Rescue Rush

Roles: Tech Designer, Producer

Team Size: 9

Engine: Unreal Engine

Platform: PC

Become the firefighter you never knew you wanted to be! "Rescue Rush: High Kick to Haven" is a fast-paced action game where you jump through flaming buildings, shatter glass windows with a kick, and hilariously punt babies to safety, so that they live to tell the tale of your valiance.

Overview

This group project is an iteration on my first rapid prototype project, Rescue Rush: High Kick to Haven, made during the first semester of the Master’s program.

The goal is to add interaction with Twitch API, and it will be played live for MEAE Play day on stream.

Project Summary

As a Producer

Design Process

The Original Rescue Rush: High Kick to Haven

Task Management: I created and maintained our Kanban board and Gantt chart using JIRA. Scheduled deliverables for each sprints, and conducted stand-ups in every meeting.

Vision Alignment: As the vision holder in the original prototype project, I hosted a brainstorming session with the entire team, defining the theme, core mechanics, aesthetics, and target audience. Organized Reference boards to ensure the entire team is clear on the vision.

User Stories: based on established vision and user values, I created user stories that reflect both players’ and Twitch viewers’ perspective. Then I split them into tasks assigned to each individual team member, assigning a story point to each task after communicating with my team. During each sprint planning, I help the team decide how many user stories it can commit to in a sprint.

As a Tech Designer

I focused on both designing and implementing the core mechanic of our game: kicking, along with some other mechanics that work together with the core mechanic.

Design:

Idea Integration: During the brainstorming session, I led the creation of a list of possible mechanics and elements to include that fit our vision. I also Analyzed how elements could interact with each other to identify the core mechanic.

3D Adaptation: To transition our game from 2D to 3D, I redesigned the three Cs (Character, Camera, and Control) for our game and iterated on the control throughout the process.

Implementation:

Blueprint Scripting: I took the lead in scripting the core gameplay mechanics, with an emphasis on the controls during the iteration process, ensuring they were intuitive and responsive, and delivered the intended game feel.

Code Structuring: I employed an interface and event-driven design strategy to implement distinct behaviors for game elements when exposed to fire. This approach allowed for decoupled logic, enhancing the readability and debuggability of the code, thereby streamlining the development process

I focused mainly on the core gameplay side of the design. The first challenge is keeping the overall game feel of the original 2D version while making it into 3D.

I first established keywords for the game feel that I am aiming for:

Fast-paced & chaotic

List of Elements to Include

Relationship Between Elements