Spin The Knight
IN DEVELOPMENTSpin The Knight is a 3D action-platformer inspired by Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, and Jak & Daxter. In this game, you play as Spin, a humble farmer with dreams of becoming a knight, accompanied by his trusted companion, Test, a small creature who is a brilliant inventor. As Spin, you will battle through goblin camps, cursed forests, and a fallen castle using a variety of spin-based attacks and traversal moves. Test aids Spin by providing various tools for his adventures after they make a mutually beneficial deal with a goblin treasure hunter named Grinlock. However, neither Spin nor Test fully understands the true value of the crystals they are collecting for him.
I want to recreate the same feelings that these classic games once brought to me and share them with today's audience.
From University Deadline to Passion Project
"Spin The Knight" began as a 3D classic platformer heavily inspired by Crash Bandicoot, created as my final university project. Initially, it started with a team of two students but ultimately became a solo development project for me. In its early stages, it closely resembled Crash Bandicoot in structure, which helped me manage an ambitious scope while learning how to complete a game for the first time.
After graduating, I continued developing the game without the pressure of deadlines. This additional time allowed me to shift the game's identity away from being a Crash-like experience with single-hit enemies, a fixed camera angle, and collectible coins that only counted toward extra lives. I'm currently experimenting with various camera settings in Unity Cinemachine to find the right feel for the new combat style.
I have also expanded the original single spin attack into a complete chain-combo system. This system now includes a light style that allows players to hit multiple enemies and a heavy style that focuses damage on a single target. The project is still in an experimental phase as I rebuild these systems from the ground up.
Core Mechanics
Spin Combo Attacks
Each type of attack features a distinct spin animation based on whether it is a light or heavy attack. Light attacks are designed for quick, safe strikes that can hit multiple enemies in an area. In contrast, heavy attacks target a single enemy, delivering significant damage but leaving the player momentarily vulnerable.
Spin Traversal & Twister Spin
The main character's unique style revolves around spinning, which is the primary method of traversal. This includes jumping, dodge rolls, roll jumps, spin dives, and air rolling for fluid movement. As the game progresses, Spin gains some movement upgrades, including a double jump and a new set of spin moves called the Twister Spin, which is a more effective move that boosts both traversal and combat, enabling him to cover greater distances and break through armored enemies and obstacles.
Knight & Force Shield System
Two defensive tools that protect the player from damage, each with a distinct function. The Knight Shield, which Spin uses, is a consumable item that can stack up to three times. When used, it grants the player temporary invulnerability for a few seconds while still allowing full movement and regular attacks. The Force Shield, which is used by Test, is an activated ability that surrounds the player in a force field capable of reflecting projectiles, but requires the player to stay put in one place incapable of moving while the force field is active.
Coyote Time & Jump Buffer
Short forgiveness windows allow jumps to register immediately after leaving a ledge or just before landing, ensuring the game feels like a platformer while reducing frustration without compromising challenge.
Stomping
Jumping onto an enemy deals minor damage and bounces the player upward, as the purpose of this mechanic is to be used both offensively and as a traversal tool to reach otherwise unreachable areas.
Collectible Coins & the Grinlock Shop
Coins are earned by breaking crates and defeating enemies, then spent in a shop run by Grinlock for upgrades, power-ups potions, extra lives, and cosmetic unlocks. This gives players progress a tangible, spendable outlet beyond just story beats.
Collectible Food & Health
Food items restore a percentage of health, with some restoring it fully, giving players a risk/reward choice about when to explore for survival resources versus pushing forward.
Fire Blast & Flamethrower
Test gains the ability to use fire in both combat and exploration. He automatically assists Spin by shooting flame blasts at enemies, and Spin can also direct where Test aims. The flamethrower can be used as a continuous stream or as a stronger charged blast. These fire abilities are also required to destroy certain barriers, such as cracked walls and tangled vines, to open new paths.
Playtesting & Feedback
During development of the university version of Spin The Knight, the project went through a structured pre-alpha playtest, run in person with two separate groups: general players, asked more experience-focused questions, and fellow developers, given a more critical, systems-focused pass.
General Players’ Feedback (9 responses)
What landed well
- Overall fun rated 4.33 / 5
- Spin attack enjoyment rated 4.22 / 5, with the "satisfying" rating close behind at 4 / 5
- Stomping and breaking coin boxes rated 4.22 / 5 — the moment-to-moment traversal loop is working
- Level pacing landed close to right: 7 of 9 said the test level length was "just right"
What was mixed or critical
- Players were split on whether the game felt distinct from other platformers — 5 said yes, 4 said no.
- The most repeated specific complaint: enemies dying in a single hit felt unsatisfying and made combat feel shallow ("too easy with one attack," "make the weapon do more than just one-shot enemies")
- Multiple requests for a way to spend coins meaningfully (a shop), rather than them only counting toward extra lives
- Boss room size was contested — 3 of 9 felt it was too small.
- No audio or music was implemented yet at the time of testing, flagged by several players independently.
Developer Feedback (6 responses)
Where the design is solid
- Visual style consistency across environment and characters: 6 / 6 yes
- Visual effects readability (not overwhelming): 6 / 6 yes
- Player feedback clarity — hit effects, spin visuals, stomp impact: 6 / 6 yes
- Animation timing vs. input responsiveness: 6 / 6 yes
Where the design needs work
- Camera framing and movement was the single most repeated critique across the group — described as "clunky," needing to be "smoother on turns," and that it "should point a bit further" ahead of the player instead of straight down.
- When asked which area should be prioritized for iteration, Level Design was ranked highest (4 mentions), followed by Feedback Systems and Core Mechanics (2 mentions each)
- Mechanic teaching was inconsistent — several noted mechanics were "not obvious" or only became clear later in the level rather than through deliberate onboarding.
System expansion ideas raised by developers
- Attack variations that chain into different combos rather than a single repeated input
- A mid-air slam attack and the ability to roll while airborne
- A throwable/ranged weapon option (a boomerang-style throw was suggested specifically)
- Enemies with more health and more varied behavior, rather than uniform one-hit kills
- A short-cooldown dash ability
How This Shaped the Redesign
The feedback that stuck with me the most was how many people said killing enemies in one hit felt boring. It made me realize the combat was too shallow, so I've been reworking the spin attacks into proper light and heavy versions to give hitting things more weight and variety. The camera also got a lot of criticism since the feedback kept saying that it felt clunky and didn't look far enough ahead, and since I'm also moving away from the Crash-like gameplay, I've been tinkering with different Cinemachine setups trying to get it to feel smoother. A few players also asked for something meaningful to spend coins on, which led to the creation of the shop system that provides new power-ups that pair with the reworked combat, alongside extra lives, which I kept purchasable at the same fixed price as the original game to preserve that classic feel.