Concept
A while ago, I was really into blind boxes with figures. Each time a new collection dropped, I would run from store to store trying to find the exact figure I wanted. But here is the beauty of blind boxes: you never know what you will get. Still, as a teenager with a tight budget but a lot of patience, I found ways to identify the exact figures I needed. The most useful method was simply holding the box and shaking it. Since each figure has its own weight, the feeling in hand and the sound would differ from figure to figure. For my midterm project, I want to replicate this exact concept, but in a virtual dimension.
A player clicks on the vending machine, also known as the robo-shop, and is then given a choice between six or more boxes that look identical from the outside but contain different figures inside. At the top, there is a button that gives an overview of each figure in the series along with its weight. The player’s mission is to shake each box and identify their desired figure by the sound it makes.
Challenging parts
1. A blind box game needs a whole series of figures and designing all of that from scratch would take far too much time and a level of drawing skill I do not have.
So I am considering two solutions. The first is to use Hirono figures from Popmart, since Hirono is one of my most collected figures and it is also very popular so it would very accurately convey my and most blind box lovers’ experiences. The second is to generate a completely new series of figures with AI, which gives me original designs and full creative control.
2. Making an individual, accurate shaking sound for every single figure with marginal weight differences would be too complicated and difficult to pull off realistically.
Because of this, I am probably going to make one sound per weight range instead. But this means it becomes impossible for the player to perfectly identify the exact figure they want just from the sound alone. They know the possible figures and their weights, but do not know which box contains which figure. However, I think this exact element of luck adds more challenge to the game and keeps the player more engaged and determined to get their desired figure. It also reflects how it actually was in real life for me, where I would spend hours just shaking and weighing boxes in my hand, trying to figure out which exact box had the figure I wanted. Only to find out, that after all that effort neither box actually had the figure I was looking for, sending me off to another store to continue the hunt.
3. Also, I am still yet to find a way to make smooth animations for the box shake and openings. Since shake and listen is the main mechanic of the game, I would like animations to look smooth enough that the game feels pleasant to play. That said, I am not aiming for anything too fancy. I want to keep the animations simple and just make sure they feel good enough to support the game.