Power Defender is a first-person endless hallway defense game made with the intention of being used by Limbitless Solutions, a UCF non-profit dedicated to creating affordable prosthetic arms for children and training them to use them.
FORMAT
Engine
Unity 3D
Team Size
Eight
Development Time
Sixteen weeks during a school semester with some additional solo polish for another week
ROLES & TASKS
Producer
Coordinating and Assigning Group Tasks
Senior Programmer
Targeting System Functionality
Animation Implementation
Particle Effect Implementation
UI & Menu Functionality
Warning System Functionality
Leaderboard Functionality
Limbitless Integration
Designer
UI & Menu Design
Warning System Design
Level Building
Lighting Implementation
Key Mapping
DESIGN GOALS
Create a highly accessible game with a low skill floor but a high skill ceiling
Shape a rhythmic gameplay loop that encourages a flow state to make endless gameplay enjoyable
Minimize button inputs and completely eliminate precision aiming to allow for a Limbitless Controller port and an arcade machine port
DESIGN DISCUSSION
The young-skewing Limbitless clientele combined with an intended arcade cabinet version of our game meant accessibility and simple controls were a must but our team wanted to avoid making a purely casual experience with no challenge. After some design meetings the team devised a scaling speed system that allows for better players to move at whatever pace they can keep up with while still allowing newer players to play at a more comfortable pace. Any failure to maintain performance at that rate lets the player take a breather by slowing the gameplay pace back down and letting them regain control of the situation.
The color matching and direction management combined two sorts of sorting give just the right amount of engagement to keep players on their toes without overloading them with things to consider.
Button mapping that was comfortable on all of the different platforms warranted a good deal of thought and ultimately the three final control schemes were settled on that map intuitively to both the diagetic and non-diagetic gameplay elements.
