Primary Research
Honey, H., 2021. Gravity Golf by Harmony Honey. [online] itch.io. Available at: <https://harmony-hunnie.itch.io/golf> [Accessed 7 September 2021].
Gravity Golf By Harmony Honey 2018
In order to help me make my mini golf game I played some other golf games to better understand the type of game I have been tasked with making and to give me inspiration for my own game, one of the games I played was gravity golf which I found its main mechanic really interesting hence why I chose to play it. Gravity Golf’s main mechanics was that upon clicking the ball you could toggle between no gravity and gravity which you were required to use to complete each hole, while a very simple idea it changed the gameplay considerably since you had the use gravity as well as the level itself to get the ball into the hole which I found to be very fun. The game was not too difficult however there was a noticeable difficulty curve as levels started to take more and more strokes. The only thing I didn’t like about the game is that while it is great there’s so much more that could be done with the idea however due to time constraints I did not finish the game so it is possible that later more mechanics were added or the levels used the gravity mechanic in more interesting ways. The game uses a minimalistic art style which I quite like especially with the colours used with the artstyle.
tch.io. 2021. Exploding Golf, with Lovable Piggies by electrictoy. [online] Available at: <https://electrictoy.itch.io/exploding-golf-with-lovable-piggies> [Accessed 7 September 2021].
Exploding Golf, with Lovable Piggies By Elctrictoy 2017
In order to help me make my mini golf game I played some other golf games to better understand the type of game I have been tasked with making and to give me inspiration for my own game, one of the games I played was Exploding Golf, with Lovable Piggies which was very enjoyable and put a fun and unique twist on golf due to how your golf ball could explode and you had to use this to get the pink ball into the hole while avoiding blowing up the pigs since that makes the level harder which made the experience very unique and a good challenge. Overall I found the game not too difficult but it wasn’t too easy either and there was a clear difficulty curve, there wasn’t anything I didn’t like about the game the only thing that could even be considered as a negative was that the controls took a while to get used too. The game uses a pixel art artstyle which I think looks pretty good, the use of colour is nothing special but it works with the artstyle and what the game is trying to be.
itch.io. 2021. Mini-golf Demo by Buddy4point0. [online] Available at: <https://buddy4point0.itch.io/minigolf-demo> [Accessed 8 September 2021].
Mini-golf by Buddy4point0 2021
In order to help me make my mini golf game I played some other golf games to better understand the type of game I have been tasked with making and to give me inspiration for my own game, While the game is very simple with very little to make it a more unique golf game it is a solid golf game and works really well at whats its trying to do and its great level design is what carries the game since each hole is very different from the last and all are very fun to play. Mechanics wise the game has a power meter for your swings which is a great mechanic that gives the player useful information that enhances the experience and so I will try my best to include on in my own game, besides that is just standard golf. I quite liked the game and its level design will really help me with my own and will be a big inspiration. The level of difficulty noticeable increases however the game is still not too difficult. The games artstyle is very nice with a bright and colourful aesthetic which works well. The game controlled amazingly and will heavily inspire my own control scheme due to how well it worked in this game. There is nothing about the game that I didn’t like.
itch.io. 2021. Golf by Andrejus. [online] Available at: <https://andrejus.itch.io/match> [Accessed 8 September 2021].
Golf By Andrejus 2020
In order to help me make my mini golf game I played some other golf games to better understand the type of game I have been tasked with making and to give me inspiration for my own game, once again this is a very simple golf game with a minimalist art style that I like and it works with the colours used. The level design is nothing special but its far from terrible it gets the job done and they are fun level in the end, the controls were alright and didn’t feel terrible but a better control scheme could have been implemented since using the mouse felt a bit weird to me and I didn’t really like it personally . The game was quite easy with no notable difficulty increase which made the game get boring quite quickly. I didn’t really like the level design since it could have been much better and made the game the so much more interesting and fun to play.
itch.io. 2021. Mlock Mini Golf by mlock_games. [online] Available at: <https://mlock-games.itch.io/mlock-mini-golf> [Accessed 8 September 2021].
Mlock Mini Golf by mlock_games 2020
In order to help me make my mini golf game I played some other golf games to better understand the type of game I have been tasked with making and to give me inspiration for my own game, Mlock mini golf was 3d which made it more useful since my game will also be 3d, it was a simple golf game with a power meter to help the player with their shots. I found the level design was quite good, each hole was unique and distinctly different from the last. The games art style is alright is nothing special but it gets the job done and it looks alright and I did like the distinct colours used for the flag. Despite all the positives there was a glaring issue which was the wind mechanic that was not given an explanation and due to this I did not understand how it worked which since I couldn’t compensate for the wind since I did not know how strong or what direction it was blowing made the game a bit annoying at times and so I shall learn from this and explain my mechanics as to not confuse the player so that their experience can be the best it can be.
