This is a brief look back at my final project in University. Having been in the industry for a few years now, I feel comfortable looking back on  something I probably didn't appreciate as much as I should have at the time. In my final year, I was finally given an opportunity to create something that was completely of my own design. The process of coming up with mechanics and features for games was something I'd not had a great of control over prior to this, as I'd always been given limitations in briefs. Myself and a friend Daniel, set to work on creating  something that we could build our image upon. The image we wanted to convey was that of determination, dedication and passion.
 
In the September of 2011, we began work on a game called Skyrunner, a 3D Adventure Platformer. We opted to create the game in UDK, which neither of us had worked in before, but we believed that we were more likely to create a game that worked due to kismet. As opposed to learning to code and create something in Unity (which we'd  both worked in previously). Our main goal of the project was to create a landscape that would both tell an epic story and feature memorable platforming. This would come in the form of the main traversal mechanic of skydiving.   

Taking loads of inspiration from Aztec Mythology, we developed a story in which the world as we knew it, had been destroyed by the Gods. And what was left of humanity; lived in the floating islands of the clouds above. Enter the Red Kites, a small tribe of about 100 people, who are looking for the next leader of the village, as the current Elder feels her life is slipping away. The tribe now look to 3 chosen ones who are the great descendants of the original 3 survivors. The Builder, The Healer and The Warrior. The Warrior's descendant Rau, is the player character. And it's up to the player then to confront the trials ahead and take their mantle as  the new Tribe Leader.   

In creating the game, we wanted to reflect this story more than just a cutscene. So at the start of the game, the player is in a dream sequence of Rau. They play a simple side scrolling platformer where the story is depicted through epic statues behind the immediate action.  This also served as tutorial to introduce the player to mechanics. Once the player, has finished this section they enter the village.   

The Village is something that in hindsight we probably didn't need to work on as much as we did. We created 20 characters, giving them all unique looks and personalties through unique dialogue. This was generally for the player to develop an understanding of the inner rivalries between the houses of the chosen and set the stage for what was to come. We also included a side quest in which the resident musician has lost his music sheets, which serve as collectibles throughout the game. Each one has its own poem that we wrote to further explain the story. And have an accompanying theme tune which Daniel wrote and performed for the game.

Once the player has navigated some difficult platforming (and gathered the music sheets if they choose to); the real challenge begins. The player must dive into a large floating pillar like structure in the sky. As they fall through the pillar the player will need to dodge an all manner of objects such as giant gears, spears and pits of lava. This was  probably the most difficult scenario to program. The main trouble we had was that we needed to change the character controller options for the player, in order for them to control Rau as he was falling. Furthermore,  it was nearly impossible to predict where objects would line up. If the player had died, they would respawn but the traps would not reset making some descents very difficult. Thankfully, people were enjoying the prospect of beating the Pillar despite its difficulty, having seen that both Dan and I were able to beat it, making it look easy. And we had a running leaderboard for times. 

The game runs for nearly an hour and this was after we'd cut some of the more serious puzzles. However, despite it's length, we had planned for so much more in the game. Rau  was going to be able to control wind, by pulling and pushing objects and  also to stop him from dying from skydiving. We also ran out of time with implementing a female protagonist - Rau's sister. We were also going to have a boss battle with Rau's new abilities against our big baddie - Micltan, who was also ready for the game.
 

We had planned to continue with the game. But ultimately found that the year we dedicated to it, was merely a stepping stone to a much bigger  project that we couldn't undertake. In my own revisions of the game, I would have cut out a lot of the village and the villagers that inhabited  it. This took a great deal of time to create their conversations and  interactions with the player. We should have focused more on the  skydiving element and those additional puzzles.
 

If I were to return to it now, I would revamp and change pretty much the whole thing. I think Rau would be a rainmaker and would indirectly fight foes with wind and rain, after summoning them with music. I also picture it being a very solo and sombre journey, with the game focusing more on Rau / Kaki's relationship with their father, who took the challenge and never returned.