Loco-Motion
Loco-Motion is a real time train station management survival game where the player is tasked with keeping the trains from colliding while also collecting fares from passengers and using the profits to upgrade and build more stations.
Loco-motion was created over the course of 4 weeks, these 4 weeks were spent prototyping different game mechanics that would then at the end of each week would be integrated into the game. This game was originally created during a few weeks of rapid prototyping where the team was tasked with creating a different proof of concept for a mechanic or game idea every week. We then took all the proof of concepts we had created and decided on what idea we wanted to go forth with and expand upon.
Design Challenges
Space and Station Building
- When we were deciding on mechanics to add to the game we originally wanted the player to be able to create and build new stations so that they can increase their overall money generation
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However after implementing this we found there was only a limited amount of buildings that could be built and it felt very restricting to the player
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To solve this we made it so the player is able to scroll and zoom out giving them ample room to grow and expand
Station Upgrades and Progression
- The first prototype that we created did not feature any sort of progression for the player, the only things that they could do is try and survive for as long as possible while making money. When testing this lead to a very short play time and people feeling bored and frustrated
To combat this we decided that the player should be able to use their money to upgrade the stations and progress through 3 different tiers of stations
They player is able to choose between 2 upgrades
Increasing the total amount of passengers the train can hold
Increasing the rate that the passengers load into the train.
Once they have upgraded each of the stats they can then upgrade their station to the next tier and unlock further upgrades.
This not only increased the play time for the player but also introduced strategy and a more self directed type of gameplay.
