Gemini Rush

PRODUCTION TIME

3 months

YEARS OF RELEASE

2024

SOFTWARE

Unreal

LIFETIME

3 min

GENDER

Racing

PLATFORM

TARGET

Player used to multiplayer racing games looking for originality

OVERVIEW

Gemini rush is an online racing game where the player controls a single-wheel vehicle on a circuit made up of two constantly parallel roads, with the ability to switch between the two using a skill.

The game can be played by 2 to 8 players

CONTRIBUTION

This game was made by a team of 8 people.

My role was Game Designer, and UX/UI Designer.

Camera

The camera is positioned 17 metres behind the player's vehicle. It is positioned higher than the vehicle, and is slightly oriented towards the vehicle.

This ensures that, if a vehicle is perfectly above us on the other road, the player should be able to see it.

The FOV is 50.

Camera effects based on player speed

At standstill

The camera is positioned close to the vehicle, low enough with a 90° FOV to show the vehicle to the player.

This setup also means that in the event of a crash or loss of speed, the camera effects support the events of the race.

0-50% vehicle speed

The vehicle's acceleration is very nervous right from the start:

- A strong recoil of the camera,
- Increased FOV
- Strong blur on start-up

All these effects accentuate the sensation of acceleration.

50 / 90% of vehicle speed

At cruising speed:

- Slight camera rollback
- Slight increase in FOV
- A sharp decrease in blur

All these parameters are there to support the racing sensation and give the player access to as many elements as possible.

90 / 100% vehicle speed

This speed can only be reached through specific player actions, such as driving on an opponent's track or taking a boost.

Camera effects are therefore accentuated, to give a strong impression of speed with :

- camera shake
- Camera elevation
- Increased FOV
- Strong blur

- Effect n°1 : Acceleration / Deceleration → camera position

The camera moves slightly as a function of vehicle speed.

When speed exceeds maximum speed without boost, camera recoil is more pronounced.

Effect n°2: Acceleration / Deceleration → FOV

FOV changes slightly with vehicle speed.

When speed exceeds maximum speed without boost, camera FOV is more accentuated.

At very high speeds, the camera starts to shake erratically but regularly.

Character

The character controller is a light, high-velocity vehicle, fragile and maneuverable, requiring gentle, meticulous, precise piloting, with small couplings.

When the vehicle is destroyed, it defragments and reappears on the player's previous trajectory (by recording its trajectory beforehand).

Controler

All the interactions in Gemini Rush have been designed to be totally achievable with a controller.

The choice of this controller was made thanks to its gradual inputs (triggers) allowing us to get as close as possible to the racing sensation we wanted to offer.

Design

ADSR

Moving forward

The vehicle's acceleration is very strong. It reaches high speed very quickly, then takes a few seconds to reach maximum speed.

As long as the gas pedal is maintained, the vehicle remains at maximum speed.

When the gas pedal is released, the car suddenly loses speed in a linear fashion. Then, after a threshold, it continues to lose speed, but more slowly.

Release and deceleration

As the vehicle has no brakes, deceleration is its only means of reducing speed.

As a result, the vehicle's deceleration must be progressive, to give the player more control over the different speed levels.

This allows the player to gauge speed more accurately.

However, it must also allow the player to lose speed quickly if he or she completely releases the trigger. For this reason, when the player is down to 20% speed, deceleration will be more abrupt.

ADSR curve of vehicle acceleration and deceleration

UX Design

HUD

Due to our core mechanics, some parts of the screen are constantly occupied by the presence of the opposite road.
Consequently, we couldn't put any information there.

In addition, after analyzing some playtests, we noticed a Deadzone at the bottom and on the sides of the screen.
Players rarely looked at this part of the screen.

So, we conceptualized the HUD of our experiment, taking into account that the information needed by the player should be at the top of the screen, on the left and right sides.