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

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.

My Contributions

Technical Level Design

Developed a spline tool for Level Designers & Artists that would work with the player's railgrinding mechanic.

Setup sublevels for our levels so that multiple designers, artists and programmers can work on the same level.

Designed various of segments in the main level with intentions in creating satisfying and fun environments to traverse in.

Designed and developed arena barriers for wave managers.

Collaborated closely with all disciplines within my tasks in this role.

Technical UI Design

Developed modular assets for UI (UMG, Common UI).

Designed and implemented a 3D Main Menu.

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

Cinematic Design

Created and implemented all cinematics in the game.

Implemented triggers for cutscenes to play.

Contributions Breakdown

(ROCKET-TASTIC)

Technical Level Design

- Developed a spline tool for Level Designers & Artists that would work with the player's railgrinding mechanic.

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

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.

- Setup sublevels for our levels so that multiple designers, artists and programmers can work on the same level.

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.

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

- Designed various of segments in the main level with intentions in creating satisfying and fun environments to traverse in.

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

My design process consited of grayboxing, to blockout to set dress. 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 interactin.

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 and dynamic.

While a fellow programmer Jonathan Lindell developed the wave manager, I was responsible for creating 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 enmeies in combat encounters instead of the other way around.

Technical UI Design

Developed modular assets for UI (Functionality).

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 assets to ensure seamless implementation by team members from different disciplines. This role allowed me to combine my problem-solving skills with my passion for creating intuitive, user-friendly interfaces.

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.

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.

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.

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 created triggers for cutscenes using Visual Scripting to ensure they played when the player came across special events in the game.

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sebastian.jonestig@gmail.com

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