Frest (WIP)
Trapped in a new world, Riley must save the oppressed Cates from the tyrannical rule of 3 World Lords with their guide, Ben the Frog. Experience new mechanics, explore a new world, and tackle dangerous enemies in Frest.
Timeframe: Ongoing since August 2024 - Currently in Alpha
Team Size: 14 people
Roles: Lead Programmer
Scope: 15 - 30 minute experience, featuring a minimum of 9 levels and 6 unique mechanics, dialogue, and a lore codex.
Overall Contributions
I am one of two gameplay programmers and focus primarily on player and level mechanics. Adding a new player ability, movement mode, or puzzles and dynamic platforms is my domain.
I rely heavily on rapid prototyping and iteration, working closely with designers to ensure it doesn’t just work, but is fun and matches designer intentions.
Player Controller Rework
Halfway through production, our player controller wasn’t organized. States were defined only by booleans, making it difficult to the player controller because we need to read each if-statement.
I decided to refactor the controller to follow an enum state machine, to make debugging easier and clearly define states, while allowing non-programmers to be able to understand what they’re editing
Rapid Prototyping
Frest was my first long-term project, and given a larger scope I also had to scope up the level of polish.
To ensure functionality and fun, prototypes were first made and then peer evaluated to find bugs and to improve game feel.
Then overtime, we added crucial polish like SFX and VFX to improve the effect it had on players
Growth
Frest was the first large project I completed, the first game I published, and the first game I had to work with a large team.
It was a learning curve to communicate with other programmers, and make sure I was talking to the right designer.