Project Hero is an advanced multiplayer hero shooter, a flagship project developed on the Crayta platform, renowned for its focus on user-generated content. The game distinguished itself by introducing intricate mechanics unprecedented within the Crayta community.
Note: This game was initially hosted on Crayta, a platform that has since been discontinued. The following sections provide detailed information and media to showcase the project.
In my capacity as the Lead Developer for an innovative hero shooter game, my responsibilities were manifold, encompassing the comprehensive design and structuring of gameplay mechanics and the meticulous development of the User Interface (UI). My proficiency in Lua, HTML, JavaScript, and CSS was pivotal in actualizing the intricate components and ensuring their seamless integration.
My adeptness in implementing sophisticated mechanics was crucial in elevating the game to one of the most complex yet balanced shooters on the platform. The game’s intricate mechanics were harmoniously balanced with optimized performance, garnering appreciation from platform developers for pushing the boundaries of complexity without compromising fluidity and responsiveness. My commitment to excellence and innovation was instrumental in setting new standards in gameplay experience and technical refinement on the platform.
In Project Hero, players can choose from six distinct heroes, each outfitted with unique abilities that range from supportive functions like healing and damage amplification to tactical utilities like smoke grenades and advanced mobility skills:
Doc: Serving as the cornerstone of any well-balanced team, Doc specializes in support roles. With his healing staff, he can heal and even resurrect fallen teammates, making him indispensable during critical moments.
Sniper: As her name suggests, Sniper is a long-range expert equipped with a powerful sniper rifle. Her exceptional marksmanship skills enable her to eliminate targets from a distance with deadly precision.
Juggernaut: Juggernaut is the team’s front-line defender. He wields a protective barrier to shield teammates and can engage enemies from a distance with his dual-wielded cannon and machine gun.
Raider: Agile and deadly, Raider utilizes a jetpack for aerial mobility. Armed with a close-range submachine gun and a machete, he is a formidable threat in any close-quarters engagement.
Guardian: Guardian is a versatile hero equipped with an array of weapons and experimental devices. Whether it’s keeping allies alive or neutralizing enemies with his shotgun, Guardian handles high-pressure situations with ease.
Assault: Armed with high-tech gear, including an experimental pulse rifle, missile launcher, and grenades, Assault is capable of delivering chaos and disruption to the battlefield.
Each hero brings a unique skill set to the table, allowing for dynamic and strategic gameplay. This approach to character design and mechanics is directly transferable to Unity projects requiring complex, multi-character systems.
The game features a dynamic “Capture the Zones” mode, in which teams vie for control over five strategically located hotspots on the map. Initially, only the central zone is available for capture. Once a team successfully seizes it, the next zone—closer to the enemy’s base—becomes available. The gameplay dynamically evolves as zones are captured, creating a tug-of-war between teams. Should a team capture all five zones, they’re declared the winners, and a specialized cutscene tailored to the victorious team is played, enriching the player experience.
At the conclusion of each match, the game employs an advanced voting system to spotlight standout performances. Various player metrics are tracked throughout the match, and at the end, players who have excelled in specific categories appear as selectable cards. Players can then vote to choose the “Most Valuable Player” (MVP) from among these top performers. The final results are presented in a dynamic poll, displaying each nominee’s role and their corresponding statistics, contributing to a more engaging post-game experience.
One of the most challenging aspects of this project was optimizing performance within the constraints of the platform, which lacked access to low-level code. The game’s design, which involves the simultaneous spawning of numerous abilities, objects, and dynamic map elements, posed a unique set of challenges. To manage this, I employed a variety of optimization techniques:
Object Pooling: Certain elements were reused rather than being spawned anew, reducing the computational overhead.
Dynamic Loading/Unloading: I implemented logic to load and unload elements at runtime, ensuring that only assets critical to a given game phase were active, thereby conserving resources.
Occlusion Culling: Leveraging the platform’s built-in occlusion culling features, I designed the map in a way that minimized the computational load by reducing the amount of geometry and particle effects that needed to be rendered at any given time.
Real-time Strategy and Decision-making: Created a capture-the-zone gameplay system that demands strategic thinking and quick decision-making from players.
**Class-based Systems: Developed a system of unique hero characters, each with their own special abilities and roles, applicable to RPG or class-based game designs.
User Interface and Experience: Led the UI implementation, demonstrating an understanding of how to make complex gameplay mechanics understandable through intuitive UI.
Gameplay Feedback Loops: Developed a voting system to promote player engagement and create feedback loops, applicable to various types of multiplayer games.
Performance Optimization: Successfully addressed performance challenges, demonstrating skills in object pooling, dynamic loading, and occlusion culling, which are universally important in game development.
Data Analytics and Player Feedback: Employed player statistics tracking to gauge performance and guide game adjustments, highlighting a data-driven approach to game design.
Each of these skills can be valuable in many settings, not just in Crayta, but also in mainstream game development platforms like Unity.
