Project 1: God's Mouth
A solo made single player horror demo made with Unreal Engine 5. You find yourself in a cave known as God's Mouth, a place where no one who has gone in has ever been seen again. You have a flashlight, but it has been damaged and only works in short bursts. You must escape the cave with your life. However, it looks like you're not alone here...
Game Pillars:
Game Design Process:
Darkness is a key part of keeping the player scared and on edge in horror games AKA fear of the unknown. A cave is a great location for a horror game due to naturally being dark and shut out from the outside world. Now fill that with a hostile environment and terrifying monsters, then you got yourself a nice backdrop for horror.
While a flashlight is used in this game, it has some unique mechanics that separate it from most other horror games. The flashlight is not only a tool to guide the player out of cave with its light, but also an unconventional weapon. The monsters, known as Bloodstalkers, have spent a very long time in the cave known as God's Mouth. Darkness is their territory. They'll naturally be sensitive to light due to this. I decided to integrate this mechanic because not only does it provide an interesting and unique way to fend off the monsters, but also makes sense within the lore of the game.
But the Bloodstalkers still need to be a threat and the player needs to be weak and vulnerable despite their options. To prevent spam and making Bloodstalkers a joke, I made it to where the flashlight can only be used in brief bursts of light, needing to recharge for 5 seconds before it can be used again. It only briefly stuns the Bloodstalkers, so the player still needs to escape and hide from them.
Additionally, there are basic stealth elements within the game such as crouch walking that quiets and reduces the sound of footsteps. The player has no way to hurt and kill the Bloodstalkers that are wandering God's Mouth, so stealth would be the natural alternative to this.
Game Pillars:
- Tension and Fear: The chilling and dark atmosphere in God's Mouth leaves the player tense on edge, fearful of whatever may come out and surprise them.
- Stealth and Survival: Sneaking past the monsters and keeping them at bay is crucial. One single encounter can have dire consequences.
- Resource Management: The player must carefully manage the limited functionality of their flashlight, needing to time and use their bursts of light wisely, else it could be their downfall.
Game Design Process:
Darkness is a key part of keeping the player scared and on edge in horror games AKA fear of the unknown. A cave is a great location for a horror game due to naturally being dark and shut out from the outside world. Now fill that with a hostile environment and terrifying monsters, then you got yourself a nice backdrop for horror.
While a flashlight is used in this game, it has some unique mechanics that separate it from most other horror games. The flashlight is not only a tool to guide the player out of cave with its light, but also an unconventional weapon. The monsters, known as Bloodstalkers, have spent a very long time in the cave known as God's Mouth. Darkness is their territory. They'll naturally be sensitive to light due to this. I decided to integrate this mechanic because not only does it provide an interesting and unique way to fend off the monsters, but also makes sense within the lore of the game.
But the Bloodstalkers still need to be a threat and the player needs to be weak and vulnerable despite their options. To prevent spam and making Bloodstalkers a joke, I made it to where the flashlight can only be used in brief bursts of light, needing to recharge for 5 seconds before it can be used again. It only briefly stuns the Bloodstalkers, so the player still needs to escape and hide from them.
Additionally, there are basic stealth elements within the game such as crouch walking that quiets and reduces the sound of footsteps. The player has no way to hurt and kill the Bloodstalkers that are wandering God's Mouth, so stealth would be the natural alternative to this.
Project 2: Zombie Ward
A solo made first person shooter horror demo made with Unreal Engine 5. You wake up in an abandoned hospital that has been used by a cult for monstrous and supernatural experiments. You were about to be one of their specimens, until it all went out of control. You must escape the hospital! However, some of the previous specimens will make that hard.
Game Pillars:
Game Design Process:
Death is a common occurrence in hospitals. Combine that with an abandoned and haunted aesthetic and it leads to a truly frightening and ominous location. It is no longer a place of healing. Only death. With its medical technology, it could be used for more nefarious and sinister experiments that tamper with life and death. A perfect area for said experiments. These were my thoughts on making such a setting that would fit nicely in a zombie themed horror based first person shooter.
