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Alex Edwards

TECHNICAL / GAMEPLAY DESIGNER & PROGRAMMER

Hello there, welcome to my Game Design portfolio.

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I am a Game Design & Production student from Burnie in North-West Tasmania.

I am currently seeking local or remote work as a gameplay designer, technical designer, or programmer.

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The majority of my experience is with the Unity Engine.

I have also started learning Unreal Engine 4 & 5.

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I specialize in gameplay mechanics and functionality, with a passion for creating systems and modular scripts within a game engine.

GAMES

TETRA-NOVA

A Fish and Robot duo journey together through a

long-abandoned world to rid the world of the devious Sir Sharksalot that is laying waste to the beautiful new world.​

Genre: 3D Platformer

Engine: Unity

Team Size: 5 Designers + 2 Artists

Platform: PC

Year: 2023

RESPONSIBILITIES:

TECHNICAL DESIGNER / GAMEPLAY DESIGNER / PROGRAMMER 

ROLES:

​Game Design

  • Collaborated on mechanics section of GDD

  • Completed controls section of GDD

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​Programming / Technical Design
  • Created both character controllers
    • Support for keyboard and mouse, as well as controller
    • Player camera
  • Set up animator controllers for both playable characters
  • Created character swapping system

  • Created health and damage system

  • Created interaction system​

  • Created prefabs for level designers to use

  • Created checkpoint system​

  • Collectible items: clams, cogs, health pickups, extra lives

  • Audio programming

  • Set up placeholder particle systems and sound effects

  • Created underwater physics and underwater post-processing volume​​

  • Set up physics layers

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Enemies

  • Made improvements to Shark Tank enemy AI​​

  • Set up Shark Tank animator controller

  • Updated jump pads to work with the Nova character controller

  • Set up Jellicopter enemy and animator controller​​​

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Optimization

  • Created an object pooling system and set up mine spawners to use it

  • ​Loading and unloading level sections​ using triggerzone events

  • Updated scripts to make them more efficient​

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​UX Design & UI Programming

  • Created volume options menu

  • Game Over screen

  • HUD: Updating and animating the counters, health meter​, and player icon

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THE LIGHT

"The Light" immerses players in an abstract 2D top-down gaming experience, where navigation through the surrounding world is a journey of trial and error, all under the guidance of a solitary light source.

Amidst total darkness, players are thrust into an environment that demands heightened awareness, challenging them to progress through the game solely by navigating the intricacies of light.

Genre: Puzzle, Top-Down, Abstract

Engine: Unity

Team Size: 2 Designers

Platform: PC

Year: 2023

RESPONSIBILITIES:

TECHNICAL DESIGNER / GAMEPLAY DESIGNER / PROGRAMMER

ROLES:

​Game Design

  • Worked on the mechanics section, controls section, and gameplay loops in the GDD

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​Programming / Technical Design
  • Created character controller
    • Movement and dash mechanics​
    • ​Support for keyboard and mouse, as well as controller​
    • Player camera

  • Health and stamina

  • Created checkpoint system​

  • Keys and doors

  • Pushable boxes and pressure plates

  • Portals that load the next level, or teleport the player across the map

  • Audio programming

  • Set up sounds

  • Set up physics layers and sorting layers

  • Created map that displays the locations of keys and doors

  • Added screen-shake

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  • ​Created particle effects

  • Lighting and shadows

  • Post-processing

  • Shaders: Laser shader, glowing shader​​​

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Enemies and hazards

  • Designed saw blade enemies

    • Programmed enemy AI to use A* pathfinding

  • Lasers

  • Crushers

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​Level Design

  • Designed level 1​​

  • Helped with setting up functionality in level 2

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​UX Design & UI Programming

  • Main menu and pause menu

  • HUD: Updating and animating the health and stamina meter​

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Sound Design

  • Separated laser audio into clips for starting, looping, and stopping

  • Made enemy and laser audio clips loop​​

COWGIRL CRUSADE

Cowgirl Crusade is an on-rails, arcade shooter where the player takes control of a mercenary protecting their mining facility by  taking down waves of enemies and fighting bosses.

Genre: Arcade, On-Rails Space Shooter

Engine: Unity

Team Size: 9

  • 5 Designers

  • 1 Programmer

  • 3 Artists

Platform: PC

Year: 2022

RESPONSIBILITIES:

TECHNICAL DESIGNER / GAMEPLAY DESIGNER

ROLES:

Game Design:
  • Collaborated on Game Design Document
  • Mechanics section
  • Controls section​
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Programming / Technical Design
  • Designed and programmed weapon overheating mechanic
  • Audio programming
  • Discovered that Cinemachine's track with cart was the best solution for our on-rails system for the player and enemies
  • Discovered and fixed a bug that had been causing the crosshair to lag behind the player's mouse.
  • Added trails to projectiles
  • Used ProBuilder for creating prototypes of asteroids and planets
  • Programmed and set up balloons that the player can shoot to restore their health​​​

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Enemies

  • Programmed enemies to open their shells and attack, when in range

  • Programmed turrets to aim at the player, when in range

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​​UX Design & UI Programming

  • Designed and programmed menus

  • Created rolling credits

  • Designed and programmed HUD

  • Reduced the size of the overheat meter and attached it to the bottom of the player's crosshair

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Game Feel

  • Added screenshake when the player shoots or takes damage

  • Made the screen flash red when the player takes damage, and green when health is restored

  • Added animation to health and weapon heat meter​s

  • An animated hitmarker that appears whenever the player lands a shot

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