Manic Mechanics
ROLE
Technical Designer
& previously Software Developer
DESCRIPTION
Chaotic Local and Online Multiplayer game with co-op and versus modes. Play with up to 4 players to become the ultimate mechanics!
RELEASE YEAR
2023
GENRE
Party Game, Casual
PLATFORMS
Steam, PlayStation, Xbox & Switch
Contributions
Manic Mechanics is an original IP game developed and published by 4J Studios. I joined the project once it was already a year in development, and worked on it for 1.5 years. I quickly adjusted to the project, and made major contributions to both the design and codebase of the game.
I contributed to all systems of the core game and implemented new gameplay features for the last 3 garages of the game. This included water interaction with fire and electricity, UFO abduction, and a Ghost player state. I also took part in thorough weekly testing, and bug fixing leading up to launch.
I was involved in the design of the Banshee Bay, Versus Mode, and other post-release quality of life improvements. I took ownership of the design and implementation of the Banshee Bay garage boss level, involving boss attacks and rotating platforms. I also designed and implemented Trick or Treat bags, which have a random chance of giving helpful items or stun/launch the player.
I designed and implemented Sabotage Items and wrote the design for team Station Locking, which are the main mechanics introduced in Versus Mode. We balanced these as a team to ensure there are fun ways to interrupt opponents, while making camping strategies unviable.
I also designed and implemented a subtle parallax camera movement to add a dynamic feel to the game, and championed accessibility options for colour blindness and motion sickness. I even contributed voice lines to Roz, the alien garage owner!
TOOLSET
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Unreal Engine 4 & 5
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Blueprints, C++
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Animation Blueprints
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Materials & Niagara VFX
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Sequencer
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Documentation tools
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Photoshop
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TFS version control