THE AQUATIC MESSENGER
ROLE
Gameplay Programmer and UI Developer
DESCRIPTION
The Aquatic Messenger has had a long development time under Eco Resilience Global Games Research led by Professor Kathleen Ruiz. I joined the project in Summer 2024 and contributed to updating project assets to a releasable version on Steam.
DEVELOPMENT
Sep-Dec 2024
GENRE
Education VR Project
Engine
Unity
Platform
Steam
CONTRIBUTION
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Rehauling the spatial readability of UI in VR systems: I implemented distance-based renders of educational organism information and camera-facing mechanisms to ensure legibility of text in a 3D space to guide player understanding of each species' roles in the environment.
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Designing VR menu systems and information: I designed and implemented clear menu hierarchies for the main menu, pause menu, and user settings interface to establish a clear architecture of information.
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Visual Design Integration: I updated old water shaders and missing materials to maintain visual consistency on an updated version of Unity Engine and for a stable release on Steam.
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Organism Spawning Mechanics: I tuned organism AI behavior based on feedback from playtests to improve accessibility of organism interaction. I learned how to test with user feedback and practice iterative design approaches to game mechanics.
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Scientific Collaboration: Our team collaborated with the Darrin Freshwater Institute (DFWI) and biology/ecology professors to ensure an alignment of goals and a collective understanding of the game's ecological storytelling.
Gameplay
