On-Rails Shooter Prototype

(Video clip above)

This game prototype was heavily influenced by classic On-Rails shooters such as Star Fox and Panzer Dragoon. I programmed this game in Unreal Engine 4 entirely with Blueprints using Object-Oriented Programming concepts. The sound effects used were all temporary stand-in assets from sound libraries and other various sources.

The gameplay features I implemented include:

  • Player ship movement controls, while restricted to a linear rail movement.
  • Ship somersault maneuver.
  • Manual and automated camera functions. The camera behavior could change depending on player actions (such as zooming out during player ship boosting or somersaulting, to create a dramatic effect, or panning the camera to maintain a view behind the player when navigating through a tight corridor).
  • Item functionality: Including collecting items which could repair the ship, store a checkpoint for continuing if the player dies, or upgrade the ship’s firepower.
  • Rendering the silhouette of the ship when it is obscured by the environment.
  • Various enemy AI behavior: Including determining flight paths/formations, different types of attacks, ability to sense where the player is in 3D space, and ability to maintain a specified distance from the player, even if the player attempted to boost into the enemies.
  • Ability to reflect certain projectiles with the Barrel Roll / Aileron Roll maneuver.
  • Ability to lock onto targets and fire homing projectiles.
  • Projectiles with area-of-effect explosions.
  • Time dilation effects when player achieves certain conditions.
  • An Enemy Boss which can follow a set pattern of attack phases, or have randomized attack phases, if desired.
  • Title Screen, Main Menu, In-Game Menu, with some ability to re-bind player keys, if desired.
  • Different types of collision behavior depending on the type of surface the player is attempting to collide with. For example, player can glide over some surfaces like water, while other surfaces cause damage and bounces the ship away. Player can also collide into / through walls head-on.
  • Force feedback on controller from taking damage.
  • Large scale levels using Unreal Engine’s World Composition Tool.