I worked on TorchBearer, a 3rd person puzzle adventure game, along with two teammates. I was a project manager, one of two programmers, and a UI Artist for the project.

As a programmer on the project, I focused on the following game features:

• Main Menu
  • Connected with the saving system to load save files, create new ones, and delete them
  • Included several screens that the player could navigate through, with up to three layers deep
  • Implemented several game options
    • Options include: Screen resolution, inverting mouse movement, adjusting in-game volume for several audio types
    • Game options save between play sessions using PlayerPrefs

• Saving System
  • Reading/writing to JSON files to save between play sessions
  • Allowed loading from menu or upon player death
  • Created checkpoints and kill-boxes throughout the game that would save and load game objects
  • Saved and loaded several types of data for various in-game objects
    • Used structs to hold complex data for objects, converted special variable types into something writeable by JSON and converted it back when reading JSON data
    • Objects include: The player, lanterns, and lantern-holders (pedestals)
    • Data for each object includes but is not limited to: position, game-state (is it being held, is it holding something), and unique "power" variables for each object
  • Allowed player to load into the last level they played, automatically saved after cutscenes

• Scene Transitions & Player Interaction
  • Implemented cutscene steps and actions that would be activated after certain dialogue lines
    • Included a screen fade and affected specific characters within the cutscene
  • Added key prompts for the in-game tutorial when the player would encounter a new action for the first time

• Other game systems
  • Added "darkness detection" to see when the player was not inside of the light of a light source, as well as a "darkness level" value that would decrease when the player was outside of the light and increase when the player returned to the light
  • Created the original code to pick up and place lanterns, as well as the code to put lanterns inside of lantern-holders which could either maintain lantern light or slowly drain lantern light
    • These elements were adjusted by both programmers throughout development

As a project manager, I performed the following tasks to keep our development on track:

• Created and updated project management tools
  • Created a Scrum board to keep track of progress during sprints
  • Set up a project timeline to track progress on the full scope of the game
    • Adjusted timeline as tasks were blocked or completed earlier than anticipated

• Led weekly standup meetings
  • Met with teammates at least once each week of development to discuss what tasks were completed, what tasks were blocked, and assign tasks for the next sprint
  • Ensured a good work-load balance to make sure no teammate was overworked or had too few tasks to perform

• Created feature documentation
  • Created a step-by-step guide on setting up each major game system for the level designer
    • Included steps to set up the gameobject hierarchy for each scene, how to set up individual objects, and what values or assets to assign for each component
    • Included images and color-coding to help reader comprehension, especially for more abstract or lengthy steps