Snowbound Showdown

Players enter icy arenas where snowballs are the primary weapon. Battle across dynamic snowy environments searching for snowballs and avoiding traps with unique properties. Be the last to get hit!

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Snowbound Showdown Story

Inspiration

The inspiration for this game comes from the joy of having snowball fights during winter breaks as a child.

The goal for this game was to create an environment that captures the magic of the winter holiday season, providing a play area for a multiplayer Snowbound Showdown battle royale–style game without excessive violence — reminiscent of South Park on Nintendo 64, but without the crude humor.

What it does

Players explore, hide, and search for snowballs to use against other players while avoiding traps and hazards.

  • Supports up to 10 players, with a minimum of 4 players required to start a session.
  • Players search for snowballs to throw at opponents.
  • Snowballs disintegrate on impact with the environment or objects, forcing players to find new ones quickly.
  • When hit by a snowball, a player is instantly teleported to the lobby to wait for the next match.

This creates a fast-paced, lighthearted gameplay loop of hunt, throw, and dodge.

How we built it

The game was built using the Horizon Desktop Editor, with a focus on integrating GenAI and public assets.

Key tools and technologies used:

  • GenAI: For generating code, 3D models, sounds, and environmental elements.
  • ChatGPT: Used for scripting assistance and logic generation.
  • GarageBand: Used to compose and edit sound effects and background audio.

Challenges we ran into

Some challenges encountered during this hackathon included time constraints and stability issues with the Horizon Desktop Editor following several updates.

Specific issues:

  • Horizon and Visual Studio syncing issues.
  • Longer compile and save times within Horizon.
  • Excessive generation of .tmp files requiring cleanup.
  • Frequent loss of functionality in CUI and Audio gizmos, requiring deletion and replacement.
  • Transform tools occasionally stopped working on objects.
  • More frequent need to restart the server than usual during development.

Accomplishments we’re proud of

Our team is proud of what we accomplished within the limited timeframe.

Highlights include:

  • Creative use of particle effects and GenAI assets to bring the log cabin environments to life.
  • Implementation of SFX and VFX on snowballs that convincingly simulate impact.
  • Fun and surprising bear traps that teleport players or alter their size (either shrinking or enlarging them), adding variety and humor to gameplay.

These elements combined to make a polished and playful experience, even within the hackathon constraints.

What we learned

We learned that building a full game from concept to completion during a hackathon takes more time than anticipated — especially when balancing other deliverables and obligations.

Next time, our team plans to evaluate scheduling and resources more carefully before signing up for another hackathon to ensure we can deliver a fully finished experience.

What’s next for Snowbound Showdown

Our team is currently dedicated to another project in November, but we plan to revisit Snowbound Showdown in December to complete the game loop and mechanics.

We believe this game has great potential as a seasonal winter title.

Future plans include:

  • Implementing leaderboards.
  • Adding quests and achievements.
  • Refining multiplayer systems for better balance and performance.

We’ll use the remaining hackathon time to push the build as far as possible and set the stage for a full winter release.

Built With

  • chatgpt
  • garageband
  • genai
  • horizon
  • unity
  • visualstudiocode
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