After having played some mini golf games I have now better understand what makes a good mini golf game which seem to be good controls and good level design as I found that when those things were good I enjoyed my experience a lot more so those are the design areas that I will focus on so that I get right when making my own game.
Survey
I created a questionnaire to receive some feedback on how I should make my game as it would help me figure out what people like and don’t like about mini golf games so that I can improve the quality of my game. A link to the questionnaire is above and the responses/summary can be seen below.
For my first question I got a lot of varied answers which is what I was looking for however space was the most popular answer but I will still consider all of the options as well as any I think of/find in my research when I do choose my theme.
For my second question only 2 out of 9 said no to a power meter being included so its clear that people prefer golf games to have a power meter which I expected as when I played some golf games I noticed I enjoyed the ones with power meters more.
For My third question I got a variety of answers however the 2 most prominent answers were level design and gameplay which once again I expected since those are the key areas that a golf game must get right in order to be fun, so I will focus on these areas when making my own game.
For my fourth question all but 1 said that having a constant difficulty curve was the best way of increasing difficulty so that is what I will do for my game, this makes sense as with the challenge constantly going up you can see yourself improve with each hole.
For my fifth question the answers were quieted evenly spread between obstacles and layout for what makes a better challenge and so I will use both to increase the difficulty of my course since people seem to like both.
For my sixth question most people answered unrealistic courses were better which I expected as with golf games it allows you to things that are impossible in real life and that make the experience more fun so I will do that for my own game.
For my last question I got a variety of answers but the desired amount of holes seems to be around 10 since I got answers like 8,9,10 and 12 however since this will be my first time using unity for this project I will aim for this amount of holes but may not be able to reach it due to lack of experience.
After receiving answers to my questions I now better understand what the audience likes in mini golf games and so I can use this knowledge to help me create my golf game so that it will appeal to my audience. Overall this went really well and I enjoyed conducting this research, nothing about the experience was negative however in the future I would added some other questions such as the length of each hole as that would have helped me when creating my game.
Secondary Research
Current Market
Interactive, B., 2021. Golf With Your Friends on Steam. [online] Store.steampowered.com. Available at<https://store.steampowered.com/app/431240/Golf_With_Your_Friends/> [Accessed 8 September 2021].
Youtube.com. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOk0brOQQrQ&ab_channel=PointGames> [Accessed 8 September 2021].
Golf With Your Friends By Blacklight interactive 2020
To look into current mini golf games on the market I checked out golf with your friends by watching some gameplay and looking at the steam page and its reviews. The game is like many of the games I played as its quite a simple golf game with standard mechanics such as a power meter however more mechanics are introduced later such as boost pads, moving platforms and many other mechanics that can be found throughout the game, each new mechanic is quick and easy to figure out which I really like and would love to mimic in my own game as to avoid confusing the player. The game had many different themes found within its levels which added a lot of variety to the look of the game which I really liked and the design of each course great as each hole was so different from the last and I like that sense of difference since it shows how your constantly making progress. The game also contains a time and shot limit which some people may like and others may not, for my own game I don’t think I would add a limit since I feel like it would work better since I want mine to be a casual/relaxing experience. Another key point of the game is the multiplayer which has all the players taking shots at the same time which can cause a lot of chaos which adds to the fun however while it is meant to be a multiplayer golf experience the singleplayer experience is still amazing and might even be what some people prefer.
Store.steampowered.com. 2021. Save 50% on Golf It! on Steam. [online] Available at: <https://store.steampowered.com/app/571740/Golf_It/> [Accessed 9 September 2021].
Golf It by Perfuse Entertainment 2017
To look into current mini golf games on the market I checked out golf it since I noticed it in my steam recommended after looking at golf with your friends, it has both a singleplayer and multiplayer mode. The game does not have a power meter and instead you use the distance the club is from the ball the speed at which you swing to estimate how strong you will hit the ball which I really like since most games just go with a power meter this makes it stand out from the rest. The level design is amazing as the each hole is unique and some are very unique such as in one hole you have to get your golf ball into a jar/pot can be quite difficult, the game has more holes like this that help break up the rest of the more standard holes which I think is a very good way of keeping the player engaged. The game also has many different mechanics seen throughout different courses such as shooting your ball out of a cannon to progress, bouncing on water and boost pads which all look very fun to make use of. The game has many different themes such as caves and forests that it uses spectacularly as not only the main gameplay area looks amazing but also the scenery that is beautifully put together. The game also contains a time and shot limit which once again some people may like while others may not. I also really like the UI design as it has a some personality to it. Now that I have done research on the current game market I will look at older golf games to see what the past market was like.
