Lewis Starling
GAMES TECHNICAL DESIGNER
Ice Blast
ROLE
Technical Designer (Duo Project)
DESCRIPTION
Ice Blast is a 2D side scroller with fundamental mechanics made in C++, this includes character movement and physics systems, this is paired with blueprint, using custom callable functions and variables derived from C++ classes. All systems and mechanics were created by me, as well as the look of the character, enemies, hazards and UI visuals. Level design and UI functionality were created by my peer. This personal project was created in 2 weeks.
YEAR
2022
GENRE
Side Scroller
SOFTWARE
Unreal Engine 4
Visual Studio 2019
Photoshop
Mechanics & Systems
Movement & Momentum Building
Movement - Players can either slide left or right. Continuing to slide in one direction will build speed, enabling the player to jump a further distance, but will decrease the control over the character. Players can also jump reaching slightly higher platforms within the different levels.
Momentum - Throughout the levels, players are faced with large gaps that require larger amounts of momentum to pass. The character will continue to slide in there current direction even after the player has stop there movement input, this can be slowed by applying input in the opposite direction and then changing the direction after the movement has been stopped completely.
Enemies
Ice Drifters - ice drifters slide in one direction along a set path, hitting the left or right side of the ice drifter will cause the character to respawn at the last checkpoint. Jumping on top of the ice drifters will let the character ride the ice drifter along its path. This is used throughout the levels to reach higher platforms that cannot be achieved with a normal jump. Jumping off of an ice drifter will launch the character in the direction the ice drifter is going. The speed, direction and launch height given can be changed through editable variables so that levels can be easily built around this enemy.
Ice Sickles - ice sickles act as a hazard to the player, and will drop when the player gets in the range were they can be hit. After the ice sickles hit the ground they will reset into their given locations. The time it takes for the ice sickles to drop can be decided with editable variables which allows for ease of balance in the challenge given to the player. Hitting these will cause the player to respawn at the last checkpoint.
Direction Change
Using 'Q' & 'E' the player has the ability to change there direction mid air with the direction change pick up and is represented by an arrow that appears during this time, this allows them to reach new areas of the level with extreme height and speed in there given direction. Each direction change pickup can be given its own impulse strength allowing them to be cater to the different parts of the level. Some pick-ups will give a small change and others larger to reach unique platforms.