Clocking Out (Revised)
An update to an older project. Make sure to read the original project page first!
For an assignment in my final year of university, I revisited an older group game jam project – Clocking Out – on my own to improve the game and implement two new psychological design concepts. The first was a cognitively designed, integrated tutorial using an active-learning approach. The second was a behaviorally designed achievement system. Before reading about this updated version, make sure you have an understanding of the original project which you can also find on this website.
From the start of the game, there is an immediate change with the counter area of the shop being redesigned with more detail, and the post-it note for the cash machine puzzle being moved to make better narrative sense in the context of environmental storytelling.
Comparison of counter design
Also present in the counter area is the integrated tutorial taking an active-learning approach to teaching. Where before the player was spawned by the front door, in the revised version they start behind the counter, facing a poster instructing the player how to look around. In doing so, the player will encounter a second poster on their right, instructing them how to move. Finally, to access the rest of the shop, the player will need to open the gate which has another poster on it detailing the interaction controls. These steps have to be completed linearly for the player to progress, reinforcing the information as the player completes them. If a player already has this knowledge when they start the game, they can easily progress without feeling like they are being forced through a stagnating or boring segment.
The integrated tutorial
As part of the general improvements to the game, I added a pause menu that was absent from the original. It is simple but matches the aesthetic of the game and also provides the infastructure for the second psychological design feature: an achievement system.
The achievements are designed to extrinsically motivate the player once the intrinsic motivation provided by the games core experience begins to subside. It adds additional replayability to the game by leading the player towards alternative endings and giving them small challenges that they can complete along the way. The achievements are intentionally secondary to the game experience so as to not remove any intrinsic value and make the game less enjoyable to some audiences.
The achievement system and pause menu
The achievement system is a modular tool that can be easily expanded and applied across different projects. Achievements are stored in a configuration file that the pause menu reads upon opening the achievements screen to proceadurally create and display. All of the tracking and award functions of the system is handled in an Autoload (Singleton) that is referenced across the game where progress on an achievement needs to be recorded. It is integrated robustly with failsafes so that the game can execute with or without it.
The achievement config file
In terms of other changes to the game, the lights puzzle was moved to the left corner of the shop rather than the top middle, to better utilise the space and encourage the player to traverse the whole shop. The poster for the lock puzzle was also moved to the other side of the door where the visual clarity is not weakened by the refrigerated shelves.
While the revised version of the game is not currently available, you can play the original for free on itch.io:
