I have been working alongside Professor Chris Barney, operating as lead designer and producer for undergraduate groups of up to 40 students since September 2024. During this time the studio has been improved dramatically, with the game receiving a large visual overhaul as well as significant code refactoring and design overhauls.
In addition to operating as Executive Producer, I have also been designing and creating the second boss of the game, the OrbServer. He is a massive eyeball that traps the player, directing them to help it regain its power and influence over a facility it was disconnected from. As you play through the narrative boss, it becomes clear that the depowering of the OrbServer was for good reason - he is unstable and potentially violent.
What Remains of Me is a puzzle platformer where you awaken as Atlas, a reactivated robot in the depths of an abandoned, high-tech facility. As you explore the remnants of a post-apocalyptic world, you'll upgrade your abilities to navigate the desolate landscape, outmaneuver hostile AI, and piece together the truth behind the lab’s downfall - and your reawakening.
I created this boss from concept to its current state, as well as the entire level within. Working alongside some talented artists, the design of the Orbserver truly came to life. I implemented a masking system that allowed for the ‘eye’ to track the player and follow along on the circular ‘tracks,’ without any rotation of the pixels, thus maintaining the pixel art illusion.
I created a system that would have the Orbserver follow the player around along its track, always making sure to look down on the player as an imposing figure. This proved to be a challenge due to Unity 2D constraints. I created a system that would lerp the up vector of an empty game object to match an angle to the player, then offset by X degrees depending on the player’s position on the map, swapping to different sides when they cross the origin point. This worked alongside the eye player tracking system to create a very believable boss movement pattern.
I designed and implemented a no-code solution for creating motion detector cameras that open and close doors, a new mechanic to the game. Lights can be adjusted for distance and cone of detection, and the script will read those values to automatically adjust detection hitboxes. This also matches the boss theme of being observed.
The first level of the game. Working with a team of 5 students, the level was rebuilt to feature breakaway concrete tilesets, multiple parallax piping behind, and a separate parallax office space to establish the level as a destroyed factory. I led this redesign in terms of balance, player tutorialization, difficulty scaling, and setting adjustments.
The first boss of the game, Vox - he received a complete visual and design overhaul. I designed a flowchart of the intended play experience and the art, sound, and development implementation teams came together to give him a significant improvement to all aspects of the boss encounter.