Youtube.com. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0eGpk6r35E&ab_channel=MFSGamePlay> [Accessed 13 September 2021].
I decided to look into another modern golf game and its a very standard golf game and is quite tame in comparison to my previous two examples as it has a standard realistic golf visuals/theme with standard mechanics which is what it aims to be and it does a good job at that as the gameplay looks quite fun and easy to learn however there doesn’t seem to be much difficulty as most holes are quite easy to complete with no visible challenge and after a while I would imagine it would get boring which is something I would wish to avoid in my own game. I do like how there are not any additional mechanics and its kept simple which I might try and mirror in my own game but to make sure it doesn’t get boring I will make the level design the fun and interesting bit, I’ve noticed from the games I have played and the games I have looked into that a golf game is fun when it has either fun/interesting mechanics or level design and that if you try to make both really cool and unique it can seem too confusing for players which I want to avoid however you always need one of them to be unique as if like this game you have both things be simple while the gameplay might be fun it will get repetitive and look like a lot of other games on the market which is not a good thing which is another thing I want to avoid doing.
Past Market
Youtube.com. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjAqlIu5UvM&ab_channel=OldClassicRetroGaming> [Accessed 10 September 2021].
Golf By Nintendo 1984
From this source I have learnt how golf games of the past focused more on the mechanics than the layout since due to 2d limitations there is only so much they could do, they instead utilised wind speeds and power meters to keep the player engaged which shows how the gameplay elements are very important to making a good golf game so I will focus on my own so that my game will be more fun for players.
GameSpot. 2021. 3D Ultra Mini Golf (1997). [online] Available at: <https://www.gamespot.com/games/3d-ultra-mini-golf-1997/reviews/> [Accessed 10 September 2021].
3D Ultra Mini Golf By Dynamix 1997
Next I looked into past 3d golf games and learnt how they have defiantly improved since their origins since reviews state how the game lacks creativity and that the level design can be quite bad at times which leads to the game being not that enjoyable which shows how important those aspects of golf games are, since golf is a concept that has been done loads its important you get the basics right and add something new or unique in order to make your game a more memorable and enjoyable experience for players.
Real life Mini Golf Courses
Lonely Planet. 2021. 9 of the world’s craziest mini golf courses – Lonely Planet. [online] Available at: <https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/best-mini-golf-courses-around-the-globe> [Accessed 8 September 2021].
From the above source I have learnt about some of the best mini golf courses in the world which will help me in creating my own mini golf course for my games design and visuals plus it will also help me better understand the design of real life mini golf courses. The source shows images of each course with a brief description about it, from it I have learnt the themes used by real life courses and noticed that they tend to be very unique with what they do as to help make them stand out such as how one of them is dinosaur themed, another is a murder mystery which shows how creative you can be with your themes and it how you can include a story within your course to make it stand out even which will inspire me to make my own game as unique as I can. I will conduct further research into theming as it will help me come up with what theme I want to use for my game.
Theming
Natural Play Company. 2021. Ten Crazy Golf Theme Ideas for Your Business – Natural Play Company. [online] Available at: <https://www.naturalplaycompany.co.uk/ten-crazy-golf-theme-ideas-for-your-business/> [Accessed 10 September 2021].
From this source I have learnt about some good themes I could use for my own game such as dragons, pirates and a tropical safari. While this source is meant for real life mini golf courses most of it still transfers over to mini golf games. The source also talks about how having a good theme with unique aspects such as interactivity can help draw in a larger audience especially if the theme you pick is loved by a wider age group. The source also states how you should plan for your budget which in my case would be my time limit and skills which I will need to keep in mind when planning my game as I don’t want to give myself a project too big for me to handle.
History Of Mini Golf
Duman, T., 2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.minigolfcreations.com/history-of-mini-golf/> [Accessed 10 September 2021].
From this source I have learnt the history of mini golf such as how it started in the early 1900’s with rooftop miniature golf courses and became more common/popular after the great depression since golf became expensive and this was a good cheaper alternative, tires ,pipes and other objects were used as obstacles due to there ease of access and how they tended to fit in with the courses theme while adding to the experience which I shall research further. In 1954 though mini golf became even more popular and began to seem more like that which we see today with theming being seen more often and obstacles such as pipes and windmills were being used to make the hole more interesting/fun. I also learnt how modern mini golf uses real golf design principles to make its courses which makes players use different strategies to complete each hole to help them feel different from each other which I will utilize for my game. From this source I will conduct further research into the design of golf courses as I believe it would assist me when creating my own levels for my game.
