[DevLog] Rope

Today, I'd like to talk about the process we went through to create the initial rope in our game.

What is a Rope?

In our game, the rope is an object that players can grab and hang onto. It is mainly used to diversify the terrain by placing it on cliff areas.

The idea for the rope started as a simple decorative element.

In the early stages of development, we created chains as decorative background elements. After making them, we thought it would be nice if they could move physically.

So, we used the game engine’s physics features to implement realistic movement.

Later, as time passed while creating mountain terrain levels, we were pondering what to fill into the sub-route. At that moment, the idea of a rope – resembling the chain we had made before, but one that a character could hang from – came to mind.

The Initial Rope

Since it was just a matter of adding the hanging functionality to an already created element, the implementation was finished quickly. However, the problem was with the appearance.

Expressing it like the original chain didn’t make it feel like a rope.

The Second Rope

This version was modified from the initial one to eliminate gaps between each part. Can you tell the difference from the initial version?

In fact, as I was writing this post, I mistakenly thought I had created two identical gifs. They were almost indistinguishable...

The Third Rope

Changing our perspective, this time we implemented it entirely using a 3D mesh. But after making it, it turned out even worse.

The Fourth Rope

I thought, why not simply use the game engine's line renderer? The implementation was the simplest, yet the appearance was the best. Thus, this version was ultimately chosen.

Levels Featuring the Rope

Below are the levels where the rope is used.

This is the sub-route where it was first applied.

A level that uses continuous ropes to traverse a cliff.

A level that bypasses a blocked path using the rope.

The Most Recent Look

The ropes shown so far reflect how they looked when they were first made. Now, players can grab the rope to climb up and down, and a hand grabbing the rope has been added.

Thank you for reading!