Stellar Survivor
Game Designer

Project info
Duration: 6 months
​Developed during: academic year 2018-2019
Team size: 25 people
​Engine: Unreal Engine
Released on: ​Steam
I was a game designer for Stellar Survivor, a first person multiplayer tower defense game set on an alien planet. The game was inspired by Sanctum 2 and created over the course of an academic year with a large team, tackling the challenges of clear communication, feasibility under strict deadlines, and project identity along the way.

My contribution

​Building system UI/UX
Throughout the development I worked on designing, iterating and implementing the building menu. I worked together with the artists for the visual style, and iterated and playtested frequently to streamline this menu. 
Weapon Overheating
We researched and prototyped various weapon types, including ones with and without ammunition. For our style of game we decided ammunition did not fit well. We decided weapons did need some drawback, since we wanted the player to prioritize threats and encourage them to build defenses. 

I prototyped an overheating system, which jams the weapon if the weapon is fired continously for too long. This worked well, and in collaboration with our artists we implemented this system digetically onto the weapons. 
Picture
January 2019: Overheating system proof of concept.
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May 2019: Last phase of overheating, diegetic UI. lights change color based on overheat phase
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Completing objectives, and being reminded to do certain objectives
Picture
Click to enlarge. The scenario that is displayed is fictive but the function and event dispatcher work
​Tutorial box
I did the design for and implemented a hollistic tutorial solution for our game. 
Trap upgrading system
​The video on the right shows how designers can easily add different upgrades to a given trap.

I created:
- In world widget that appears when the trap is looked at
- Logic for creating that widget at the right time in the right context. Rotating it properly as well as giving designers the tools to change the positioning. 
- Tool so designer can add different upgrading effects on the widget
​- Logic and class structures for upgrading itself
Picture
Stellar Survivor in engine screenshot