Signal

One 'block' level. The orange blobs have a set path that you have to watch and avoid.
3 'blocks' of the city. Ideally there would be far more!
Wires between the nodes make it easy to see where you can travel.
The node system in place in the editor, without the wires so it's easy to change.

Inspiration

I've always loved the feel of Cyberpunk, and the graphic design for StudentHack 8 really reminded me of this. With Muse's 'Simulation Theory' album on repeat, I aimed to merge futuristic and retro into a simple game of travel and timing.

What it does

You control a pink 'blob' of information, using the WASD or arrow keys to travel between 'nodes' connected by wires. You have to navigate around the city whilst avoiding the orange blobs which will destroy you.

I focused on putting the basic structure in place for the game, so that levels could then be created quickly. As such, the levels I have created are quite small. However, the node system is fully extendable and all the wires are generated at runtime so it can be used to build huge levels across a whole city.

How I built it

I first worked on the node system, creating a prefab that held references to its adjacent nodes. The player object then tracks its current node and target node, and continually moves between them. If a movement key is pressed at a junction, the target node changes and the player moves towards it. They can also change their direction along a wire as they are moving, which is helpful for avoiding enemies.

The Bigger Plan

I had hoped to make the game span a huge city, with smaller levels around individual 'blocks'. This can partly be seen in the pictures, where I made 3 blocks.

The story I had in mind was that you, a person in the city, had found out some classified information and were trying to transmit it (pink blob) to the rest of the city before the evil corporation/organisation the information was about could stop you with their own signals (orange blobs).

Challenges I ran into

The main challenge was time. I am not very well so I prioritised sleep, and probably spent less than 12 hours on the project. I'm disappointed I couldn't make something a bit more complex, but my lungs are thanking me.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I'm proud of the project structure I put in place, as I can now build bigger levels from it easily and extend the project. I will definitely continue with it when I'm feeling a bit better!