Alchemist Garden
Details
- Engine/Platforms: built in Unity for PC and Mac
- Team Size: 4
- Duration: 3 months
- Tools Used: Unity, C#, Git
- Role: Game Development Intern
Overview
Alchemist Garden is a 2D education game about biomimicry. I was the Game Development Intern for the Born Global Foundation in the summer of 2022. In a team of four, we developed this game from scratch. I was the primary engineer prototyping and developing multiple core gameplay systems.
The game demo we created was showcased at the 2022 World Biodiversity Forum in Davos, Switzerland in front of 200 scientists on-site and more than 10000 viwers online. Alchemist Garden received amazing feedback.
My Role - Game Development Intern
- Crafting System
- Prototyped and developed a complex and scalable crafting system that works with different recipes added by designers.
- Implemented the crafting UI and connected the crafting system with inventory.
- Character Controller & Companion System
- Implemented point-and-click 2D isometric character movements using Unity’s new input system.
- Built a complete animation system for the main character’s 2D isometric movements.
- Designed, prototyped, and developed a multi-state NPC companion system for a 2D Book companion that follows the player.
- Implemented Navmesh pathfinding.
- Cursor System
- Implemented a cursor system that changes the cursor when hovering over unwalkable areas and interactables.
Making of the Crafting System
The core gameplay of Alchemist Garden involves the player exploring and finding materials in nature, and using the knowledge of biomimicry, to craft (alchemize) useful items from natural materials. A complete and scalable crafting system is crucial for designers to add and modify items and their recipes.
I developed the entire crafting system from the original prototype to the scalable system.
My original prototype of the Alchemy-style crafting system includes six slots. The player needs to drag the correct ingredient (box of different colors). After all slots are filled, if each box is on its correct spot, crafting succeeds, else, crafting fails. Everyone liked this prototype right away and adopted it into the game.
By the end of my internship, the crafting system can read in any "Recipe" scriptable object and function in the crafting UI. Connected with the inventory system and UI, the player can drag any item from inventory UI onto any crafting slot. Many improvements were made from the original prototype. One is that an item moved to a slot will not be stuck there unless reset the whole board. Player can adjust any item location on the board freely. Another one is that the system now does not require all slots to be filled to trigger a crafting attempt. Player can attempt to craft at any board state.
Making of the Companion System
In Alchemist Garden, there is a flying magical book served as the player's guide. I developed a multi-state companion system for the magical book from scratch.
My original prototype for this compannion concept was fairly straightforward. In the prototype, the companion (smaller ball) would follow the player (bigger ball) in a way that felt like it was flowing, and when the player is idle, if would go to another state in which it circles around the player.
My final companion system was built upon the early prototype. To make it more like a book flapping its pages, I added a sine wave movement pattern. To make the companion more lively and show more of a jokester personality based on narrative, I implemented random movemnents and added more weights to them. I also implemented the book's animations thanks to the amazing art created by our artists.