This section is for work I've done on Unity based projects.

Labyrinth Lookout

This project was to keep my skills fresh before embarking on bigger projects. Started with an old retro game from my childhood Lady Bug and decided to see what I could do to mix it up from there. This was my first foray into heavily dealing building games for both a PC and Android platform. It definitely challenged me on several areas, especially dealing with different control schemes and different game resolutions across multiple platforms.

Old arcade gameplay elements: Lady Bug style maze and timer with Q-bert floor color change gameplay
Turn based and Real Time versions of the same game both included
Procedurally generated mazes that drop into a created frame work in order to allow for a changing gameplay within reasonable limits
5 levels with increasing difficulty (monster speed and game goals change)
Multiple Control schemes (Keyboard for PC, on-screen gamepad, tilt, and touch controls for mobile)
Art and Animation Assets modified from assets from Perpetual Division Retro series (Retro Pixel Dungeons and Retro 2D heroes)

Labyrinth LookOut Gameplay

Real Time maze chase arcade game play. Avoid enemies and light up the maze!

Revolving doors allow the player to change the maze and trap their foes

Dynamic lighting effects help to set the mood

Additional levels feature faster monsters and more difficult game play

Lastly, a turn based mode makes the game less about reflexes and more about strategy.

Android APK, Windows Executable, or Mac App available on request

Rampaging Wizard

This was my final project for my Game Design Bachelor Degree. I worked with a team of five other people over the course of five months to create this game from design pitch to final art. I was Project Lead, Mechanic Design Lead, Animation Lead, and Lead Programmer.

While we initially pitch started as an endless runner, we choose to focus on more on level design, and ended up with an action side-scroller with pre-generated levels.

Rather than force the player to endless sit through a tutorial, we instead made the instructions part of the background of the tutorial level. This let new players take their time to learn the game while experienced players could zip past and get on with the game with little delay.

We went with a cartoony look and feel in order to invoke a light-hearted air to the game. We focused on making controls easy, quick, and responsive in order to focus the player on gameplay as quickly as possible.

We added an upgrade system in order to provide replayability throughout the course of the game. The upgrades are presented after each level and chosen randomly from a specified set. This makes sure the player could see different level appropriate powers on subsequent playthroughs.

Crumbling platform and the anger system are two mechanics we added to the game to keep the player moving. The player's anger bar slowly runs down over time, causing damage to the player if it ever stays empty for too long. The crumbling platforms force the player to quickly move along rather than carefully line up shots.

The third level of the game is meant to surprise the player. The game switches from a locked camera on the ground to a floating camera, following the character vertically as well as horizontally. The player now jumps from island to island with missed jumps resulting in death. Two new enemies (the bomber and the armored skeleton) are also introduced on this level, further keeping the player on their toes.

The last level challenges the player to make use of all of the skills they've learned over the last several levels, combining old challenges in new ways.

Dying is penalized by being force to repeat the level. Players can be killed by enemies, spikes, or by missing a jump.

If the player survives all the previous challenges, the final challenge of the game is the Dragon King, a flying enemy that flies back and forth over the player's head, before landing and belching forth waves of flame towards the player.

On slaying the Dragon King, the player is congratulated as a hero!

Rampaging Wizard Demo

This is a short demo of the last level of the game. It includes most major game play elements, including the final boss.

Rampaging Wizard Pitch Video

This is was the initial pitch video that I gave for the game idea. It's interesting to see what ideas made the final cut, as well as how much changed from start to finish.

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Unity Robotron

This was my first start to finish game in Unity, completed while working in a team of four. The theme for the project was to reinvent a classic arcade game in Unity. I was the lead AI designer and the C# coding support for the team.

In order to recreate Robotron, we decided to focus on what we felt were three of the main aspects of the original: Twin stick shooting, a large playing field with enemies, and moving collectibles.

We also decided to add our own twist to the game, but allowing players to "wager" on their skill between waves. Players could choose to up the number enemies or the amount of health they had for a scoring multiplier.

Wave 2 introduced two new elements: Walls and Collector Enemies. The Collector (round disks) enemies would seek out the collectibles first, before going after the player.

Wave 3 sees the introduction of another new enemy type, the Spawner (small squares). The Spawner quickly moves to the edge of the battlefield where it circles the field, randomly spawning new enemies (the red tank as seen in this image)

Wave 4 provides a challenge to the player as they find themselves boxed into a small area with limited escape. Good use of the mines (see on the left here) can help the player survive the initial assult.

Wave 5 introduces the final new enemy type, the Tank (Large grey squares). Unlikely other enemies, the tank will attempt to shoot at the player if it gets a clear line of shot.

Wave 6 starts the cycle of backgrounds again (starting with the open field of wave 1) but increases the number of enemies dramatically, making the initial few seconds of this wave a challenge.

Robotron Unity Demo

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Scraps Level Concept

This was my first team project in Unity. Lots of learning about how to create a cohesive level with multiple people working on different sections simultaneously. Also, I learned how to really dig into Unity and take apart other people's work to figure out how it worked and to help them fix issues they were having. I was the designer / developer for the first part of the level, the organizer for the Perforce code repository shared between teammates, as well as the C# guru for the team. I learned a lot from working on this project, and while the final project probably wasn't as polished as it could have been, I'm still proud of the work and effort I did. I present it here, warts and all:

This was the player's starting area. It featured a scattered collection of physics objects to introduce the player to both the physics engine and the use of the game's "physics" gun.

The first puzzle the player encounters is a gap in the road, which is just too wide to jump across.

The player can use the physics gun to carry a nearby long wooden plank to bridge the gap.

Once in place, the game locks the plank into place, allowing the player to cross and preventing frustration with accidentally "unsolving" the puzzle.

Next, the player encounters crashed truck carrying a load of the old video game cliche: Exploding Barrels!

Playing around with the physics gun and the barrels will quickly prove to the player's that these barrels are indeed explosive.

The player is then confronted by a large barricade and a set of explosive barrels. How to solve this...?

How else? With explosions!

Lastly, the player is confronted with this obstacle. A large gap, and a cave entrance covered by a (admittedly, very orderly) rockslide.

The player uses the physics gun to place another nearby plank and then uses the gun while on the plank to clear the cave entrance. In the background, you can see the ladder leading to the next area of the level.

As a last note, I spent a good part of time helping the other students with the coding of this level. This is an example of my implementing a countdown timer for another student, trigger when they entered a particular building.

SCRAPS Concept Level

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Awaken to Disaster

First full level design in Unity. It was interesting shifting from dealing with a purely programming model (as I was used to in business programming) to what at first felt like a mix between a 3D modeler and Visual Studio. It was fun learning to apply old skills (designing, testing, debugging) into this new environment. The video below is the level walkthrough that I narrated over for the final assignment.