Adapting a video game to different platforms: from Decentraland to Roblox

Tomb Chaser is a video game that has become one of our hallmarks, a gameplay experience with a simple yet challenging concept.

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After developing a total of three editions of our favourite adventurer game in the Decentraland metaverse, we decided to take the step towards other horizons in favour of interoperability. That's how we decided to adapt Tomb Chaser to an emerging and trending platform like Roblox.

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If you are passionate about game development and intrigued by the process of adapting a game experience to different platforms, this is the article for you! Let's discover our biggest challenges in the process and how we solved them.

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Tomb... what?

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First of all, a bit of context.

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Tomb Chaser is one of the hallmarks of our creative and 3D development studio: it is a game where an intrepid adventurer must overcome traps to reach a juicy treasure, hidden in the nooks and crannies of a labyrinth.

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There are a total of three editions of Tomb Chaser, each with its own particularities, but keeping the same essence in all of them: a cocktail of adventure, challenge and skill. In this particular edition, the Aztec, Mayan and Inca cultures take on a special relevance in every detail of the art direction.

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The objectives when adapting Tomb Chaser to Roblox

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As already mentioned, Tomb Chaser has so far been a platform jumping and obstacle avoidance game that we had only implemented in the Decentraland metaverse. After making our decision to extend the third sequel of our game to the Roblox platform, we set ourselves the following goals:

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• Stay true to the original art direction
• Take advantage of Roblox's own features for a coherent development
• Adjust the gameplay experience to suit Roblox's gameplay style and the Roblox user

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Same concept, different particularities

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It's much easier to work with established aesthetic lines, so it was easy for us to adapt them to the Roblox platform. The exterior of our ruins looks quite similar, with its geometric details, strong colours and natural touches.

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The interior design is simpler than the Decentraland version. We also adjusted some traps that didn't make as much sense to add in Roblox, such as the goo that immobilises the player.

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Decentraland is a metaverse that is not meant for developing playable experiences. Of course it is possible to do so, we have a long list of mini-games developed by us in this metaverse! But the truth is that you need to spend a lot more time optimising the scene to make it completely stable.

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On Roblox it has been much easier for us to implement this game, as it is a platform 100% focused on gaming. In that sense, for a less specialised developer, the process of creating a video game on this platform is much more user-friendly and automated.

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It is necessary to point out that the average Roblox user is a player eager to get the best score, so it was necessary to adjust the experience according to the needs of this profile: to make the best time in the race to the treasure.

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In that sense, the short-term goal of these users is to know all the ins and outs of the map; once they have explored the labyrinth and revealed the shortcuts, they will try to achieve their primary goal, which is to beat the freaking record. These are the reasons why it was necessary to focus less on platform jumping and more on facilitating speedruns.

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To meet the needs of this type of player we developed a life system where if you fall into a trap, instead of dying you will get a penalty that will add seconds to your total time. We also implemented checkpoints to give the player more opportunities, in the style of old school video games like Mario Bross or The Legend of Zelda.

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Our conclusions

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It has been our first playable experience developed in Roblox, so we literally had to learn how to work in Roblox: a new programming language, a different way of dealing with our assets' materials and setting up the scene, not to mention a new type of user to adapt to.

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We are proud to have successfully ported our flagship game to Roblox. We are still working on exploring new dynamics and establishing new challenges to get the most out of Tomb Chaser on this platform.

Far from having some sort of game development hangover, we are even more eager to find other platforms where we can extend our passion for game development. In fact, our art and code teams are working on bringing Tomb Chaser to Fortnite and Spatial.

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We'll keep you posted... but it's safe to say we're glad to meet you, Roblox!

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