https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxtZf93JZ6g&feature=youtu.be

Cosmic Crunch

On-Rail Shooter | UE4 | 2018 | 3-Week Project | 10-People Team

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Technical Design

1. Player Eating Mechanic

  • Player can eat floating objects to replenish health
  • Player can eat blue parts of the rotating obstacle
  • Player eats by opening his mouth with the custom controller helmet

Player eating a pickup and parts of the rotating fan obstacle

1. Player Eating Mechanic

  • Player can eat floating objects to replenish health
  • Player can eat blue parts of the rotating obstacle
  • Player eats by opening his mouth with the custom controller helmet

Player eating a pickup and parts of the rotating fan obstacle

2. Rotating Fan Obstacle

  • Main obstacle of the game
  • Each rotor blade of each actor instance can individually be deleted to create open spots for the player to maneuver through
  • Every single rotor blade  can be assigned to be “edible”, to interact with the player’s eating mechanic
  • The rotation speed of each asset instance can be altered easily

Showcase of the rotating fan obstacle functionality

2. Rotating Fan Obstacle

  • Main obstacle of the game
  • Each rotor blade of each actor instance can individually be deleted to create open spots for the player to maneuver through
  • Every single rotor blade  can be assigned to be “edible”, to interact with the player’s eating mechanic
  • The rotation speed of each asset instance can be altered easily

Showcase of the rotating fan obstacle functionality

3. Meteor Obstacle

  • For the final level stretch, as a climax
  • Meteors fall on the race track, which the player must evade
  • Number of falling meteors, their position and falling rotation can be customized

Meteor obstacle in the final game

3. Meteor Obstacle

  • For the final level stretch, as a climax
  • Meteors fall on the race track, which the player must evade
  • Number of falling meteors, their position and falling rotation can be customized

Meteor obstacle in the final game

Level Design

1. Spline Placement

  • Planning total gameplay space & gameplay time
  • Placing the spline in accordance to that data, together with the biggest art assets
  • Playtesting & iterating on the spline, for a smooth player experience

Early level version, with only the spline and the biggest art assets

1. Spline Placement

  • Planning total gameplay space & gameplay time
  • Placing the spline in accordance to that data, together with the biggest art assets
  • Playtesting & iterating on the spline, for a smooth player experience

Early level version, with only the spline and the biggest art assets

2. Obstacle Placement

  • Placing all gameplay relevant objects in the level
  • Onboarding the player in each level section to a different obstacle mechanic
  • Obstacle categories: Stationary, Edible, Rotator, Shapes (e.g. the lower half of the screen is rubble, so player needs to go up)

Stationary (asteroids) & edible (robot) obstacles combined

2. Obstacle Placement

  • Placing all gameplay relevant objects in the level
  • Onboarding the player in each level section to a different obstacle mechanic
  • Obstacle categories: Stationary, Edible, Rotator, Shapes (e.g. the lower half of the screen is rubble, so player needs to go up)

Stationary (asteroids) & edible (robot) obstacles combined



Custom Controller

1. Fully playable with a helmet

  • The player moves the character by tilting his head
  • When the player open his mouth the strap is triggered, which makes the shark eat
  • The gameplay space needed to be developed alongside the controller, due to time constraints and it was my job to make the two harmonize

Early level version, with only the spline and the biggest art assets

1. Fully playable with a helmet

  • The player moves the character by tilting his head
  • When the player open his mouth the strap is triggered, which makes the shark eat
  • The gameplay space needed to be developed alongside the controller, due to time constraints and it was my job to make the two harmonize

Early level version, with only the spline and the biggest art assets