Creating the “Impossible Staircase” by M.C. Escher in one week? Join me in my journey for round one of the 2023 Game Dev Knock Out gamejam. This first round of the gamejam was all about creating an interesting level in a unique location. No gameplay, only a level you can move about. While it was a two week jam, I largely started a week late during a busy work week – so what you see is the product of a man with a plan during a fight against the clock.
Starting Devlog
Gamejam Results
At the time of this writing, the gamejam voting period is still underway – updates coming soon!
M. C. Escher impossible staircase?
This gamejam was all about creating a unique level in an interesting place. An optical illusion or non-euclidian layout surely meets this specification, right? I wanted to make my little port town resemble the “Impossible Staircase” by M. C. Escher. My ambitions did not stop there. I wanted ambient storytelling to play a large role, although there ended up being too little time to do much with this. Nonetheless, significant time went into level planning to make these impossible stairs, well, possible.
As a fitting self-reference, time passes forward as you move clockwise around the central clocktower. Furthermore, as you move from one section to the next, you will find that you are always going upwards despite the town being a loop on itself. The design of each section tries to ensure you cannot see the dynamic loading/unloading
The game takes place over a single stretch of 24 hours, from one midnight to the next. As you drop into the harbor early in the morning, the lure of the market pulls the player forward.
The Harbor
A cool, scenic little port with some unassuming docks and muddy flooring. Originally intended to have a statue of the king, this place marks the opening of the gamejam entry.
The Market
Features a little stand, originally meant to sell “coronation cakes” but simply empty due to time in the gamejam. Additionally contains a fountain, where the plot-driving sunflower is meant to grow.
The Plaza
This location was meant to be the facade of an impressive castle, and set the stage for the climax of both the “winning” and “losing” conditions for the game story. The arches were supposed to represent jail cells, but time did not allow for modeling the bars.
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