Roles:
Solo project

Software:
Unreal Engine 4

Timeline:
Jan 2020 — Mar 2020

This game places a player in an axe-throwing gallery, built from the ground up with satisfying game feel as its core goal. In the game, players choose between two difficulties, which changes the distance the between the target and the player.

This was a solo project I developed as an opportunity to practice a number of design elements that I find are often overlooked or neglected in VR games. I felt that a VR game centered around a throwing mechanic was an excellent candidate for such a system, as throwing mechanics in VR are notoriously finicky.

Specifically, I wanted to:

1. Practice designing and implementing quality-of-life systems that would assist the player without the player having to suffer the knowledge that they’re being assisted.

   As part of this effort, I developed a system that offers greater tolerances for what throws will successfully embed the axe in the target by very slightly adjusting angular velocity just after the player releases the axe (this is only done if it is determined that the axe is already on-course to reach the target).
   

2. More fully and deliberately consider cross-platform functionality.

   During development, I found that different VR devices had drastically different throwing consistencies, which I determined to stem from a dissonance between where the player expected the axe’s center of mass to be and where the center of mass of the controller actually was. By developing a remedy for this issue, I was able to create a more consistent player experience across platforms.