Project Dates: 15 January 2024 - 26th June 2024

Project Status: Complete (For Now)

Type Of Project: University Project

Purpose Of Project: To explore how to condense a big idea into a small playable prototype

Responsibilities: Lead Designer, Blueprinter + Writer

This is made up of 3 parts inspiration by games that follow a similar structure like: Danganronpa + Master Detective Archives: Rain Code

Investigate- Gather Evidence to see if they are the mole or not

Interrogate- Investigate anything suspicious in various minigames

Resolve- Compile the report and determine the fate of the agent

This was quite a big loop for a university project so I only tackled one to start with, the Investigate section

This prototype currently revolves around the investigate section of the game where you have to break into each agent's home to gather evidence

Around the houses you'll find various security systems that include: Cameras, Laser Tripwires and drones. Each of these works in a different way.

Cameras will monitor the specific view radius which is always shown to the player (So that the player always knows where to avoid)

Laser Tripwires when they are tripped will raise the security level

Drones patrol the house and will be triggered if the player is seen by them

All these will raise the security level which makes it more difficult for the player to stay hidden 

The Security level mechanic was something I wanted to implement to make it more interesting and provide the player with a reason to be scared and hide from the dangers. 

At various milestones the following perks will be met by security: 25%, the level increases quicker

50% flying drones are spawned in

75% All drones get a speed boost

100% The player must hide and if they are spotted by anything the mission is failed.

The reason why I didn't make it a game over when the player maxes it out comes from a want for the player to live with their actions a little bit more instead of save stating to when they weren't seen and since it's only part of the game I didn't want to make it brutally punishing. 

The Drone AI has a simple behaviour pattern but this was one of the first times that I created AI systems so it was a good learning experience

The AI has 4 distinct states, patrol where it will wander to defined points of the map, Investigate where if it sees something for a second it will investigate, Alert where it will chase the player down if it enters the reticule area and caution where it will just hunt down the player if it loses sight trying to find where they went.

These 4 different states are designed to mirror how guards would act in real life