Carrot Collector

Collect all the carrots throughout the scene in this short platformer.

Time Frame: 10/29/23-12/19/23 (~7 weeks)
Skills:
- Game Development
- Game Design
- Unity/C# Programming
Tools: Unity, Visual Studio, & Mixamo

I created a short platformer game using the Unity engine as the final project for SMC’s CS 34A: Games Programming I course.

Design Phase

Game Design Document

Our first assignment related to the final was to create a one-page document as the first step in the process. I kept it to things I knew I could accomplish given my beginning level understanding of Unity and C#.

Map

A level map helped to organize what the level would look like.

Grayboxing

This technique is used to block out the basic level design using shapes, such as gray boxes. In this stage I was able to code in the player movement, camera, and environmental interactions.

Final Prototype

After grayboxing, I added UI elements, simple character animations, and the full 3D environment.

Play It Here

Reflections

Keeping It Simple (KISs)

The final milestone was to send in the full length project, and one of the objects was to Keep It Simple (KISs). I really appreciated this goal as someone who had a beginning level of understanding of Unity and C# programming. When the game design became too complex for implementation such as with the spawn/ending rabbit hole, I felt comfortable in making the decision to scale back. Ultimately, it led me to a final project that felt complete start to finish, leaving zero uninformed intentions.

Introduction to Unity

This course was my introduction to the Unity game engine along with C# as a programming language. By starting the class in Visual Studio Code I was able to learn a lot of coding essentials such as loops that helped inform my game design. Then, in Unity I was able to learn enough to make my own finished product. I know that what I learned here will help me understand and communicate in the field of game development.