The Current (Demo)

My Role: Lead Programmer
Time on project: 1.75 years (fall 2023 – winter 2024)
Average team size: 16 people
Available At: Unreleased
Platform: Windows
Input: Keyboard + Mouse
Engine: Unity 3D

Main Contribution:

  • Game framework:
    • Implemented the core combat mechanic.
  • Animations:
    • Refined character controller and feet IK solution to reduced environment clipping and characters getting stuck.
  • UI:
    • Implemented UI functionality and graphical elements for combat and dialogue.
  • Organizational:
    • Managed up to 6 programmers throughout the development of the project.
  • Pipelines:
    • Maintained and implemented our custom visual scripting tool “Graphenheimer” which was used by our design department for all level scripting and the narrative team for all the dialogue.

Theme and Gameplay:

Our ancestors mined the moon for energy sources until, one hundred years ago, it cracked. The gravitational change created a massive tidal wave that follows its orbit around our ocean. Humanity’s survivors now live a hard but peaceful life, without the technology and global governments of the past.

The Current includes elements from both adventure RPGs and deck building rogue-like games. You would start in the village of “Tasque” where you can talk to your crew and access the meta-progression elements. From here you would choose your deck and then embark on a run across 3 vast islands. Throughout a run the player will meet NPC and settlements, talk and engage in quests (some spanning multiple runs) and fight robots and bosses.

Combat consisted of placing cards into a grid. Once placed they are locked in place until activated at the cost of energy. To activate cards you start a chain from any card and then activate adjacent cards to queue up their effects at the cost of energy. Once a chain is created you can either undo the chain, or select an enemy to apply the chain of effects to that given enemy.