Dart Dash

Game Link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18C_m2T9JJxOwAlyVjh8JPpVCAOMFHd6m/view?usp=drive_link 

Expanded Concept & Design USP's

I took the basic premise of darts (throwing a dart and the satisfaction of hitting the board) but swapped out the scoring rules (doubles, trebles etc.) for boards with variable behaviours and a scoring system based on hitting numbered quadrants to rack up a sum equal to a target sum. My intended primary audience began as players unfamiliar with the traditional game of darts, with a secondary audience of children.

Overarching Design Problem (from testing)

There's only so much you can do with a board (adjust z-depth, spin at different speeds, move it back and forth across the x-axis). Add to that the difficulties of throwing a dart in other dart mobile games (predicting dip and velocity, swiping to aim and throw etc.) the game, which is targeted towards casual audiences, was initially very difficult. 

How That Problem Was Tackled And Overcome

I implemented a two-way aiming system (tap once to set the dart's x-axis position and another for the y-axis) and had the dart move in a near-perfect straight line during flight.

BUT...

The Problems This Solution Provided

I didn't realise until very late into development that what I saw as the limitation of dart games (predicting dart dip, velocity, and [sort of] lifelike throwing [albeint with a single finger instead of a hand]) were just a few things that made mobile dart games fun. Due to this, my target audience became children, with adults unfamiliar with darts becoming my secondary audience. The end result very much reflects that, with the use of soft colours and light, 'fluffy' visuals, and an audio direction reliant on whimsical, cartoon-like sounds and music. Both of these directions were led by this shift in audience.