Slime
A 3D action-puzzle-platformer where the player leaves a permanent trail of slime as they move along surfaces, losing out on the limited amount of slime that makes up their body.
Spring 2017 — PC — Unity
Features
DYNAMIC CAMERA, CHARACTER MOVEMENT,
&& CONTROLS
I am responsible for programming the player movement and camera controls in our 3D environment. I have allowed the camera to be controlled both horizontally and vertically with the controller’s right stick, while also implementing a dynamic raycasting system that moves the camera in and out based upon the distance from the player to the nearest wall. This keeps the player framed and solves many of the issues early 3D platformers had with their cameras and the surrounding geometry clipping into view.
SLIME TRAIL, SLIMER RESOURCE, SHRINKING SLIMEBALL
Since the unique selling point of our prototype is a platformer with a limited resource based upon distance traveled on surfaces rather than the typical time constraint, I worked on getting this feature up to speed. So far, I had integrated a spawning system that calculates the distance traveled by the player and instantiates a new slime while also decreasing the player’s “slimer” resource based on this value. I had also been in charge of shrinking the player’s slime ball art relative to the remaining slimer in order to allow for an intuitive understanding of the relationship between surface distances and the amount of slimer used.
DASHING WITH “FEELER”, HOOK ONTO SURFACES
A large part of the game is the inclusion of various environment types that alter the friction between the player and that surface, making movement and momentum differ with each encounter. Realizing this, I have been polishing two mechanics that give the player options to control their momentum, a mid-air dash and a grappling hook. The dash allows the player to get to a surface quicker while also covering more distance in the air. The hook allows pinpoint latching to a surface, pulling them in towards that area with a physics spring joint built into Unity. These two prototype features are paramount to controlling speed, movement, and air-to-surface ratios.