Variations on a Tank

Hide in the Darkness

Two players switch back and forth between being the predator and the prey in a dark maze. The prey can hide in the darkness, but cannot shoot. The predator can shoot, but is lit up and easily visible. Each shot leaves behind a light, but only a few lights can exist at once, so there are always places to hide.

This prototype was focused on modifying the very functional lighting and camera movement of the original game. It was inspired by German Expressionism, particularly the use of chiaroscuro lighting and skewed geometry.

Features:

• Two-player combat
• Real-time lighting and shadows
• Aesthetic influenced by German Expressionism
• The deep-seated knowledge that we are all prey to death, and darkness will not hide us

Tanks Miserables!

This single-player game casts you as the king tank fighting against a uprising. The revolutionaries are non-violent, but they are singing a powerful song. As their volume rises, your reign weakens. You can "defend" yourself by shooting or running over the revolutionaries to destroy them.

This prototype was focused on making the game's audio more interesting and integral to the gameplay. The initial concept was to fight an enemy using a song, but it evolved into defending against a song. The game features the song "Do You Hear the People Sing?" from Les Miserables, which inspired the French revolution setting and the gameplay.

Features:

• Single-player combat
• The player takes damage based on the volume of the enemies' song
• Rousing soundtrack from Les Miserables
• The feeling of unjustly fighting for survival against a just enemy

Tanks 2D!

Your tank has been flattened in this single-player game where you drive on the surface of a cube. Portals around the edges of each face transport you to an adjacent face. Your shells, however, move directly from face to face. Figuring out how to navigate the cube is part of the challenge. If you drive and shoot too wildly, you might just end up shooting yourself!

This prototype was focused on 3D objects and 3D space. The original TANKS! is a "3D" game, but the gameplay is entirely two-dimensional. Tanks 2D! emphasizes this gulf by using tank sprites instead of 3D models, and placing them on the surface of a cube. Now the tanks move in a three-dimensional space (further complicated by the portals), but the gameplay is still two-dimensional because it is bound to the cube's surface.

Features:

• Single-player combat
• Challenging gameplay
• Dizzying navigation on a space-cube
• Nobody had thrown up, yet

Additional Links

The game's press kit is here.

The developer's process journal, written while developing the prototypes, is here.