methods, such as edge climbing or directional adjustments, to cater to different playstyles.

Air Dance Basics

Benefits

• Glide Movement - Hover as you move over gaps to find new ways to explore areas.

• Move While Dancing - Walk or run while dancing with VFX that can't be done with emotes.

Use Cases

Traversal & Exploration

Advanced Movement & Gameplay

Design Considerations

Balancing & Accessibility

• Difficulty Balancing: Avoiding the ability from trivializing level design while providing an alternative for players who struggle with platforming.

• Hazard Placement: Adjusting level hazards and obstacles to accommodate Air Dance while maintaining fair difficulty.

Environmental Integration

• Meaningful Design: Designing lateral progression, hidden pathways, and more.

Skill Progression & Rewards

• Ramp of Difficulty: Start with simple, safe traversals and gradually increase difficulty of distance, avoidance, and landings.