A common risk in most zombie based media is that anyone can be infected with a bite or scratch. I decided to make this into one of the mechanics in the game: the Infected state. The infected state has a status bar build up that fills up by 25% each time a player hurt by zombies will become infected. The infected state will slowly drain the health of the player over time and slightly decrease their movement speed. This will give them a limited amount of time to find an item, being experimental vaccines, to disinfect themselves. I decided to make this random so the mechanic can be balanced, as infecting the player every single time they are hit would be needlessly unforgiving and frustrating. A status effect building up gives the player some opportunities to react to oncoming damage and provide a chance to escape without being infected, allowing the bar to decrease and recover from status build up.
A similar mechanic is another status effect known as bleeding. Like the infected state, it is filled up with a status bar every time the player is hurt. This bar is filled up the more the player gets shot by the ranged enemies of this game, known as Zoldiers(Z emphasizes they're zombified!). The bleeding status bar builds up by 10% every time the player takes damage from being shot. Once the player is bleeding, their health will decrease over time until they find a med kit to treat themselves and stop the bleeding.
With all these different items to use for different status effects, an item inventory system is in order! The player can cycle through items to use for certain situations.
Game Pillars:
- Horror: Creating an ominous and foreboding atmosphere that keeps the player on edge.
- Combat: Engaging in intense gunfights with multiple types of zombies that seek to overwhelm the player in numbers and aggression.
- Exploration: Encouraging players to explore the environment to find hidden items that can assist in their escape!
- Survival: Players must manage their inventory and items to stay alive and escape this hellish hospital.
Game Design Process:
Death is a common occurrence in hospitals. Combine that with an abandoned and haunted aesthetic and it leads to a truly frightening and ominous location. It is no longer a place of healing. Only death. With its medical technology, it could be used for more nefarious and sinister experiments that tamper with life and death. A perfect area for said experiments. These were my thoughts on making such a setting that would fit nicely in a zombie themed horror based first person shooter.
A common risk in most zombie based media is that anyone can be infected with a bite or scratch. I decided to make this into one of the mechanics in the game: the Infected state. The infected state has a status bar build up that fills up by 25% each time a player hurt by zombies will become infected. The infected state will slowly drain the health of the player over time and slightly decrease their movement speed. This will give them a limited amount of time to find an item, being experimental vaccines, to disinfect themselves. I decided to make this random so the mechanic can be balanced, as infecting the player every single time they are hit would be needlessly unforgiving and frustrating. A status effect building up gives the player some opportunities to react to oncoming damage and provide a chance to escape without being infected, allowing the bar to decrease and recover from status build up.
A similar mechanic is another status effect known as bleeding. Like the infected state, it is filled up with a status bar every time the player is hurt. This bar is filled up the more the player gets shot by the ranged enemies of this game, known as Zoldiers(Z emphasizes they're zombified!). The bleeding status bar builds up by 10% every time the player takes damage from being shot. Once the player is bleeding, their health will decrease over time until they find a med kit to treat themselves and stop the bleeding.
With all these different items to use for different status effects, an item inventory system is in order! The player can cycle through items to use for certain situations.
About Me
I am a 22 year old Purdue student majoring in Game Development and Design! I have a passion for video games, which is why I am headed towards a career involving such an industry! I possess experience with Unreal Engine 5, C++, and Python! I am aiming to become a Game Designer so I can design fun and exciting games for everyone to enjoy!
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Resume
Skills
3 years of experience with Unreal Engine. Specifically have skills in level design, blueprint programming, and User Interface Widgets.
Solid grasp on C++, the industry standard programming language, utilizing it in tandem with Unreal Engine to create gameplay systems and mechanics.
Strong grasp on Python programming language and used as a foundation to learning C++. Have taught kids and teenagers how to program Python.