Project Details

Genre: Hack & Slash Platformer
Game Engine: Unreal
Team Size: 21

4 Game Designers

5 Programmers

8 Artists

4 Sound/Musicians

Duration: 9 Weeks
Platform: PS5
Year: 2024

Contributions

Gameplay Design
Technical Level Design
Technical UI Design
Cinematic Design

Rocket Rider GDD

Concept

Rocket Rider is an action game that fuses platforming with intense hack & slash combat.

The game is set in a dystopian futuristic city heavily controlled by the authorities that oppress the citizens with unending curfews.

You play as John Rider, a rocket-riding rebel, too stubborn and knowledgeable to bend to the regime.

Ignite the spark of rebellion, dismantle the enforcers' armies and free the city!

Pitching The Game

"Rocket Rider" was a last minute pitch I got over the love of Kamen Rider. Orginally I was going to pitch a different idea but I changed it the day before we were gonna pitch our game concepts.

It was because I thought the idea lacked a Unique Selling Point and felt it was not fun enough for me to pitch. That is when I started watching some Kamen Rider clips which sparked an idea in my mind and gave birth to "Rocket Rider".

Some original concept mechanics was that the player would be able to shoot out their arms and use one of them as a surfable rocket, but we scraped it during pre-production due to time constraint. We decided on only having the player ride on the rocket and focus all efforts on making that feel good.

Gameplay Design

- Gameplay /// Gameloop

From the start, we designed the game for the player to progress through 2 types of sections in 1 long level.

- Arena Sections - Kill set amount of enemies to progress. Closed space with spawning waves of enemies.

- Platforming Sections - Move through an area/obstacle to progress. Long segments of the level with optional enemy encounters.

We didn't opt for any loading screens between each segment of the level as we wanted the player to always be moving and have a seamless flow throughout their playthrough. We had to learn how level streaming worked to optimize the level for this vision.

- Combat Design /// Reiterating throughout production

Originally, the player had 2 states. The player was able to shoot out their rocket or slam it on the ground and enter a "On Foot" state where they would be vulnerable but the rocket would do immense damage to enemies. The rocket would then take a set amount of time to reproduce/respawn.

However, we changed this and had the player just be on the rocket as we wanted the player to be always moving to keep the gameplay dynamic. This scratched the idea of the player being able to shoot their rocket so the backpack that the player had didn't have a purpose for a while. I later pitched that the player could shoot out mini-rockets that would target locked-on enemies.

Technical Level Design

- Railgrind /// Spline Tool

My first task on the game project involved closely collaborating with the programmers. Drawing inspiration from "Bomb Rush Cyberfunk," we aimed to create a modular rail system that could work with any prop applied.

I quickly realized that using splines alone wasn't sufficient, so I learned to utilize geometry tools in Unreal to develop the spline tool effectively. Over the first few weeks, I dedicated myself to understanding and experimenting with this tool.

I also worked closely with artists to ensure their props seamlessly integrated into the spline system, resulting in a fluid and dynamic gameplay experience.

- Sublevels /// Cross-Disciplinary Workflow

In Unreal, we utilized sublevels to collaborate efficiently within the same space. Recommended by a programming teacher, I persuaded the team to adopt this approach and set up the sublevels for our level. I also helped other groups to implement this as well.

This allowed us to work seamlessly together on our long, interconnected game level, optimizing our workflow and enhancing productivity.

For this, we divided the sublevels in Art and Gameplay, as only 1 person is allowed to work in each sublevel. The arena sections were also divided to their own seperate sublevel.

- Level Design

Although my primary focus wasn't designing levels, the need for additional segments to achieve our goal for a long, interconnected and this level led me to contribute to this area.

My design process consited of grayboxing, to blockout to set dressing. The artists requested that us designers would play more of a level artist role and make the levels look appealing as well as fun to interact in.

We had to do a lot of changes during production and a lot of segments were scrapped due to our limited time.

Second Area

Third Area

Fifth Area

- Designed and developed arena barriers for wave managers.

We designed sections of the game with wave-based enemy encounters, inspired by "Devil May Cry" and "Hi-Fi Rush," to keep the gameplay engaging through combat-focused areas.

While a programmer developed the wave manager, I was responsible for developing and implementing the arena barriers.

This required close collaboration to ensure seamless integration and optimal performance, enhancing the player's combat experience to require them to pursue the enemies in combat encounters instead of the other way around that we have in our platforming sections.

Technical UI Design

Widget Blueprint Scripting

In the final two weeks, I leveraged my technical expertise to take charge of UI Design. I focused on optimizing and fixing the UI, which had been problematic.

I created multiple widget assets to ensure seamless implementation by team members from different disciplines. This role allowed me to really test my problem-solving skills as it was really difficult to make it work for consoles, especially with the little time I had to work on it.

To the right is an example of scripting I did for the pause menu.

Designed and implemented a 3D Main Menu.

I took on the responsibility of designing the main menu, inspired by "God of War." To save resources and create a visually appealing interface, I opted for a 3D main menu using an existing environment.

I collaborated with our animator to feature an animated pose, bringing dynamic life to the menu while maintaining efficiency.

Final Product

Mock-up of 3D Main Menu

WIP Current Main Menu

Made sure all UI worked with a game controller (For PS5).

Our target platform for the game was the PS5, as part of our course in Game Project 2. Ensuring the game ran smoothly on this platform required focused efforts on optimization, gameplay, and UI Implementation. UI posed a particular challenge, demanding meticulous adjustments to meet the PS5's specifications and user experience standards.

We used a Unreal 5 Plugin called "Common UI" which helped a lot to make sure the UI worked smoothly on consoles.

Manually adding widget navigation for controller support

Cinematic Design

Created and implemented all cinematics in the game.

In the final two weeks of the project, I explored game cinematics to enhance its visual storytelling. Inspired by a programmer's suggestion, I quickly learned the necessary tools and techniques.

I created dynamic scenes for the game's climax and designed cinematic sequences for the trailer, aiming to captivate players and elevate the overall experience. I used finished animations for all cinematics, not animating any characters myself.

This endeavor significantly expanded my creative and artistic skills in game development as I looked into many different sources of cinematic use, mainly from games such as "Metal Gear Solid".

Implemented triggers for cutscenes to play.

I implemented triggers for cutscenes using Visual Scripting to ensure they played when the player came across special events in the game. These would lock player inputs and smoothly transition into a cutscene.

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