Key Project Info
Platform: PC
Release: N/A
Timeframe: 8 Weeks
Engine: Unity
My role: Sole Programmer
A Helping Drone was a game created to be released to high school students who are planning to go to university after graduating. This game is meant to interest them in a STEM degree by showing them how enjoyable it can be. In this game, we targeted the engineering and aerospace world. A drone building game that has intuitive building and flying mechanics that anyone can enjoy.
The story is that this city just suffered an earthquake and there is now rubble all over the streets. The goal is to create a drone that can maneuver through each scenario and has the lifting capacity to lift the rubble off the roads so the civilians can leave the city.
Building the Drone
I created the building of the drone to be as intuitive as possible with only three mechanics of the drone. Structure blocks, propellor blocks and claw blocks.
The Structure Blocks
The structure blocks also range in three different strengths of blocks small, medium and large strength. The stronger the block the harder hits it can take, however, they get exponentially heavier. This means you need to put more propellor blocks onto the drone.
Propellor Blocks
The propellor blocks are placed to lift the drone. They must be placed symmetrically otherwise the drone won’t fly correctly. These have the same health as a small block.
Claw
The claw is the block that picks up and drops the rubble pieces. You only need one but the more you place, the more you can grab
Level 1
Level 1 was created as a starting level to get the players used to the flying and grabbing mechanics of the game. It is a simple level where you have to move the rubble from off the street, outside of the green zone. It was developed to have a large fly zone as well as space around it. This was to allow the player to create whatever drone they liked to get a feel for the gameplay.
Level 2
Level 2 was created to slowly increase the difficulty for the player by adding a flight height limit for the player. This adds difficulty because if the player crashes their drone into the building or the floor too hard, it destroys the block. It is also a very restricted flight height, which means that the player must learn how to create an efficient drone that’s small enough to fit in the gap but also strong enough to still move the rubble.
Level 3
Level 3 was the final level designed with this objective. The uniqueness of this level comes from being on a bridge meaning that the player can’t rely on using the surrounding ground to stop themselves and create a more challenging scenario for the players. It also has tight surroundings meaning the player has to create something small enough to avoid the obstacles but also something with a large number of propellors on it so it is able to lift the rubble.
Level 4
Level 4 was created with a new goal in mind. Instead of the player having to move the rubble anywhere off the road. The player must move the rubble off the road, into the hole in the middle of the road. This is a challenge for the player because the rubble is a lot larger than any other level. This means that the player needs to create a drone that is strong enough to lift or push them into the hole.
My Role
In the creation of A Helping Drone, my main role for the project was the sole programmer. Being the only programmer in a group with 2 other designer meant that we all had to be pushed out of our comfort zones. I modeled the drone parts as well as animated them. I also created some of the UI. My main contributions to the project, however, was the creation and flying of the drone.
- Sole Programmer
- Basic Modeller
- Animator
- Optimisation
- Asynchronous level loading and lighting pre-load
- UI
- Unity Collaborate
Flynn Kassulke 