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RESPAWN

A two-player puzzle platformer for GMTK 2024: play as a size-shifting meatball, cooperating with a partner to escape from inside a giant. Design, levels and programming.

Game DesignLevel DesignGameplay ProgrammingUnityGame Jam

Role

Game Designer / Level Designer / Gameplay Programmer

Engine

Unity

Team

Team project (GMTK 2024)

Duration

Aug 2024

Overview

RESPAWN is a two-player platformer puzzle game with a Cthulhu-style flesh-world theme. You play as a transformable, size-shifting meatball, collaborating with a partner to navigate crises and ultimately escape from inside a giant.

Play it: itch.io

Art style reference: Scorn
Art direction reference: the fleshy, body-horror aesthetic of *Scorn*

Core Mechanics

Size transfer: the two characters are connected by an umbilical tether; pressing space transfers fat between them, changing their mass distribution and size:

  • Large: high mass — can smash rocks and press gravity buttons, but risks failing by hitting the mass cap
  • Medium: balanced — can jump and press buttons using gravity
  • Small: light — strong jumps, fits through narrow gaps, and can be blown by fans

Transferred fat chunks have collision detection and can trigger mechanisms in the environment. Tether mechanic: crouching fixes the rope length so players can swing to the right position; if the two players drift too far apart, the rope snaps and the game ends.

Umbilical tether fat-transfer mechanic
Core mechanic: the two characters are joined by an umbilical tether, transferring fat to change size

Props & Mechanism System

Gravity buttons (large size only), fat-collision buttons and trapdoors (activated by fat chunks in transit), crushable walls (large size only), size-check end gates (both players must enter at the required size), secretors (produce fat chunks when a player is detected below), and fans (blow lightweight characters).

Level Design

  • Tutorial level: players learn to transfer fat and grow large enough to press buttons — mastering the tether fixation mechanic, then meeting the activated pedal and collide button
  • Advanced training: introduces new mechanics while reinforcing Level 1 — collide button advanced training, then combined collide + gravity button challenges
Level 1 gameplay
Tutorial level: tether swinging and size transfer
Advanced level platform layout
Advanced level: platforming and combined mechanisms

Iteration

  • v0.3: just a concept — two players who can change size → added a bond between them as a constraint, enabling size transfer
  • v1.1: some mechanism placements made co-op too hard → added press-down and jump mechanics, fixing placement issues and making play more engaging
  • v2.0: scene transitions weren't seamless and art style was inconsistent → added walls for cohesive transitions
  • v3.1: players reported low immersion, too casual → added a sound system and background music for a tenser, more thrilling horror atmosphere

Project Management

SCM version control and documentation on Feishu.

Character animation state machine
Character animation state machine (Unity Animator): size, jump, movement and death transitions

Results

  • Completed and shipped a playable build within the GMTK 2024 jam window

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