So Long GDC 2025!
About:
The player assumes the role of a CIA operative tasked with preparing for an upcoming assassination recreated using the CIA’s supercomputer simulator. Using the simulator’s precognition and multiple clones of themselves, players must locate the assassins and kill them before they can kill their target. However, they only have one bullet, so to complete the mission, the player must use their clones to kill the assassins as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Role: Lead Designer
Team: Team Theseus
Engine: Unity
Platform: PC
Dev Time: 2 Months
Timeframe: Jun-Aug, 2023
My goal for the game was to prototype an FPS shooter in which players can create static clones that copy their orientation in the game world. Using these clones, I wanted to task the player with locating enemy locations and finding the most efficient and optimal positions in the shortest amount of time. Each mission requires thoughtful planning and precise execution.
The initial concept of Doppelganger came from my personal desire to challenge myself to make a puzzle game that focused on sniper gameplay. Having a player walk around a map to find enemies to shoot is pretty bland on its own, so I wanted to incorporate an element of critical thinking beyond the typical timing and tracking required for sniper combat in most FPS titles. From this, I had the idea to allow the players to create clones of themselves.
At the start of each level, the player is given a limited number of clones, which are predetermined by the designers and vary from level to level. As the player traverses the level, the player can create a clone that copies the player's current orientation in the world and will remain stationary, on the ground or in the air. From the start of a level, a timer begins counting down, and when it hits zero all placed clones will fire in the direction they are aiming.
After designing the clone creation, I worked with the rest of the design team on concepting levels and puzzles to properly utilize the cloning mechanic, as well as ways to increase player comprehension of the mechanics.
When it came to designing the game’s puzzles, the design team and I created a pipeline for conceiving and designing levels. Using a 2D grid, a level geometry and objectives could be visualized and iterated upon quickly so that prototypes could be built in engine as soon as possible. As for readability, I wanted to have the UI for the character be 100% diegetic and integrated into the environment. To show the player's current number of placeable clones, the player was given a wristwatch that is meant to be the device that projects the clones into reality. To showcase the player's performance and indicate the time left on the level, a large holographic display was placed outside the level to represent the simulator showing the player.
Coming out of Doppelganger I feel extremely proud of the progress I have made over the two months of the project development. I’ve had ample opportunity to utilize my skills in project management as a lead, systems designer for the prototype’s systems, and communication through interacting with the different disciplines on my teams. On a personal note, I feel that Doppelganger was a highlight project for me in terms of my expertise in communicating my design intentions both verbally and through documentation.
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