PROJECT ROLE

▧ Prototype Trading and Discovery Gameplay
▧ Research and Build the Player Vehicle Movement
▧ Design the Cannonball and Exploding Barrel player abilities

As a student technical game designer, I focused on the player vehicle and its' combat abilities, I helped concepting and prototyping various other ideas throughout the early stages of development as well.

TRADING AND DISCOVERY GAMEPLAY

Early Trading Prototype
As the project started, we diverged into smaller teams to concept, research and prototype ideas for a game featuring trading. I prototyped a small logistics game, where players had to strategically buy and sell resources at different locations.

In this prototype, players balance four different resources to earn a profit. The catch is that players also use these resources while moving from location to location. For example, investing in a lot of cannonballs could make you a combat powerhouse, but also makes you slower, and use up more food in your travel from A to B.

Rumors Prototype
After the research on quests, I created a "rumors system" prototype based on classic RPG design (i.e., you talk to an innkeeper to see if there is any problems that need solving). In which the player gets information from NPCs based on locations they have not explored yet.

It then directs the player out to these points of interests. I built a system in which all the dialogue could be stored in an easy-to-adapt Excel file.

Research into Quests
As we explored different gameplay oppurtunities, I researched quest design for the project. I focused on targeting strategy and discovery gameplat that could be fortified by quests.

PLAYER VEHICLE MOVEMENT

Research on Vehicle Implementation
Early into the project I researched the implementation of wheeled vehicles in Unreal Engine. At this point in time we didn't know yet what our vehicle was going to be, and what common development practices were for vehicles in Unreal Engine.

Initial Prototypes and Playtesting
In smaller strike teams, we took vehicle prototype with different designs and playtested them. We tested some fast-paced "excitement" prototypes based on the ray-traced sandbuggy vehicle. We also took some designs oriented towards a slower, more strategic type of movement, where we experimented with external terrain effects such as winds heavily affecting the player vehicle movement.

Further Development
As the development continued, the programming and art department took the prototypes and further refined them. I playtested and iterated upon the gamefeel of the vehicle. I added audiovisual feedback to the core movement features. i.e, when colliding with terrain.

CANNONBALL AND EXPLODING BARREL PLAYER ABILITIES

Early Prototypes
As we settled on our general 3C's and game direction, I used the Unreal Engine Gameplay Ability System to create weapon and ability concepts in Dune Strider. One example of the initial concepts made was the Exploding Barrel ability seen on the right. Players could activate it to fire an area of effect explosion, dealing damage and slowing enemies.

Iterations towards Release
As development continued, I iterated upon the player abilities based on playtesting results. Some key changes made to the cannonball ability were:

▧ Iterated upon the visual indicators for aiming and firing.
▧ Added visual and audio feedback on hitting enemies and terrain.
▧ Balancing cooldown, damage and other key metrics keeping the ability in line with the other available abilities.
▧ Added forgiveness mechanics when player aiming was slightly off.

Working on Dune Strider was interesting experience. The project was very ambitious in its' goals, which was possible due to this being a student project. Going through a full development cycle from concept to release with a larger team was a very valuable experience.

For myself, I enjoyed working in a large team again after Sugar Blast. It was a good time to further refine my research and development skills.

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