Architecture

Content is split into two scenes. The Main scene contains the player and all elements shared between levels. Each episode has another environment scene that is loaded additively.

Special effects, events, and config files are all implemented using an extensible ScriptableObject solution. This structure allows me to avoid unnecessary singletons and leverages the Unity's Asset Database as a means of loading default managers and initial configurations.

Narrative content is broken into chunks called Episodes, Chapters, and Beats, each one more granular than the last.  Episodes are mostly just a collection of Chapters with some additional metadata attached such as an environment config file. Chapters are mostly a collection of Beats, but will also have triggers for events like unlocking content on completion of the chapter. Each session of inner loop gameplay is a playthrough of a chapter. Lastly, beats are the most varied as the derrived beat types are responsible for things like dialog, cinematic effects, and enemies spawning. 

Movement

The player is stationary other than moving up, down, and around the origin position of the scene. Traffic, Enemies, Buildings, the road, and everything other than the player is on a conveyor belt. This method, used with careful pooling, creates an illusion of endless elevated highway.

Overview

Aesthetically, warDrive is a 90s fiction inspired setting. Neon cyberpunk colors highlight a grungy dystopia. The layout and controls are designed for a cross platform delivery, with an emphasis on touch based control support.

Inner Loop

The inner loop is rail-shooter inspired cyber warfare. Pressing/Clicking and holding puts the player into lock-on mode. In lock-on mode, the player drags their finger over the various targets for cyber attacks and establishes multiple target locks. When the player releases their finger, the targets are attacked.

Campaign play revolves around multiple predesigned stages. Enemies attack and defend, so targeting the right enemies first is paramount to efficiently passing levels.

In addition to the predefined course, a 5-point general security meter rates the player's perceived threat level. An increased threat level triggers the spawning of additional enemy forces. During campaign play, it's important to manage your threat. Sometimes instigating the corporate overlords is the only play.

The use of buttons is generally avoided in favor of a more diegetically cogent input like pressing/clicking directly on the target. The input scheme focuses on a single touch or click at a time. 

Hacked targets drop data packets that can be sniffed up to add to the player's resource pools or manipulate the environment or security response.

Outer Loop

Between rounds of wardriving, the player can invest collected resources into passive resource generators in the style of Cookie Clicker. The primary divergence from Cookie Clicker is the giant clickable cookie is replaced with the inner loop.

In-game crypto currency can be spent on

• Passive crypto generators

• Passive Inner-Loop Upgrades 

• Inner-Loop Special Abilities

The upgrade and incremental shop/inventory are also used as gates on narrative progression and a resource sink. 

Context

The point-and-click adventure genre served as the structural backbone of the game, and it weaves a mystery narrative into emergency medical scenarios.

User Interface

The GUI holds most of the interactions. GUI features include drag-and-drop, data driven and dynamic patient medical chart information, and branching dialog trees.

Dialog System

Built on an in-house graph tool, I made a set of dialog nodes for the designer to build the dialog trees. Dialog nodes could effectively have any number of children. Logic nodes gate dialog choices, allowing an evolving conversation.

Summoning

Throughout the game, the player may has have access to one or more literary companions with special abilities. Summoning these NPCs in combat is one of the most satisfying experiences in the game. 

William Blake's "Burning Tiger" leaps forward, burning away dangerous brambles then unleashes waves of fire at enemies where he stops. Tik-Tok, the robot from Oz, shoots a big puff of steam to knock enemies back.

Every summoned companions has both a straight forward damaging effect for combat and a non-combat effect that interacts with some other system. The Raven is both a single target high damage skill shot and tool for triggering unreachable levers and buttons.

The Rhythm Rescue experience was run live at the American Heart Association's Heart Ball, a gala-type event. I was responsible for building the main Unity 3D based client that was projected on the screen and also available on the web for some time following the event. Players connect via a mobile web interface and tap along to the beat of the music, triggering lives to be "saved." 

Unity Client

The main elements of the experience included the heart beating and music visualizations, Spawning randomized dancing characters.