Devlog #4 - Playable Level & Release

👋 Hello!

Hi everyone! Welcome to our fourth development log for Gimme a Hand! We’re excited to announce that our first playable level demo is now available! You can try it out locally on your own machine or connect with friends remotely using Parsec for a cooperative experience.
This week, we focused on level design, scenario scripting across different areas of the tank, visual and auditory juice, and some UI improvements. Continue reading for more details!

Game Design Updates

Level Map Design

• A level map was created to help us create the in-engine level for the playable game demo.

• Various puzzles and player interactions were brainstormed by the team, so we could figure out how we want players to learn about controls and play our game.

Above: A concept for the final obstacle, where players will have to coordinate and pose together to get through an octopus shaped hole.

Above: Diagrams to show vent puzzles for the players to go through.

New Mechanic: Breakable!

We introduced a brand-new mechanic that adds a destructive (and strategic) twist to the game: breakable objects. These are normally stationary, non-grabbable, and non-anchorable pieces of the environment that block the players’ path. On their own, they’re immovable. But introduce them to a special object, like the Hammer, and things start to shatter (literally).

The Hammer is the first of many unique item that can interact with certain objects. We plan on introducing more with a variety of interactions and purposes to the escape as we continue developing. When a tentacle holding the Hammer strikes a breakable object, the object shatters into fragments. These fragments then become grabbable, allowing players to clear obstacles out of the way and open up new paths through the environment.

This mechanic introduces a compelling power dynamic: whoever wields the Hammer controls the ability to alter the level in meaningful ways. Naturally, this has great synergy with our recently developed stealing mechanic, expect chaos as players scramble to grab (or steal) the Hammer from each other to take charge of the action. It encourages both cooperation and sabotage, making moment-to-moment decisions feel more playful and unpredictable.

The Breakable system not only expands our puzzle potential but also adds another layer of player interaction that supports our core design goal: multi-player chaos with tentacular cooperation.

Visual Updates

Tentacle-Based Outline Highlighting

• Interactable objects now highlight with different colors depending on which tentacle approaches them.
• This improves player feedback and makes cooperation between multiple players clearer and more intuitive.

☀️ Underwater Godrays

• We’ve started integrating godray effects to bring more atmosphere to the underwater environment. The current version adds a subtle sunbeam-like shimmer beneath the surface, helping players feel immersed in the ocean space. We're still fine-tuning how these rays interact with the water surface — especially making sure they don’t spill unrealistically above — but the visual direction is starting to take shape.

🫧 Bubbles!

• We also implemented dynamic bubbles that rise from the sea floor, drift naturally, and vanish upon reaching the water surface. They now behave more realistically thanks to soft upward motion, randomized noise, and automatic "popping" when they reach the surface.

These two effects work together to make the underwater world feel more alive, dynamic, and visually rich, all without distracting from gameplay.

Scene Blockout & Environmental Storytelling

We’ve begun building out our level based on the top-down layout. The tank is now populated with decorative elements like rocks and sea anemones to shape the underwater space. More importantly, we’ve added small pieces of human trash—banana peels, paper cups, and other litter—intentionally thrown into the tank by careless visitors. It’s a subtle but pointed nod to real-world ocean pollution, highlighting how even artificial environments aren’t safe from human disregard.

Programming Updates

Contextual Camera Switching

• The game now features smooth transitions between underwater and on-land camera views based on the octopus’s location.
• This enhances visual immersion and supports environment-specific effects like ambient audio and lighting.

Different Octopus Movement Based: Land vs. Underwater

• Alongside the transition between underwater and on-land camera views, the octopus switched between 2 different movement logics
• Underwater, the movement of the octopus is done through velocity calculations and floats as a result, mimicking low gravity 
• On land (i.e. out of water), the octopus is moved through forces and attempts to make use of the Unity physics engine as much as possible (i.e. a pull just applies force in the direction of the hand rather than setting the octopus's head velocity like in Underwater movement). As a result, we have full gravity applied to the octopus.

Stealing items

• We’ve added a chaotic new feature to spice up the gameplay: item stealing! Players can now snatch objects right out of each other’s hands.
• Here’s how it works: the game now keeps track of which tentacle is holding each item. If another player tries to grab something that’s already held, the game will transfer ownership, swapping the item to the new hand and letting the stealing player take control. It’s a fast, fluid interaction that adds an extra layer of strategy (and comedy) to every grab.
• This feature is still in development, as certain aspects of the item colour outline require rework. However, stay tuned for more updates soon!

Checkpoint & Restart System

We’ve implemented a cooperative checkpoint restart mechanic to enhance the multiplayer experience. Now, if all active players hold a dedicated button (Left D-Pad on controllers or the "R" key on keyboard) for 2 seconds, the level will restart from the checkpoint.

• This mechanic encourages intentional collaboration: if even one player doesn’t agree or lets go early, the restart is cancelled.
• It prevents accidental resets and adds a small layer of negotiation and teamwork to the experience.

The current logic handles restarts by simply reloading the scene, which is effective for now. However, this setup is limited:

• It assumes a single spawn point and no state persistence.
• As we move toward more complex levels with different respawn positions, dynamic timers, or other game state variables, we’ll need a more robust checkpoint system.
• Future implementations may include state-saving, selective object resetting, and partial progress retention.

Audio Updates

• For this week’s audio updates, we created a new underwater ambiance for our game and implemented it in our playable level. For the new underwater ambiance, we took a creative turn for our sound design. We started by pouring water into a container and recorded the sound to work as the ambient background. By applying reverb on Reaper and adjusting the wet/dry parameters, we were able to shape our recording into a more immersive underwater effect. To fully recreate the underwater effect that our team was going for, we voice-recorded ourselves blowing bubbles with a straw into the water, adding a more natural sound layer. Combining these two elements helped us to recreate the underwater ambiance effects we envisioned for our game.
• After receiving feedback from our latest presentation, one of the most requested audio features was to create different variations for the Octopus mechanics and movements. So, we voice-recorded several new sound effects. All of these new audio effects have been uploaded to our shared drive folder for the team to access. 

Next steps

Up next, we’re introducing heavy objects—items so large or awkward that a single tentacle won’t be enough to move them. These objects won’t be lifted like smaller ones, but instead dragged across the ground, requiring multiple tentacles working together to get them moving. Meanwhile, the rest of the team will still need to coordinate the octopus’s body movement, making for some truly chaotic multitasking.

We’re also continuing to iterate on core movement mechanics, focusing on making the octopus feel smoother, more responsive, and more intuitive to control. Expect improvements to input handling, tentacle physics, and how forces are distributed across the body.

Stay tuned for more updates as we keep polishing the experience—one wobbly tentacle at a time!