snake

john knowles

the big idea behind this project was to create a world around the classic game snake. in snakes, the player is immersed in the world of a family of snakes, each slithering to its own beat.

the motivation behind this game was first and foremost to explore the world of game design in unity and chuck. the design and building of the game offered me a first chance to explore implementing a larger scale project in unity. as for the game itself, i was motivated by the idea of immersion, specifically into the world of being a snake. in creating the sounds and visuals, i attempted to orient my designs around this focus of immersive experience.

the final product is a cross between a game and a toy, a first person perspective of a family of 5 snakes. the user controls a snake, and enters slithering through a world of grass. the user can only interact with the world by sending out pulses, which sense the environment around them. if the sense a nearby snake, mouse, or fish, this animal comes into focus, and so does its sound. the snake can explore three worlds: a large grassy area, a lake, a sand pit. the as a snake, a player can interact with the four other snakes, and eat mice and fish in the sand and water worlds.

the purpose that this project serves is to give satisfaction to the users. i attempted to make the game feel as smooth as possible, almost glazelike. i wanted the experience to be one of emodiment and, as stated before, immersion. i wanted a connection to be drawn between the player and the digital snake, where the player felt satisfied to simply explore. it was an attempt at simply being, offering small interactions to the player with no larger purpose. this lack of a larger purpose is a signal to the player to let go of larger ambitions, and simply explore.

the games interface is the keyboard of the computer. the game maps certain keys to functionality as detailed below:

the game is designed using chuck to run the audio engine, and unity to run the visual engine. these elements are combined using chunity.

once the process of design and redesign started, i soon realized that the scale at which i could build the game, and the scale at which i would build the game differed greatly. the ability to design outweighs the ability to do. thus, in order to "succeed", i needed to reset my ambitions, narrow my focus and design to a point at which i was satisfied. once i reached this point, i no longer felt like i had to do more, rather i felt that it satisfied me as it was, despite lacking what it did. it was at this point that i felt i was done.