Overview
Shade // Shifter is a 2D, top-down shooter. In Shade//Shifter, players can shift dimensions in order to change the map to their advantage! I worked on this game during my time at Daydream Interactive. We worked on the game on the side while we were in school for about 4-5 months. We released the game on itch.io in May 2021. We also had a working Android build, but we never released it.
Design
Our primary goal when designing Shade // Shifter was to add an interesting new mechanic into an existing genre. This is what birthed the dimension shifting mechanic. We wanted to scope relatively small, and we wanted to work on a 2D game. We ultimately decided to create a top-down shooter akin to Nuclear Throne, and use the shift mechanic to add more depth.
Shift Machanic
The Dimension shifting mechanic allows players to change their surroundings for a short period of time as long as their shift bar is at least half full. The shift bar recharges over time, while not in the shadow dimension, and depletes rapidly whilst in the shadow dimension. If the shift bar runs out the player is forced to shift back to the normal dimension, however, they can leave the shadow dimension whenever they please.
Originally when we started brainstorming ideas for a game we thought of the dimension shifting mechanic. Players were able to swap to the shadow dimension and back whenever they wanted to. This allowed us to block areas off in order to force players closer to enemies. It also allowed players to block enemies attacks using the surroundings. About three months into the project we received some feedback about the shift mechanic. People really liked the idea, they thought it was fun and unique. However, they wanted to see us do more with it.
This begged the question, “how do we add more depth to this mechanic?” We took some time to brainstorm and reach out to some industry designers. Eventually, we came up with a few ways to improve the mechanic. The first way was to put the shift on a time limit. So we created the shift bar which fills up when not in the shadow dimension and depletes while in the shadow dimension. This meant that players had to be strategic in deciding when to shift.
Adding various enemies with different attributes based on the dimension was another way we wanted to add to this mechanic. We wanted some enemies to be immune while in certain dimensions, and we wanted to show this by changing the colors of their health bars to red or purple based on which dimension they could be damaged in. However, adding more enemies increased the scope greatly so it never made it in.
Another way we thought about adding to the shift mechanic was by making no-shift zones. Areas or rooms on the map where players are locked in and forced to face an onslaught on enemies without being able to change dimension. These rooms would likely be secret and contain some good loot. As you may have guessed this mechanic never made it in due to everyone on the team going their separate ways before we could implement it.
Gunplay
The secondary design focus was on gunplay. We wanted to make the guns each feel unique and juicy. In order to make each gun feel different, we used varying bullet sprites, bullet sizes, screen shake effects, and much more. We took inspiration from games such as Nuclear Throne, Titan Souls, Enter the Gungeon, and more.
After creating the five guns currently in the game, I diverted attention back to the shift mechanic as it seemed to be lacking a little bit. I always intended to come back to add more guns to the game. I had a table in the game design document with a bunch of guns, their attributes, and effects. I even had an artist make sprites made for some of them! Unfortunately, I never got the chance to come back to implement them.
Level Design
Designing the levels in Shade // Shifter was a lot of fun, but was not the main design focus. I designed the first level as a tutorial. The boxes in this level are different from normal boxes. The only one that will drop anything is the first box that gets shot which will always drop a med-pack. This is meant to showcase that shooting boxes may not only help players progress but also give them goodies. To progress, the player must then utilize the shift mechanic. When they do, the map and the aesthetic will change, showing the player that this changes the map and can be used for progression. Furthermore the other pillars in that room change. Perceptive players notice that they can shift to strategically create some cover for themselves. There are also a couple of enemies that spawn here just so players can get a feel for them.
Originally I had no hand in making the second level. However, I went in and made it less barren so it would have a similar feel to the other levels.
The third level is the boss level. We wanted to keep the boss fairly simple, but make it a difficult fight. Someone brought up that we should make a king slime boss, and we went with that but decided to make it an RGB slime! In this level, players walk into the boss room and get locked in. The room is lined with boxes. Players can utilize these boxes to get more health or to get different weapons. Shifting into the shadow dimension will summon a few pillars. If timed correctly, these are capable of blocking the boss when it jumps at the player. After the boss is defeated, the room unlocks and the player is able to exit.
The story mode only consists of three levels. However, there is also an endless mode. The endless mode map is fairly large in order to add more area to move and to make it more replayable. Players have to utilize shift and face an enemy of each type to exit the spawn room. Once they have proven they can utilize these mechanics and make it out of the room, the enemies will start spawning. In endless mode, there are no boxes. The enemies have a small chance to drop weapons instead.
Robert Andersen Games 