2022 // University // Design, Computer Science, and Human-centered Design
A first-person movement puzzle game that was independently developed in Unity for the InWorks capstone course. The independent study spanned about four months, and my goal was to explore as many facets of game design as possible and create an original game. Thrust was presented at a research expo at CU Denver in order to perform testing with and receive feedback from individuals visiting the event. After some finishing touches I presented it to colleagues for a final critique on the work that was completed.
– Objective –
Conceptualize and create an original game with a single playable level/stage that features the main gameplay mechanic. In addition to that, explore as many facets of game design as possible when developing the final product.
– Approach –
Having the opportunity to define the project, I knew I wanted to create something in 3D as I was enrolled in a 3D design course, and I’ve always enjoyed 3D games, especially if they’re first-person. After playing a handful of indie-games, many of them walking simulators, I knew I wouldn’t be content with making a game without a more complex gameplay mechanic. So since many of my favorite games are FPS or action games, I knew I wanted to go that route, and upon this realization I returned to some of my favorite games. Dishonored, Titanfall, and Portal were always so enjoyable to me because of the movement abilities offered to the player, and while I enjoy a simple first person shooter, I also enjoy it when games pose scenarios that aren’t about just blowing everything up.
At this point I began brainstorming ideas for a gameplay mechanic that would allow for interesting traversal and puzzle solving, after which I decided to begin prototyping the game in Unity.
– Work Completed –
When ideating, I really fell in love with the idea of two daggers that had different interactions, when thrown one would propel you forward and the other would return to you. (The name Thrust actually came from this idea!) This mechanic stemmed from another game concept that I’ve had for a while, but it wasn’t the main gameplay loop. As I began thinking of different interactions, puzzles, and even combat, I just couldn’t let go of the idea. I knew what I wanted to make at this point.
I found a lot of inspiration with the movement of the games that I mentioned above, so I wanted to make my own character controller. One of my main concerns with the stock controller was the air movement, it was too exact and felt a little cartoony. You can see the strange air movement that I was trying to avoid near the end of the video below.
The next iteration is a two month jump. I worked to create a character controller that kept the player’s momentum when jumping and allowed for some small adjustments while in mid air, I even allowed the payer to climb up an edge if they were high enough. This iteration also features the dagger mechanics when they were in development. One of my favorite decisions was to make the dagger’s swing and throw, and it was done very simply using button inputs. If you wanted to swing the daggers, it was just a press of the mouse button or trigger. If you wanted to throw one, all you had to do was hold it down to aim and then let go. It felt incredibly intuitive, and was received well when I presented it.
The RACAS expo at CU Denver was on April 29th, but I needed a video that would be a representation of the game for the virtual expo so I raced to get a playable space that fit the game aesthetic better I found some free assets in the Unity store and began working on a simple “test chamber”. Below is what I submitted on April 19th.,
I knew that I wasn’t content to bring the same build as the video I submitted, so kept working. I added some elements for the players to interact with and updated the environment to add some color contrast. The thing I’m most proud of with the RACAS demo is that I was able to rig arms for the player to have better visual feedback for when the player used the daggers. I had never rigged anything before, so that fact that I learned Unity’s animator and animation blending system to create what I did was incredibly satisfying.
After the feedback I received, I made a few changes to the character controller, one of the most important was holding the dagger in air so, which allowed for a larger window for if the player wanted to teleport to it. I spent most of the time creating a new scene to introduce the mechanics as well as sound effects. This new “playground” was the final presented build of the game.
– Retrospective –
This project is one of many that really taught me to be okay with ambiguity. I was able to work with my professor to come up with a set of guidelines and make assertions and decisions that allowed me to make something that I’m proud of. This project really grew my confidence with my ability to create, as many of the reactions were smiles and amazement at the idea I came up with.
I went into this to see if this would be something that I would want to pursue as a career. I’ve always been inspired to learn how to create things that I love and I ‘ve thought about making video games ever since sophomore year in high school. Ultimately, I know that I would love to work on games as a career, it would be an incredible opportunity to work for any studio making something for people to enjoy. I learned something else too though.
I had always look up to ConcernedApe, the creator of Stardew Valley, since he created the entire game by himself. After presenting the game to my colleagues at InWorks, the recommendations and collaborative conversations that occurred cemented the idea that I don’t want to make games alone, I want to work as a member of a team. I have always been individualistic, and still am, but this was the confirmation that collaboration is the most important part of making something. If I’m going to continue working on this project, I have to find people that are just as excited as me, and I know we can make Thrust something great.
I am currently working on bringing Thrust to Unreal Engine as it’s better suited to handle this type of game, and I really enjoyed the work that I did on Woodland Walk. Stay tuned, hopefully there will be some updates for Thrust soon.
ALEX VERKEST 