Alekon lets players create the perfect photo album

If you want to take pictures of interesting creatures in unique poses in AleconYou'll have to solve minigames, organize parties and tell ghost stories – everything it takes to get that special photo.

Game Developer sat down with Kevin Notar, one of the designers and writers on the project, to talk about the importance of the creatures’ personalities and how they shaped the game, how they added tons of photography possibilities across the on-rails and free-roaming experience, and how they focused on letting players be creative with their photo editing tools.

Game Developer: Alecon sees players taking photos of fascinating creatures inspired by concepts (called Fictions). What inspired this idea for a photography game?

Notary:When I started AleconI was working on a AAA project that was going through a lot of ups and downs. There were too many meetings, which was holding me back from making any progress. Alecon It became a creative outlet for me on the weekends. I started writing a game design document that contained information about the level designs, the creatures that inhabited them, the overall aesthetic, etc.

The game's focus on photography was a result of ideas I had about the setting. I wanted to explore dreams and the subconscious, and I thought photography could work well with that. I was intrigued by the potential of a game that lets players explore their subconscious and then uses photography to bring those hidden elements into their conscious mind. It felt novel, and not to mention I was a big Pokemon Snap fans growing up.

This core lore was a source of inspiration, and while it is deeply rooted in the final game, you will find it woven into various dialogues.

In the initial design document for the game, the levels were much wilder. I had a jazz emporium level where all the creatures played instruments, a junkyard level where all of humanity's lost ideas were thrown away, etc. The levels were wacky and imaginary, so I called their inhabitants Fictions. The scope of the levels was too broad, but the Fictions and the overall vision remained.

Can you tell us a little about the process of designing a Fiction? How did you choose the concepts to turn into creatures and how did you take those concepts and give them physical animal forms?

At first, Skylar Surra helped with the concept art. I gave both him and Daniel Kraft the design of the Fiction, their missions, what the Fictions would do, the landscape they would be in, etc. Then they would do the details.

Eventually, Daniel Kraft also took up the concept and started making the pieces of Fictions modular, copying elements between them. This greatly accelerated our process.

What attracted you to the game’s playful art style? Why did you choose this visual style for your unique creatures and world?

Limitations! A lot of our art assets came from a variety of online resource stores. We didn't have a dedicated artist, so the layers fell to me to “art” them up. I relied on lighting for cohesion, which I learned from watching a lot of Udemy tutorials.

The other benefit of our visual style is performance. By keeping the polygon count low, we can focus more on making the game fun and less on constantly optimizing it.

The Fictions take on a variety of poses, as the player solves puzzles in the environment. What thoughts went into creating the various actions and poses that some of the creatures take?

We tried to bring out their personalities on the map with their poses, interactions, sounds, etc. The Fictions don't care about the puzzles themselves; they only care about the outcome. For example, Mudwog doesn't care that we moved the lanterns closer to attract bugs. He just wants bugs. If you give Mudwog bugs, then it's a great opportunity to have more poses to take pictures of.

Interacting with Fictions on Dream's Doorstep is our biggest differentiator, as it allows you to talk to them and understand their quirks and habits. For example, Mudwog has no ego, but Wullard does! If you throw a donut at Mudwog, he won't care, but throwing a donut at Wullard will make him angry enough to crash into a rock, opening up a new path, and getting a new pose for you to take a picture of.

Likewise, what thoughts went into the environmental puzzles that players could solve? How did you shape the puzzles to fit the natural environments of Alecon?

Early on, Jay Watford and I discovered tools that would give us a variety of mechanics to play with. Jason Burton then helped make sure these mechanics looked and felt good from an art and VFX perspective. From there, I would mark puzzle areas on the levels and revisit them throughout development, adding more where possible.

Most of the time, I would look at the environment feature and think, “Hmm… I bet we could add a magnetic puzzle here” or something. Then I would work it into the level to make it fit as best as I could. For example, adding more rocks around if it was a magnet, trying to find dark places for the lanterns, etc.

Friendship is an important element along with photography in this game. What attracted you to the fact that players can befriend Fiction?

It's just more fun to talk to characters than it is to talk to unfeeling creatures. It gives us more to work with in terms of minigames, quests, and IP. If Fictions were like wild animals and didn't appreciate the things you did for them, it wouldn't be as satisfying. Imagine if all Fiction dialogue was “roar” or “grrr.” This might be fun for a second, but it gets boring quickly. When you get to know Fictions' quirks, their desires, their history, etc., helping them becomes a much greater reward.

What thoughts went into creating the minigames you play to befriend the Fictions? What do you think the minigames, as well as the friendships, added to this photo-taking experience?

All of this was Max Shawabkeh. When Max joined, a world of possibilities opened up for AleconHe is a truly exceptional engineer and can really do it all.

When Max suggested that we could have minigames on Dream's Doorstep instead of just talking to them, I lit up. It was a great way to add depth to the game, giving players more ways to interact with the Fictions and learn about them in a way that simple text never could.

I think the minigames are one of the most representative elements of Alecon. Without them, we wouldn't have Jo'keel's Comedy Club or Justaplant's Court Case. These missions, while optional, show the Fictions in a special light and leave lasting memories. It makes you want to go back to the level and get the best possible picture of that Fiction.

Alecon classify players based on their image. How did you choose the criteria by which to classify the image? What kind of work was done to program the game to be able to classify players based on how well they did?

Our goals were:

According to Max, the coding itself was easy. It was designing the criteria and changing the difficulty that took time. We looked at all the other photography games out there, but we came up with our own rating system because it made the most sense for the game.

Players can either roam freely through the game or explore on rails. What inspired you to have these two systems? What challenges or advantages did you face in allowing players to do both?

When we were testing the game at the beginning, we felt that the game needed more than just an on-rails experience. Exploring on foot gave it a completely different feel. Players could take their time, set up the perfect shot, interact with more parts of the level, etc. The gameplay possibilities opened up. Another positive is that the on-rails gameplay lets you take a tour of the level and get familiar with it before unlocking free roam.

However, free roaming required a lot of work. I had to add a lot more meshes to prevent the player from running away from the level, make sure all the surfaces were comfortable to walk on, add other unique things you could only do while free roaming, etc.

We also had different rules for rail mode and free mode, such as what happens when you jump on a Fiction while in free mode, what happens when you cross a Fiction while on rails, etc. However, it was worth it.

Players have a certain ability to be creative with modifications and certain toys. How did you decide what tools players would have to liven up their photos? How did you implement abilities that would make the images more interesting or fun?

Creativity is a pillar for Alecon and we've been constantly trying to fit that into the game.

We had a bunch of Google spreadsheets with our ideas for minigames, quest rewards, etc. Most of the time, we would come up with an idea, write it down in the spreadsheet, and then iterate from there. If it seemed like something that would be expressive and fun to interact with, we would assign it as a reward to one of the Fictions based on their personality.

One of the most rewarding elements is seeing how other players use these tools. We have a small Discord where people have posted their favorite photos, Dream's Doorstep decorations, etc. Everyone adds a different touch and many have been inspired by the game. We had one person cry during the end of Alecon during the stream, one person who created an entire wiki for the game by himself, and even one person who is now embedding Alecon Fictions in his indie game titled Abomi Nation: Monster Rifts.

Ultimately, our goal was to provide players with creative tools that not only enhance their gaming experience, but also inspire them to express themselves and connect with others in ways that go far beyond the game itself.