Unsheathed (logo by Makenzie Ruffolo).
Software: Unreal Engine 4. I am responsible for having programmed the mechanics of the main character as well as working with the other team members to design them.
A fast-paced first-person action game centered around high mobility. Created in conjunction with artists Jacob Arnao and Makenzie Ruffolo and my co-scripter Jacob Levine (JJAM Games) who was responsible for programming the AI.
This is the trailer.
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Unsheathed started off with the concept that it was a modern re-imagining of the 1987 arcade game Shinobi, but eventually Unsheathed became its own monster. Inspired by the parkour mechanics of games like Mirror's Edge, Unsheathed is all about mobility.
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Set in a cyberpunk environment, the players play as a cyborg ninja, out to get revenge against his brother for attempting to have him killed. Players are awarded 100 points for killing an enemy. When the players reach the end of the level, their points will be divided by their clear time and then multiplied by 100 to get their final score, how many enemies you kill and the speed at which you finish the stage affects your final score.
Grapple mechanic
By looking at a distant wall that has the correct texture, you can press E and if you are in range you will be pulled to that location. Grappling further enhanced the idea of speed that we wanted to convey in the game, especially since the momentum of a grapple transfers to a wall run.
The blue bar in this development screenshot is a remnant of a time-dilation system that never got properly implemented. The idea we had was that players could slow-down time and then swing their sword to deflect projectiles, but the system was never fully visualized due to time constraints. Initially, it was inspired by the "Blade Mode" mechanic from Metal Gear Rising: Reveangeance.
Grapple mechanic visual scripting
Wall running mechanic
Simply holding down the spacebar when you approaching a runnable wall will allow you to wall run (runnable walls are demarcated by a certain texture). Being a ninja, we felt it would only be natural that our player is given some parkour abilities.
Wall running mechanic visual scripting
Dash mechanic
This was a no brainer to us, as we knew our character needed to be swift, so a dash mechanic was perfect and easy to implement.
Dash mechanic visual scripting
Here's a video demoing some of the mechanics in the game's early build.
Here's some development footage showcasing the wall run and grappling hook.