shedelbower / aberration

Game made for the 2024 Acerola Jam 0

Aberration

Day Progress Logs

Day 1

build 0.01.0

• Setup default 3D URP project with git.
• Brainstormed game ideas and chose one that I liked.
• Created simple gray box scene with ProBuilder.
• Implemented basic controllers for playable rovers and security camera.
• Added some manager classes.
• Performed first build test.

Day 2

build 0.02.0

• Replaced rover tank tread placeholders with 2-bone IK legs.
• Implemented physics-based controller for rovers.
  • Supports walking on uneven terrain and inclines.
  • Needs more work to fix bugs and look more natural, but otherwise feels nice.

Day 3

build 0.03.0

• Created a more interesting gray box level (doorways and rooms).
• Prototyped cloaking visual effect on meshes.
• Implemented signal networks with interactable switches.
  • Includes power network support.

Day 4

build 0.04.1

• Modeled simple legs and body for quadruped drone.
• Started major refactor of quadruped physics and IK.
  • Attempted to more accurately simulate the quadruped, but this turned out to be a dead end due to the difficulty of making stable physics-based movement that is fun to control while also fully simulated.
• Most of the day was probably a waist :(

Day 5

build 0.05.0

• Reworked quadruped physics and movement to be more stable and fun, at the cost of being less physically accurate.
• Improved procedural animations of quadruped to be more nuanced and realistic.
  • Still need to cleanup code before replacing original Rover classes.

Day 6

build 0.06.1

• More tweaks to quadruped movement and IK.
• Added playable "human" character.
  • Set as the default entity.
  • Controls other entities via a tablet device.
  • Supports walking, sprinting, jumping, gravity, and click-to-interact.
  • Implemented basic camera smoothing, which is particularly useful on stairs.
• Other entities now target the tablet render texture.
  • Each entity can have a custom post-processing volume.
• Overall a productive day :)

Day 7

build 0.07.1

• Tweaks to player and quadruped movement.
• Tablet lift/lower animation.
• Initial UI setup.
• Didn't have much time this evening, so didn't make much progress.

Day 8

build 0.08.0

• Support dynamic syncing of playable entities to tablet device.
• Added emergency lights that turn on when the power is off.

Day 9

build 0.09.0

• Added powered doors with interactable switches.
  • Have a nice cancellable animation.
  • Will detect any obstructions and refuse to close.
• Other minor changes.
• Didn't have much time this evening, but the doors feel nice.

TODO

Level Design

1. Replace point lights with much more efficient spot lights
2. Find textures to replace gray box

Player

1. Add small spot light around player (tablet light?)
   1. Sample pixels of screen for immersion?
2. Crouch toggle (same button as quadruped)
3. Lower collider to hit quadrupeds when standing
4. Add health UI (screen effect)
5. Add death state (animation + game over screen)

Enemy

1. Enemy controller
2. Navigate to player
3. Roam ability
4. Static screen effect (shader on render texture)
5. Cloak warping effect for player visual?

Rover

1. IK Arm
   1. Interact with objects
   2. Use time-based lerping for a nicer animation
2. Fix IK leg issues
3. Add auto flip correction when turned over

Navigation

1. Develop navigation system for quadruped and enemies using navmesh
2. Only follow if visible
3. Use bread crumbs to last visible position?
4. Should use ray casts for physics validity
5. Automatic State System for Quadruped
   1. In Route Mode
   2. Can't find target
   3. Reached target

UI

1. Level name fade text
2. Interactable hover text + basic info (powered/open/synced)
3. Icons
   1. Entity icons
   2. Power On/Off icon
   3. Switch open/closed unpowered icon
4. Entity selection (inventory bar style)
5. Customized HUD for each entity type
6. Broken glass overlay for integrity (3 stages?)
7. UI Input Icons from pack

Rover HUD

1. Name
2. Night vision
3. Techno Info
   1. Speed
   2. Tilt / Roll / Yaw
   3. Integrity
4. Auto mode
   1. Navigating...
   2. Reached target
   3. Searching for target
5. Need human assistance
6. Kill screen
7. Collision warning (player or wall)
8. Is interacting

Security Camera HUD

1. Name
2. Night vision
3. Angle
4. Zoom level
5. Kill screen

Audio

1. Audio Manager (singleton with pooled audio sources)
   1. Play at position
   2. Attach sounds to transforms
2. Quadruped pitch movement sound by speed?
3. Find assets on freesound
   1. Lights on/off
   2. Rover move
   3. Rover step
   4. Player step
   5. Door open / close
   6. Fuse box interact
   7. Switch open/close
   8. Ambient
   9. Rumble/boom for incident start
   10. Tablet startup
   11. Tablet UI buttons
   12. Menu buttons

Menus

1. Start screen
   1. Level selection
   2. Credits / About
   3. Quit
2. Pause menu
   1. Restart level
   2. Return to main menu
   3. Quit Game
   4. Resume
   5. View Controls
3. Game Over Menu
   1. Restart level
   2. Return to main menu
4. Next Level Menu
   1. Next level
   2. Return to main menu

Tablet

1. Add tablet syncing animation / delay
2. Add startup loading screen
3. Fix animation parent movement stutter
4. Bonk to interact

Doors

1. Add vertical sliding door that only quadruped can crawl under
2. Add multiple check colliders, one for each side of door.
3. Damage/push entities when shutting on them?

Juice

1. Add player camera shake
2. Light fades on and off
3. Dust particles

Lift Interactable

1. Raise/lower with switch 2. [ ] Work with physics objects on top. Make super slow?

Alarm Interactable

1. Turn on/off with switch
2. Attract enemies
3. Loud sound
4. Warning lights

Assets

Fonts

• Google Fonts
  • Kode Mono

Ideas

Setup

A disaster has struck a containment facility housing all sort of dangerous anomalies. You are part of a group of survivors who are trying to escape. You have access to a rover drone that you use to scout ahead to clear sections of the facility so the survivors can pass through.

Gameplay

• Swap between different drones/cameras.
• Carefully navigate the corridors to avoid/corral enemies.
• Find a valid path to the end for your survivors to follow.
• Two game modes:
  • Drone explore & clear.
  • Watch survivors try to follow your path out.
• Number of survivors can act as your "health".
• Drones can be killed by enemies?
• Flagging hazards for survivors?
• Notice irregularities to find where anomalies are.

Game Views / Playable Entities

• Rover Drone
• Quadcopter
• Security Camera (power required)
• Map View

Interactable Elements

• Doors
• Alarms (lure)
• Lights
• Lifts (requires two drones?)