Sky Ladder Repair

Sky Ladder Repair is an alternative controller (alt-ctrl), asymmetrical cooperative game. Gameplay revolves around a repair crew consisting of two players, the Climber and the Holder, who work together to repair broken signs in a Honk Kong inspired setting. The Climber, uses a life-size ladder to go up and down the in-game ladder while using a drill to fix the signs. The Holder, uses a small ladder to keep the in-game ladder balanced and to move it from left to right.

The other six team members were also Sheridan College game design students. We were accepted as finalists in the ALT-CTRL category for GDC 2024 in San Francisco, USA. We successfully showcased our game for the full week, attracting a lot of players, getting on a news broadcast, being incorporated in a games study, and eventually being asked to showcase our game in a public library in Ohio, USA, where our controllers are currently located.

Roles

Game Design

The game's design had three major considerations, the game being cooperative, utilizing the alternative controllers to the best of their abilities, and being cognizant of cognitive overload since Sky Ladder Repair would be played in a loud venue by players who'd never seen anything quite like what we'd created. With the primary objective of the game being to repair signs, that's what I focused my efforts on first. Early playtests revealed that our original system, where signs had multiple repair points with various patterns, was too complex. The system would be simplified to have one repair point, which better fit the arcadey gameplay style that we were aiming for.

Next, I took on the enemy and hazard design. My main goal here being to incentivize communication between both players. I initially pitched six designs which, were scoped down to the best three for our purposes – the Falcon enemy, the Kite enemy, and the Hot Steam Leaks hazard. The Falcon flies diagonally towards the Climber with a loud squawk to signify its presence, giving them the opportunity to dodge it by using the slide mechanic. If it grabs onto the Climber they become stunned and can't progress until they communicate this to the Holder, who can then use their mini-ladder to shake it off. The Kite enemy, was originally planned to move randomly but, was changed to move in set loops to feel more fair. In most cases this was more of an obstacle for the Climber but, in specific scenarios, would require effective communication to avoid. Lastly, the Hot Steam Leaks serve as an easily understood hazard, and proved to be the most effective design for encouraging communication because it blinded players momentarily, causing confusion and panic.

Level Design

My focus for level design was in the purposeful utilization of gameplay elements because level geometry was limited to a handful of similar prefabs that varied in height. This meant placing the signs, shops, enemies and hazards, in a way that paced the experience to be varied and appropriately difficult. For example, enemies are introduced as the focal point of their own level, slowly combining them until the final level, which includes all of them. To ensure varied and engaging gameplay, I always tried to use an element in a new way, utilizing them to their fullest potential. The kite enemy, for example, is used as an obstacle en route to the next sign, encircling a sign, and even overlapping multiple signs in its pathing.

I designed a tutorial to quickly initiate the players to the gameplay. It proved to be a challenge to design because of the constraints of the game type and the technical limitations it imposed. I had to design a tutorial for asymmetrical co-op, in which both controllers are effectively taught within a short time frame because of the GDC venue, while simultaneously being in the same level. I wanted players to have some sense of freedom. I was able to accomplish this, as seen below, with triggers, prompts, slowly enabling controls, and once again with the purposeful placement of gameplay elements. Generally, players at GDC didn't need any help to learn how to play, and our game had success being played unsupervised at CPL events in Ohio, USA, which I'm quite proud of.

Takeaways

The importance of keeping a player's cognitive load in mind especially when introducing something completely novel.
You can create varied and creative gameplay scenarios even when your toolkit is limited to a few simple elements.
It is important to build good relationships with your team members in order to enable open communication and quick iteration.

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