My Role - Lead Designer and Puzzle Designer

• Evaluated every designer's ideas based on feasibility, novelty and connection to the required theme for the project (i.e. "Beneath the surface"). 

• Organised tasks between every designer based on their strengths and preferences.

• Developed the entire code base, including a code input taking system and a system to flicker lights and TV screens. (We were a group of 5 designers, and only I knew programming.)

• Designed the puzzles for the game in conjunction with the environment designer so as to leave clues for the puzzles in their design.

Key Features -

• Intriguing premise about what's hidden in the mundane and piques the player's curiosity.

• Atmospheric sounds and effects to further immerse the player in the eerie environment.

• Cryptic passages on the walls that not only work as hints for the puzzles but also contribute to the story and the atmosphere of the game.

Design Highlights -

• The office location is designed to be as mundane as possible while slowly revealing more hidden elements to intrigue the player, akin to games like "Stanley Parable".

• The hidden locations in the map reveal satanic cult like practices followed by the office employees "after 9" (pun intended) as the player slowly explores the office building.

• Intuitive and well-integrated into the environment, puzzles that require the players to read the cryptic clues and observe their environment for details to figure out the puzzle.

Code Snippets -

The following code snippets showcase some of my programming work in Unity, showcasing problem-solving skills and the importance of efficiency and simplicity.

Flickering Lights - 

    [SerializeField]

    Light currentLight;

    private float currentLightIntensity;

    private float waitForSeconds = 0.1f;

    [SerializeField]

    float flickerLowLimit = 0.1f;

    [SerializeField]

    float flickerHightLimit = 0.4f;

    [SerializeField]

    float timeBetweenFickersLowerLimit = 2f;

    [SerializeField]

    float timeBetweenFickersUpperLimit = 5f;

    [SerializeField]

    int numberOfFlickersLowLimit = 3;

    [SerializeField]

    int numberOfFlickersHighLimit = 6;

    int numberOfFlickers = 4;

    // Awake is called when MonoBehaviour script is first loaded

    void Awake()

    {

        currentLightIntensity = currentLight.intensity;

        waitForSeconds = 0.1f;

        StartCoroutine(FlickerLight());

    }

    IEnumerator FlickerLight()

    {

        // Determining the number of flickers in one flicker cycle

        numberOfFlickers = (int) Random.Range(numberOfFlickersLowLimit, numberOfFlickersHighLimit);

        for (int i = 0; i< numberOfFlickers; i++)

        {

            // Creating small variations between the timing of each flicker's on and off states

            currentLight.intensity = 0;

            waitForSeconds = Random.Range(flickerLowLimit, flickerHightLimit);

            yield return new WaitForSeconds(waitForSeconds);

            currentLight.intensity = currentLightIntensity;

            waitForSeconds = Random.Range(flickerLowLimit, flickerHightLimit);

            yield return new WaitForSeconds(waitForSeconds);

        }

        // Determining the wait time between each flicker cycle

        waitForSeconds = Random.Range(timeBetweenFickersLowerLimit, timeBetweenFickersUpperLimit);

        yield return new WaitForSeconds(2);

        StartCoroutine(FlickerLight());

    }

Code Input System -

    [SerializeField]

    GameObject interactInputText;

    bool playerInVacinity;

    bool currentlyTakingInput;

    [SerializeField]

    GameObject imageToShow;

    // Awake is called when MonoBehaviour script is first loaded

    private void Awake()

    {

        playerInVacinity = false;

        currentlyTakingInput = false;

    }

    // Triggered when colliding with a trigger

    private void OnTriggerEnter(Collider collisionInfo)

    {

        // Makes the interact button available

        if (collisionInfo.name == "Player")

        {

            interactInputText.SetActive(true);

            playerInVacinity = true;

        }

    }

    // Triggered while exiting a trigger

    private void OnTriggerExit(Collider collisionInfo)

    {

        // Makes the interact button unavailable

        if (collisionInfo.name == "Player")

        {

            interactInputText.SetActive(false);

            playerInVacinity = false;

        }

    }

    // Update is called once per frame

    void Update()

    {

        if (playerInVacinity)

        {

            // Show player the pop-up window to write the code

            if (Input.GetKeyDown(KeyCode.E))

            {

                if (currentlyTakingInput)

                {

                    currentlyTakingInput = false;

                    interactInputText.SetActive(true);

                    imageToShow.SetActive(false);

                    Cursor.lockState = CursorLockMode.Locked;

                    Time.timeScale = 1;

                }

                else

                {

                    currentlyTakingInput = true;

                    interactInputText.SetActive(false);

                    imageToShow.SetActive(true);

                    Cursor.lockState = CursorLockMode.Confined;

                    Time.timeScale = 0;

                }

            }

        }

    }

Learning Outcomes -

• The most important thing I learned is how to combine different skills of various people into a product that utilises everyone's strengths while also incorporating the required theme (Beneath the surface) into the project.

• Importance of lighting and sound design to the overall atmosphere of the game.

• Incorporating puzzle design with narrative design and environment design since this game's puzzles utilise all those elements.

• How to come up with a catchy game title :D.