Clock Struck None

Student Entrant 2016


SCHOOL
DigiPen Institute of Technology
CREATOR
DigiPen Team Null & Void

Description

Clock Struck None is a 2-D puzzle-platformer escape game in which the player plays Watch, the Guardian of the Clock of Time. The Clock of Time has broken, causing Time and Space to break down. Having fallen into the Clock, Watch must navigate his way back out, utilizing his unique ability to teleport between different "Time Zones", visualized by four different rooms within each level. Tears in the space time continuum also allow Watch to use copies of certain objects and platforms located in other Time Zones to help him escape.

The team's vision for Clock Struck None was always to be something original. We wanted something that we could call our own and that was unique from other games, and not just a student project completed to meet a credit requirement. Doing something new brings risks, but this was a risk we were all willing to make.The mechanics used in the original idea and prototype are virtually unchanged, but the story, visual design, and communication of the mechanics underwent extreme changes. At first, we had many issues with players understanding our unique mechanics, but with lots of work and changes made based on player feedback, we were able to make the game what it is now. Player and instructor feedback also helped us arrive at the current art style and color scheme. We originally used basic colors for the rooms but playtesters thought that the basic colors were too bland and made the environment feel too open. We eventually added the gears to accentuate the clock interior and used different gradients to help symbolize different times of day. This helped reinforce the time theme without being distracting to players. As for the narrative, the initial idea was based on looking at a room from various points of view, but when that didn't work, we decided to present the mechanics as a lab rat testing teleporting equipment, which eventually lead to the current story featuring a mouse and a concept of traveling to different times that is loosely based on Hickory Dickory Dock.


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