Game UX - The pleasing fluidity in Temtem

-a look at Game Feel #1-

🇫🇷 Cet article est aussi disponible en Français ici : click click.

When people talk about User Experience, there are some common misbeliefs induced by the use of screens. Interfaces sure are a mean to help or guide the players, but they trully are a thin part of UX overall.

‘Game feel’ comes from special intentions and tweaks that the creators of the game will refine to reach the experience’s objective they have in mind, the emotion they want you to feel, the contraints (or lack of) they want you to come across.

A player’s character waving her hand at you saying ‘Hi’ — Hello there!

In this monster taming game, the exploration vibe is really positive. Not only is the nature teeming in details and environments variety, but the players can enjoy it thanks to several means of travel. The first step of a good feeling starts at the right amount of speed for your character’s controller.

Split screen of character’s animation for walking and skating — Flexibility in trajectories help movements seem less rigid and more natural.

The current speed, size and animations synchronization of your character allows you to explore these vast islands without being bored or feeling uncanny and offer you a real sensation of progress in these neatly cut levels.

Satisfaction in continuity

As the storyline progresses, players will be able to unlock new areas. And sometimes, to do so, they will have access to new items or technologies making those areas reachable.

Discovery has been made pleasant by ensuring a continuity in movement. No need to press any key or reach any menu to browse water areas, or to climb a wall leading you to new spots.

A player’s character transitioning smoothly from walking to surfing — Continuity between sand and water at the beach

A player’s character transitioning smoothly from walking to climbing — Climbing gear popping right out on itself

Another way to see the journey

Not only these methods allow the players to go in zones they never visited before, but they also rework the overall topography of the islands.

A player’s character transitioning smoothly from walking to hopping over a cliff with a rope — An instantaneous jumping rope to go in advanced areas

A player’s character transitioning smoothly from walking to skating — Ice skates to control your trajectory instead of sliding straight.

Adding the mounts that avoid wild encounters, players can now use shortcuts and accomplish daily delivery missions in all the archipelago within an even shorter amount of time.

Temtem development team pushed the extra step on the players’ comfort to the point that the mount will automatically reappear when exiting a building if it was used when entering said building.

Characters on mount entering in a building, walking freely and mount reappearing at the exit of the building — Enter, browse, exit and… voilà!

As the archipelago is constituted of floating islands and precise teleportation is chargeable, doing daily missions without spending money is really appreciable, and their recurrence becomes bearable by significantly improving the harmony of every step players will have to take.

And in that, I think Temtem is doing a remarkable job.