Game Jams
CORNered
(May 2023 - 4 days)
A top-down zombie shooter in which the player has to fend off against corn-ified monsters. CORNered was made in Unity as part of a 4 day game jam, with a team consisting of 3 artists, a sound designer, and me as the sole game designer and programmer.
I developed the entire game, including three unique weapons, four types of enemies (including multiple stages of a boss), dynamic destructible props throughout the level, a wave system for spawning enemies, as well as implementing and adapting art and audio assets made throughout the jam.
Weapons
The weapons of CORNered were a scythe that allowed the player to dash, a shotgun that had a large spread, and a flamethrower for more focused, continuous attacks.
These weapons were implemented using an adaptable shooting system which controlled the amount of bullets, rate of fire, spread, speed, variability, and more. I also implemented effects for the weapons, as well as a system for determining what weapon sprite to use based on the angle of fire.
Enemies
I implemented three basic types of enemies, all with unique animations and attributes. There was a fragile but quick bud enemy, a standard medium sized enemy, and a large enemy that exploded into popcorn on death. The enemies pathfinding made use of the AStar Pathfinding Project to dynamically find a path to the player through a changing landscape.
I also implemented three stages of a boss, fought over the course of the whole game. The boss had rings of popcorn skulls floating around that would periodically break out of the ring and fly towards the player. The later stages of the fight had more rings and more skulls flying at the player.
Destructibles
Most of the level was actually completely destructible, allowing the player (or enemies) to blast through walls or objects to get where they were going. The player also had the ability to rebuild walls to fortify his defenses.
I implemented this by simply changing out the sprite used when the object is broken and putting it back when fixed, along with some nice particle effects and sounds for added immersion. Objects that could not be rebuilt just burst into particles. There were also animals that roamed the map that would explode into gore upon death, which really added to the fun factor of the game.
D'MEO
(Apr 2023 - 7 days)
A first person dungeon crawler in which the player fights their inner demons while traversing the dungeon that is their own mind. D'MEO was made in Unity as part of a week long game jam with a team consisting of an artist and 3 total programmers.
I worked on systems throughout the game, mostly the movement and combat systems. The classic dungeon crawler grid-based movement system was a requirement for the jam, and I made a very adaptable, smooth system. The combat was turn based, where the player attacked with a accuracy minigame and had to dodge the enemy's attack, Undertale style, with a grid-based twist.
Combat
The combat system I designed follows a turn-based approach. The player has three attack options: sword, bow, and magic. The sword attack involves sliding vertical bars towards a central heart, while the bow attack features synchronized crosshairs swiftly moving across the screen. The magic attack requires navigating a spell past rotating walls. After the player attacks, they must dodge the enemy's counter-attack.
Enemies present various challenges, such as eye turrets, flying hats, and wandering ghosts. Movement is grid-based, with the player confined to a five by five grid, mirroring the game's navigation system.
Grid Movement
​I designed the movement system for the game, which was a dungeon crawler at its core. To enhance the gameplay experience, we implemented a smooth movement system where the camera smoothly transitions across each tile. Achieving smooth movement added complexity, and I utilized interpolation techniques to ensure the player's movement and turning were as seamless as possible. Holding down a key resulted in continuous and uninterrupted movement. The movement system was versatile enough to be adapted for dodging enemy attacks in the combat system with minor adjustments.