| layout | page |
|---|---|
| title | |
| permalink | /jaywalker/ |
JayWalker - Developed in Unity using C# for HoloLens.
<iframe width="100%" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CqzG8A_SKpQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>While at Accipiter Studios, which was a professor-run in-house studio for Becker College, everyone got a chance to pitch their own game ideas. Our professor stressed the fact that these games needed to be simple; one main gameplay mechanic that the game was built on.
When looking for something simple, I thought back to the original Frogger; all you had to do was get across. Of course that's oversimplifying the journey of getting across and whatever obstacles you'd encounter in the level, but it was enough to make me think of a new idea.
JayWalker was the game I came up with. This pitch document and a very simple prototype won over the studio, cementing JayWalker as the game we'd make.
Here's what JayWalker looked like initially in my prototype and early builds;
Throughout the single semester of development, we hosted playtests on campus and balanced the game around feedback received. We also showcased JayWalker at PAX East in 2017!
And of course, here's the finished version of our main map;
During both our playtests and at PAX East, we had people ask us if cars came from both directions and if that was something we could add. I was curious about the idea so I took the HoloLens back to my dorm and set to work on a prototype for a new mode to pitch!
After developing a barebones concept level that I called "Crossing", I presented it to the studio and let them try it. It took some technical discussions with the other programmers about the changes needed, but the team loved it.
This, unfortunately, was close to our deadlines for putting the game up on the app store; I ended up working extra hard on doing the remaining engineering and design work to cut down on work the rest of the team would have to do.
It was shipped with our initial app build on the Microsoft Store, which can be downloaded for free!