2022
1
Anchor
/ overview
Anchor is a small solo project I was working on in my spare time throughout 2022. It's a first-person platformer where you use a cannon to propel yourself through a huge obstacle course. I was planning on making it a sort of foddian game, where every time you fail a jump you would lose a certain amount of progress, but decided to focus on the more speedrunning side of it, opting to record player's times on a leaderboard.
A core design goal was taking the rocket jumping mechanics from Source Engine games like TF2 and making them more accessible for the average player while still allowing for a large skill ceiling and depth, as well as allowing players to carry momentum between levels, with seamless transitions all the way from the start to the end.​
/ work
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systems & mechanics design
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programming
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asset creation
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level design
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UI and HUD design
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animations
/ outcomes
Anchor was a really great learning experience and a stepping stone for future projects. Some key take aways that I learned while working on it were the following:
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First-person game fundamentals.
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Physics-based character controllers.
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Modular asset creation.​
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Non-linear level design.
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Platformer specific quality-of-life additions.
/ details
Working on Anchor required a fundamental understanding of numerous systems and mechanics that I had not attempted previously, including creating a physics based character controller, setting up triggers and global animations for various game objects, as well as creating an overarching manager to track game progress, levels, etc.​
Spring Platform
Retracting Platform
Floating Platform
Designing the first level for this game was an interesting challenge. I wanted players to be able to find their own path forward, further reinforcing the speedrun aspect I was attempting to focus on, without sacrificing the more clear and easy "main" route for players who just wanted to reach the end.
Bridge Platform
Wall Platform
When designing level assets, I made sure to use a lot of modularity to ensure each platform, object or decoration could be recycled and remixed into different contexts to allow for more variety, especially given the fact that it was a solo project and I had limited resources to work with. This led to a multitude of different objects and geometry at my disposal that I could use in any way I saw fit while developed further levels, allowing me to continually build upon them as I progressed.
I wanted the player to have a lot of aerial control when rocket jumping, as well as the ability to build speed even while grounded. For the final player controller I ended up incorporating a dash for more mid air control, as well as programming a simple bunny hop mechanic, allowing the player to slowly build speed just by holding the jump button.
Similarly, since game feel is of utmost importance in these types of games, ensuring the game's movement had hidden quality of life additions such as "coyote time" and generous button inputs was paramount.