Yonder is a 2D platformer set in a futuristic landscape on a deadly alien planet. Yonder follows the young PhD candidate, Sully, as he sets out to collect artifacts in order to get his dissertation approved. Whoever made the artifacts initially is willing to go to great lengths to stop overeager adventurers like Sully from escaping Yonder. Through running, double jumping, climbing vines, and more, Sully must weave his way through elaborate traps and return to Earth safely with the artifacts in tow. Can Sully gather enough artifacts to prove to his dissertation review board that his research is worth it?

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We chose this project initially due to our team’s love of a similar 2D platformer, Celeste. The goal was to make a platformer in a science fiction/alien landscape with smooth controls conducive to a wide range of skills. The development of Yonder took place over 2 months of the 2020 Fall Semester, with about 260 hours of development time in aggregate.

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Over the course of development, the main challenge we encountered was with our collectible and movement systems. The collectible system suffered from conveyance issues in that playtesters did not know which collectibles were required and which were not. This issue was compounded by our control system, which required very precise movement and allowed no room for error. After our Vertical Slice milestone, the team went back to the drawing board on how to better streamline the movement and game itself.

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Ultimately these challenges helped push the team out of their comfort zones in their respective disciplines. Not only is Yonder the type of game we ourselves want to play as developers, but it also had the benefit of forcing us to think outside the box and ‘find the fun’.