See You In Shell (WIP)
Role: Systems & Level Designer
Focus: Cooperative Incentives, Shared Resource Economy, Social Friction & Multiplayer Readability
A cooperative 3D platformer for three players. Players escort a moving egg carton payload through hazardous environments while managing a shared life pool.
The primary design goal is to create a controlled tension between teammates. Players must cooperate to succeed, but their actions frequently interfere with one another. Instead of eliminating frustration, the game uses small, recoverable moments of conflict to create communication, coordination, and memorable social interactions.
Core System
Players are eggs escorting an egg carton that contains the team's life pool.
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Maximum 12 shared lives (including active players)
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Player death removes 1 life
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If lives reach 0 the team fails.
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Reaching a checkpoint restores 1 life (up to the cap)
This creates a fail forward cooperative economy. Mistakes hurt the team, but coordinated play recovers stability.
Design Intent
The system replaces individual punishment with team accountability while avoiding hopelessness. Players feel pressure but are still encouraged to attempt risky actions because recovery is possible.
Moving Payload Pressure
The payload constantly travels along a path.
Players can enter the payload for safety, but:
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​Players outside the payload when it reaches a checkpoint lose a life.
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The payload moves faster depending on how many players are inside.
Choice
Benefit
Risk
Stay Inside
Safety + Speed
No Hazard Mitigation
Leave Payload
Disable Hazards
Death Risk
All stay inside
Fast Progress
Unmanaged Hazards
This forces players to coordinate responsibilities instead of playing independently
Parallel Risk Objectives
Every hazard shutdown switch is reachable from the beginning of the level.
However:
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Early access requires high risk and time investment
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As the payload advances, switches become safer to reach
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Delaying hazard increases short-term danger
Players must balance three competing objectives:
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Escorting the payload​
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Disabling hazards
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Optimizing completion speed
No strategy solves all three simultaneously.
The tension is deliberate.
The result is real-time team discussion and strategy negotiation rather than scripted cooperation
Social Interference Mechanics
The game intentionally allows players to accidentally disrupt one another.
Catapult Timing
A launch catapult uses a time event to charge a bar to determine launch arch.
Another player can collide with the UI indicator, knocking the UI bar over.
Tightrope Traversal
Narrow paths allow players to bump each other off.
Design Purpose:
Failure becomes socially meaningful. Players react to each other rather than the environment, increasing emotional investment and communication.
Health System
Instead of a health bar, players have a visual egg crack durability stytem.
Damage Rules
Design Intent
The visual cracking allows teammates to instantly understand each other's risk state without UI. Persistent damage increases tension before failure, not just after.
Movement Modes
Design Reasoning
Precise movement allows players to coordinate positioning and avoid accidental interference, supporting teamwork while preserving chaotic interaction.
Mechanic Onboarding
Mechanics are introduced using a three act learning structure:
Act 1: Introduce one mechanic (1)
Act 2: Combine two mechanics (1,2)
Act 3: Combine all mechanics (1,2,3)
Instead of a tutorial text, difficulty emerges from system interaction. Players learn by the experiencing complexity gradually rather than reading instructions.
Emotional Loop
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A mistake occurs
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A teammate is responsible
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Players react
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Team communicates
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Team recovers
Because lives regenerate, frustration turns into cooperation instead of resignation.