Platform Technical Requirements
Doctor Water will be developed on Unity. With a focus on 2D gameplay and puzzle solving mechanics this software will be best for developing this game. The targeted platforms for this game includes, PC and the Nintendo Switch. The choice of platforms comes down to the Target Audience.
Optimization:
To improve the performance of the game and ensure smooth gameplay here are some key features that need to be implemented whilst coding the game:
- Sprite Atlases is crucial as it will reduce the draw calls from rectangular to the specific sprite outline
- Simplified Physics Collider is essential for the game to run as this makes the sprite objects interactive.
- Object Pooling can be used for assets that will constantly be destroyed, used and broken as this pre-instantiates all assets so they can be used at any time without burdening the CPU whilst the player is progressing.
Technical Feasibility:
Unity is the perfect tool to develop Doctor Waters, it has advanced 2D development tools with the ability for multi platform capabilities. This engine supports both the artistic side and the gameplay needs of this project whilst ensuring the game can still run on low spec systems.
Platform-Specific Consideration
Nintendo switch –
Sourced from Ninentendo Fandom
This Image shows the different buttons on the switch controller. Within Unity i can bind different movements to each of these buttons. I will be sticking to movement settings that are used across the industry. Here is an example of a common controller bindings for a platformer game on the Nintendo Switch:
- Movement : Left joystick for left/right movement.
- Jump: A button
- Run/Dash: B button
- Interact/Attack: Y button
- Camera Control: Right joystick
Specification:
To understand the limitations I pulled the console specs from the latest Nintendo Switch to look at optimisation for Doctor Water.
Nintendo Switch™ console
| Size | Approximately 4 inches high, 9.4 inches long, and 0.55 inches deep (with Joy-Con attached) *The depth from the tip of the analog sticks to the tip of the ZL/ZR buttons is 1.12 inches |
| Weight | Approximately .66 lbs (Approximately .88 lbs when Joy-Con controllers are attached) |
| Screen | Multi-touch capacitive touch screen / 6.2-inch LCD Screen / 1280 x 720 |
| CPU/GPU | NVIDIA Custom Tegra processor |
| Storage | 32 GB of internal storage, a portion of which is reserved for use by the system. Users can easily expand storage space using microSDHC or microSDXC cards up to 2TB (sold separately). |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)(*) Bluetooth 4.1 (*In TV mode, Nintendo Switch systems can be connected with a wired LAN adapter – sold separately) |
| Video output | Up to 1080p via HDMI in TV mode Up to 720p via built-in screen in tabletop mode and handheld mode |
| Audio output | Compatible with 5.1ch Linear PCM output Output via HDMI connector in TV mode |
| Speakers | Stereo |
| Buttons | Power button / Volume button |
| USB connector | USB Type-C Used for charging or for connecting to the Nintendo Switch dock. |
| Headphone/mic jack | 3.5mm 4-pole stereo (CTIA standard) |
| Game card slot | Nintendo Switch game cards |
| microSD card slot | Compatible with microSD, microSDHC, and microSDXC memory cards *Once the microSDXC card is inserted, a system update will be necessary. An Internet connection is required to perform this system update. |
| Sensor | Accelerometer, gyroscope, and brightness sensor |
| Operating environment | 41-95 degrees F / 20-80% humidity |
| Internal battery | Lithium-ion battery/4310mAh |
| Battery life | Approximately 4.5 – 9 hours *The battery life will depend on the games you play. For instance, the battery will last approximately 5.5 hours for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. |
| Power Consumption | TV mode Playing a game: Approx. 7W Watching a video: Approx. 6W On the main menu: Approx. 3W Sleep mode: Approx. 0.3W Power off: Approx. 0.3W Handheld & Tabletop modes Playing a game: Approx. 4W Watching a video: Approx. 3W On the main menu: Approx. 2W Sleep mode: Approx. 0.03W Power off: Less than 0.01W Estimated annual energy consumption*: Approx. 6 kWh *The estimated annual energy consumption of a console when used for gaming an average two hours per day for a whole year. Power consumption varies depending on software and usage conditions. Values have been rounded off to the nearest full value. There also may be some statistical variations on the energy consumption values displayed. The values could also change depending on the usage environment and conditions. |
| Charging time | Approximately 3 hours *When charging while the hardware is in sleep mode |
The main focus from this table of information is the ‘Resolution’. For each console the UI design will change. Therefore a focus on implementing scalable and adaptable interfaces for different screen resolutions is important. For the screen of the Nintendo Switch it states the resolution is ‘1280 x 720’ what this means is that there will be less pixels than on a bigger screen. This is something I need to consider in the Art section.
PC –
For simplicity the controls for Doctor Water will mimic that of other platformer games. A game that i’ve used as inspiration for the controls is Hollow Knight. This is the layout of their controls. This is a very standard layout through the genre. The key differences between Doctor Water controls is that in addition to the arrow keys for movement players can use W, A, S, D. For Doctor Water “Cast” / “Dream Nail” will refer to the weapons abilities and will not be A and D but instead the left mouse and right mouse.
Specification:
Due to the game being a 2D platformer they are notably “easy” to run. Most computer systems will be able to run the game but here is an example of my PC specifications which would be able to run the game at full quality at 1920 by 1080p:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX ATX AM5 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory)
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte WINDFORCE V2 GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER 16 GB Video
Card Case: Corsair Crystal 570X RGB ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair RM1000e (2023) 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply