Hayo coaster friends!
Welcome to another Planet Coaster: Console Edition Developer Journal. Today, we'll be focusing on the Career Mode and brand new Tutorial that the team created to introduce you to Planet Coaster on consoles. Please welcome Designers Darren Williams and Anne van Leeuwen!
Hey all! We're looking forward to talking a bit about what we've been working on during Planet Coaster: Console Edition's development.
Darren:
As a Designer, my main responsibilities have been to help assess and balance the Career Scenarios, and look at how well they fit with the new UI and control scheme. I have also had a great deal of involvement with the creation and implementation pipeline for over 450 new blueprints.
Anne:
Besides general Game Design, my main responsibility was the design of the Tutorial. The Tutorial involves two new levels, one for general game mechanics and one specifically for coaster building. In the main Tutorial, the player is guided around a small park that has three stages. The Tutorials also include the introductions of some brand new characters. We've learned a lot from Planet Coaster on PC, and with the new Tutorial, we hoped to give the players a well-rounded introduction to the game mechanics and make it easier for new players to get into the game on consoles.
A lot of thought went into choosing what information to include, and where the player can handle things on their own. We know from experience that our players are smart, so you don’t want to do too much hand-holding. Still, we’re all proud of the game, so it’s very tempting to dive deeply into all the details!
Darren:
The Career Mode has been brought over from Planet Coaster on PC, with a balance pass to help new player’s better progress through each of our Scenarios. All Scenarios from Planet Coaster on PC will be in the game, all with new research trees, most with newly balanced management challenges, and with new objectives thrown in there for good measure. These are all designed to not only present the player with an interesting challenge, but also to help better build new players' management and coaster/park creation skills. New to Planet Coaster: Console Edition is a full set of voiceovers running right through all the Scenarios. These new characters give a lot more meaning and context to the Scenarios, and your actions within them.
Anne:
The levels in Career Mode are basically mini-simulations. They were very interesting to build, but while we were building them, we were also still working on how the simulation actually worked at the same time. An interesting balance was keeping the puzzles solvable. It’s very tempting to add the most intricate puzzles to the level you can come up with, although some of these may have been snuck in!
Darren:
Career Mode follows directly on from the newly created Tutorial Scenario. The first few Career Scenarios will see you reinforcing the basics of what you have already learned. Placing down rides, hiring staff, building basic coasters, etc. Following on from this, the objectives will start to ramp up introducing staff training, shop and facility management, and guest management. Some guests will start to cause havoc in your park, and you will be handed the reigns to take over and rebuild more challenging and even previously failed parks. Towards the end of Career Mode, some of the coasters you are required to create have deviously difficult constraints that will have you thinking outside of the box to achieve your goals.
When creating the Career Mode, one of our focuses was trying to anticipate how players will end up interacting with the parks and challenges you have created. This is where QA and UX testing come in. We have been gathering playthroughs throughout development to help highlight areas that may be too easy, too difficult, or just unclear or not fun.
Anne:
I'm really looking forward to seeing the community's reaction to the new UI and the small changes in gameplay! That, and I’m just generally looking forward to seeing Planet Coaster on consoles.
Darren:
Likewise, I'm looking forward to seeing how the new control scheme is received for building parks and coasters on console. It has been one of the biggest undertakings in the development of Planet Coaster: Console Edition and I can’t wait to see how all that hard work pays off. On a more personal note, I am looking forward to showing members of my family who only have consoles what I have been working on.
Welcome to another Planet Coaster: Console Edition Developer Journal. Today, we'll be focusing on the Career Mode and brand new Tutorial that the team created to introduce you to Planet Coaster on consoles. Please welcome Designers Darren Williams and Anne van Leeuwen!
Hey all! We're looking forward to talking a bit about what we've been working on during Planet Coaster: Console Edition's development.
Darren:
As a Designer, my main responsibilities have been to help assess and balance the Career Scenarios, and look at how well they fit with the new UI and control scheme. I have also had a great deal of involvement with the creation and implementation pipeline for over 450 new blueprints.
Anne:
Besides general Game Design, my main responsibility was the design of the Tutorial. The Tutorial involves two new levels, one for general game mechanics and one specifically for coaster building. In the main Tutorial, the player is guided around a small park that has three stages. The Tutorials also include the introductions of some brand new characters. We've learned a lot from Planet Coaster on PC, and with the new Tutorial, we hoped to give the players a well-rounded introduction to the game mechanics and make it easier for new players to get into the game on consoles.
A lot of thought went into choosing what information to include, and where the player can handle things on their own. We know from experience that our players are smart, so you don’t want to do too much hand-holding. Still, we’re all proud of the game, so it’s very tempting to dive deeply into all the details!
Darren:
The Career Mode has been brought over from Planet Coaster on PC, with a balance pass to help new player’s better progress through each of our Scenarios. All Scenarios from Planet Coaster on PC will be in the game, all with new research trees, most with newly balanced management challenges, and with new objectives thrown in there for good measure. These are all designed to not only present the player with an interesting challenge, but also to help better build new players' management and coaster/park creation skills. New to Planet Coaster: Console Edition is a full set of voiceovers running right through all the Scenarios. These new characters give a lot more meaning and context to the Scenarios, and your actions within them.
Anne:
The levels in Career Mode are basically mini-simulations. They were very interesting to build, but while we were building them, we were also still working on how the simulation actually worked at the same time. An interesting balance was keeping the puzzles solvable. It’s very tempting to add the most intricate puzzles to the level you can come up with, although some of these may have been snuck in!
Darren:
Career Mode follows directly on from the newly created Tutorial Scenario. The first few Career Scenarios will see you reinforcing the basics of what you have already learned. Placing down rides, hiring staff, building basic coasters, etc. Following on from this, the objectives will start to ramp up introducing staff training, shop and facility management, and guest management. Some guests will start to cause havoc in your park, and you will be handed the reigns to take over and rebuild more challenging and even previously failed parks. Towards the end of Career Mode, some of the coasters you are required to create have deviously difficult constraints that will have you thinking outside of the box to achieve your goals.
When creating the Career Mode, one of our focuses was trying to anticipate how players will end up interacting with the parks and challenges you have created. This is where QA and UX testing come in. We have been gathering playthroughs throughout development to help highlight areas that may be too easy, too difficult, or just unclear or not fun.
Anne:
I'm really looking forward to seeing the community's reaction to the new UI and the small changes in gameplay! That, and I’m just generally looking forward to seeing Planet Coaster on consoles.
Darren:
Likewise, I'm looking forward to seeing how the new control scheme is received for building parks and coasters on console. It has been one of the biggest undertakings in the development of Planet Coaster: Console Edition and I can’t wait to see how all that hard work pays off. On a more personal note, I am looking forward to showing members of my family who only have consoles what I have been working on.
