gazey golf
a golfing eyegaze game
overview
With eye tracking technology as the focus, we worked with the gamer’s charity Special Effect to develop another game for their platform, Eye Gaze Games. We pitched a crazy golf game as it would suit all control methods required for the site. Oh and also it would be super fun to play and make!
controls evolution
Here is the evolution of the power controls from the game design document, to the concept art to how it looks in the final game. The biggest change is from the concept to the final game. We added a button (at the top) to toggle back to choosing your direction. Because the direction of the player’s shot is chosen by the player moving their gaze left and right, the toggle needed to be central. This is so that when it is used, the player’s gaze doesn’t drastically change the direction of their shot.
modular design
Using Blender, we created modular building blocks to allow us to create many levels very quickly. When it came to playtesting, the key to making the game fun was nailing all of the physics, such as how much bounce the edges have, how much friction the floor has and how heavy the ball is. When building the courses, we carefully designed each one individually and also designed the overall arch and experience of the game. With all these exciting building blocks it could’ve been tempting to chuck every piece into every course. However, we slowly introduced new pieces and new challenges for the players. This keeps the experience fresh. Just as the player feels they are mastering the game, we throw in a new obstacle.
result
It is always a privilege working with Special Effect and developing this game with them was no different. Also, we can now tick “design a mini golf course” off the bucket list!