Course Design
Anon, Miniature golf course design. Amusement Construction. Available at: https://miniaturegolfconstruction.com/miniature-golf-course-design/ [Accessed September 10, 2021].
From this source I have learnt about the way that a mini golf course is designed and the many features it can contain. Those features are things such as ramps, bridges, water, fake holes which are commonly used in mini golf design as it makes the course look more interesting to players which draws them in and you can add more interactive elements such as sounds that play that fit with the course as they really help enhance the theme you choose for the player which is something I would like to do, it also mentions how if you should have this improve after each hole to further the interactivity of the course. This information will be useful as I now know what elements I can include in my own course to make it better and this from this I will also do further research into course design for mini golf to find out what makes a good course.
Oleksak, S., 2021. 5 Mini Golf Holes You Hate (to Love). [online] Blog.nextgengolf.org. Available at: <https://blog.nextgengolf.org/golf-industry/5-mini-golf-holes-you-hate-to-love> [Accessed 10 September 2021].
From this source I have learnt the different obstacles found within mini golf courses, the first of which being the pipe hole which unless you have done the course before is complete random chance as you have no clue where each hole takes the ball as only one of the several pipe holes leads somewhere useful or in some cases right into the hole. This adds an element of risk to the game which makes in more fun. The next is the windmill which is a common obstacle that rewards timing as the player must hit the ball through a small hole while avoiding the spinning blades in order to make the hole more challenging, some holes allow you to go around the obstacle however that would take longer so it adds a risk versus reward element. The next obstacle is the impossible angle which is not a traditional obstacles in the sense of its something on the layout but it is the layout itself which this obstacle just makes the hole harder because you are very like going to need multiple shots. The next is the jump which is a simple obstacle as the player must hit the ball over an obstacle such as a river which a penalty as consequence for failure, its a simple concept but helps spice up the hole. Lastly we have the tire hole which is a loop which is a challenging obstacle as you need to judge the speed of your ball so it makes it all the way up the loop and after that you have very little control of where you ball goes making it a gamble similarly to the pipe hole. All of these obstacles will greatly help me when making my own game as I have examples to use and since I know what makes them good obstacles I can use that knowledge to make my own obstacles.
Harris Golf |. 2021. Building a Mini Golf Course | Harris Miniature Golf Courses Inc.. [online] Available at: <https://www.harrisminigolf.com/start-a-mini-golf-business/building-a-miniature-golf-course/> [Accessed 14 September 2021].
From this source I have learnt about the design of a mini golf course and the key areas of its design which are fun and challenge, the feel of the course and curb appeal. Fun and challenge are needed as the keep people playing and coming back to the course as well as to draw in new customers, in order to be fun and challenging features such as water, obstacles and sand traps can be added. its Important the feel of the course is right as its important that players feel like they are in their own space which can be done by elevation and landscape changes. Lastly curb appeal is how the course looks from an outsiders view as its important you draw new customers( in my case players) in by making use of unique themes, water features and landscaping. This source is very useful as one of my previous sources talks about the how the design philosophies of mini golf and now I greatly understand them which will help me create my course for my game as I now understand what I need to take into account when making my game as I can translate these into my own design. From the source discussing drawing in an audience my next area of research will be the target audience of both real life mini golf and mini golf games so that I can better understand how to draw players to my game.
Target Audience
Real Life
Bplans: Business Planning Resources and Free Business Plan Samples. 2021. Miniature Golf Course Business Plan – Market Analysis Summary. [online] Available at: <https://www.bplans.com/miniature-golf-course-business-plan/market-analysis-summary/> [Accessed 14 September 2021].
From this source I have learnt how the biggest piece of the audience for mini golf is families, Mini golf is seen as a family activity hence why its popular with family’s and the courses theme can also greatly affect the target audience however most courses go with an universal theme that can be enjoyed by all ages so that it appeals to more people however the main audience remains as families and is the area that is focused on the most. Another notable area is seniors which the source states that they tend to enjoy the experience whether alone or with grandchildren due to its relaxing nature. For my own game I shall try my best to mimic the universal appeal of golf so that It will be enjoyable for more people.
Games
As can be seen from the images above mini golf games similarly to real life tend to appeal to all ages with 2/3 of the games above having an age rating of E for everyone showing how golf appeals to all ages, while the first game has an age rating of 3 it could still be enjoyed by other ages and this does also demonstrate how mini golf appeals to children. This confirms that golf games have an universal appeal life real life mini golf.
Visual References
I gathered some images to help me when applying graphics to my game as each images relates to something I want in my game, I found gathering the reference images to be quite easy and encountered no issues doing so since it was a simple task.
Blog 