Lead Programmer, Designer:
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Programmed the majority of the game's systems and mechanics
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Developed and contributed to the design of a skating-like physics-based movement system
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Organized and ran all playtests for the project
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Developed editor tools to aid in rapid level creation
A chill fruit-collecting island exploration adventure.
MOVEMENT
Movement in Pipit is momentum-based and designed to feel reminiscent of a skateboarding game.
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Rather than using realistic simulations of gravity, friction, and momentum, the character controller uses finely-tuned manually-applied forces designed to feel intuitive to the player.
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Nearly every action the player can perform started with prototypes of multiple variations of ways the ability could function. These were then tested and the best option was selected, polished, and added to the player's move pool.
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Playtest feedback was essential in identifying areas for improvement of the character controller and potential additions to the player's movement abilities.
PLAYTESTING
I organized, ran, and recorded the results of all playtests for the project.
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Playtesting was essential to identify pain points in the game and opportunities to improve the player experience.
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Playtesting for the project began as soon as the player controller was usable, then was expanded once the game's level design began to develop.
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Early playtests were run with other game developers. Later playtests sought out a variety of players, including those less familiar with video games.
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Each playtest was recorded and notes were taken for later reference.
EDITOR TOOLS
I developed a set of editor tools to allow for rapid level prototyping.
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Using Unreal Engine's procedural mesh generation system, I developed tools to create arbitrarily-shaped tree roots.
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These were used to form the ramps, half-pipes, and tunnels of the island.
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The tools allow for shapes to be defined with splines and then saved to an asset file for reuse.
Movement Showcase