FIRST IMPACT: RISE OF A HERO
Platform:
PC, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive
Game Engine:
Unity
Duration:
1 Year production time, my contribution of 4 months
Team Size:
40
Role:
Additional Game Designer
Description:
First Impact: Rise of a Hero is a virtual reality, first-person action-RPG title available on Steam for PC, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift platforms, powered by Unity engine and developed by Red Meat Games. In the game, players play as a Superhero who has attained superhuman powers when a mysterious meteorite strikes the island where they live. But they’re not the only ones given powers, other creatures have begun to use their powers to wreak havoc as meteorites continue to ravage the island! The players must use their newfound powers to protect the island from these threats and find a way to restore peace before their home is destroyed!
First Impact Rise of a Hero
Design Commentary
When I joined Red Meat Games during my co-op year the studio was finishing up on their previous title and getting ready to work on First Impact: Rise of a Hero. Therefore, my duties were primarily to work under the lead designer alongside other co-op students to do all the pre-production work. This included helping to create and maintain the Game Design Document (GDD) as well as discussing design choices and pitching ideas on game mechanics.
While I was working on First Impact at Red Meat Games, one of the ideas that I pitched that was highly appreciated and later implemented in the game was regarding the combat system. Having been tasked with creating superhero powers based on water, fire, air and earth for the player character, I suggested that we should consider adding various utility to each of these powers so that during combat players can switch between their elemental forms and use the various abilities to gain advantage. For example, the player can switch to earth form to either attack or defend by creating a wall in front of them or go into air form to fly as well as shoot small gusts of winds to disarm enemies by temporarily making them float in the air. This was approved immediately by the lead designer as it added depth to the combat and player decision making.
Later on in production when the team was entering the prototyping phase I was also tasked with creating a prototype level for the programmers to test upon. I used grey-boxing techniques and place holder assets to create the island landscape and mapped out several city blocks with proper land marks so it was easy to navigate. Ultimately, this level served as a good testing grounds for the programmers as I took into consideration what they were attempting to do and designed a level that would help them test the limitations of VR and frame rates. The level design was also used in early game promotion videos and updates.
Contribution Details
Game Design:
• Helped write the Game Design Document and maintain it until the end of my Co-op term.
• Conceived of and successfully pitched the combat mechanics to the design team.
• Helped refine the initial design alongside the lead designer and other additional game
designers.
• Served as a primary point of contact between programmers and additional game designers
when the lead designer was not available or on site.
• Worked with story writers to help tie mechanics into the game narrative.
Level Design:
• Conceived of and successfully pitched the prototype level.
• Created the initial level design and a prototype level to aid the pitch.
• Refined and prototyped the design with another level designer.
• Worked with writers to help create missions/enemy and boss encounters, as well as help
write dialog that tells the mission’s story.
• Helped teach the Unity Terrain editor tool to new designers that had no experience with
Unity.