Author Archives: Jan Schlosser

Rocket Fight – App

Posted by Jan Schlosser

Rocket Fight Logo

Description

Rocket Fight is a fast paced online multiplayer game with focus on player versus player battles. Control a bazooka armed character and make your opponent´s life a living hell by knocking them off the map with precise shots. Use the battle arena environment, power ups and your skills to achieve glorious victory.

Platform: Pc
Genre: Shooter
Engine: Unity3D
Players: 2-4
Year: 2013

My Tasks

In our second semester project my tasks involved designing the game and product management. I was responsible for developing and evaluating the core of the game, level design, design documentation and basic interface design. Also, I composed and updated our Scrum Product Backlog.

View GDD Rocket FightClick here to view GDD

Screenshots of Rocket Fight

Screenshot of the Game
Rocket Fight Screenshot
Video of Game

Level Design

This is a level design that I came up with, after we had a little trouble finding a common vision for the level. A lot of it didn´t make it into the game, but it gave us a good foundation to discuss and evaluate.

Post Mortem Rocket Fight Game

While our first semester project started in complete chaos this time it was the opposite, this time we wanted it to do it right. Early on, we developed a clear vision for our Rocket Fight Game. We made technical prototypes, did sketches to find our art style and set up design and product management documents. All this happened under the careful control of agile project management.
In the beginning of production we had a little struggle merging the work of the different departments into one playable project. But after more open communication between the departments, we overcame this first roadblock. Our quick progress gave us the opportunity to evaluate certain parts of the game several times. We even had the time to add new features that were necessary to ensure a fun game while cutting others that weren´t. Our second game is far from perfect, but we managed to produce a game experience that actually is entertaining for a short period of time.

Orb Wizard – App

Posted by Jan Schlosser

Orb Wizard Logo

Description

In the 2D Platformer Game Orb Wizard you slip into the role of our hero Richard. After a tragic fate, he tries to get revenge with his newly won magic abilities against hordes of mechanical enemies.

Platform: Pc
Genre: Platform Shooter
Engine: Unity3D
Year: 2012

My Tasks

With only one programmer in our course I ended up volunteering as coder for one of the first semester projects. Never having touched a programming language or engine before, I taught myself JavaScript, the basics of Unity3D and managed to finish the project in time. I also was responsible for VFX and asset implementation.

Screenshots of Orb Wizard

Orb Wizard Screenshot
Orb Wizard Screenshot
Final boss Screenshot
Game Over Screenshot
Play Orb Wizard Game

Video of Game

Post Mortem

The best word to describe our first project is “Mayhem”. With absolutely no clue of what our team is capable of, missing vital skill sets in all departments and a strictly specified milestone pipeline this project started out pretty bad. Slow progress in pre-production and a good part of the production phase led to conflicts within the team. In a moderated conflict meeting we solved our problems and started working for the first time as a productive unit afterwards. Nonetheless, I didn´t get the animations done properly, our art assets have artifacts or are missing, the design is done poorly and was limited due to my humble programming knowledge, which makes playing the game Orb Wizard a not so pleasant experience. But the lessons learned were of great value and helped deciding what direction we wanted to take in the future. It also helped to understand teaching subjects better because of the practical experience and knowing the value of team management systems.
In the end everybody involved was happy that we managed to finish our first little game and eager to apply the newly gained skills to the next project.

Beast of Olymp – App

Posted by Jan Schlosser
Beast of Olymp Logo

Description

In Beasts of Olymp, the player tries to win Zeus favour by competing against the gods in their own board game. To achieve this goal, the player must use the environment in combination with elemental attacks to win a turn-based battle.

Platform: Mobile Android
Genre: Turn-Based Strategy
Engine: Unity3D
Year: 2014

My Tasks

My main task for this project was the Game Design. Starting off with a paper prototype, i went on to write down the core of our game in a Game Design Document. Lacking fun in our early technical prototypes with the planed mechanics implemented, I added interactive objects to the game. The interactive objects react to the elemental attacks of beasts. This helped to give the game a more complex and unique feeling. I also designed the levels and did some minor coding after being left with no programmer.

Screenshots of Beasts of Olymp Game

Main Menu Screenshot
Beasts of Olymp Level 1 Screenshot
Beasts of Olymp Level 2 Screenshot
Fighting Sequence Level 3 Screenshot
Interface Design Example for Game

After adding obstacles that do dmg if beasts walk over them we needed an alternative for our automatic path set system. This is a design i came up with, which combines precise handset and automatic system paths.

Post Mortem for Beasts of Olymp Game

We started working on this project with high expectations and goals. But, this game feels like we failed the most out of all our student projects. Not necessarilly because it is the worst game, but for the fact that we struggled a lot at the end to make „just another student project“ into an adequate game. We adjusted gameplay, art style and even the branding over the course of development. But, we couldn´t get the game to feel right. All these iterations were a time consuming process. The absence of our main programmer/team lead and a lack of motivation in the team during the last bit of production and pre-production phase was the final nail in the coffin.

<br><br>While Beasts of Olymp was fun to make, it could have been a good game. However, our inability to find the right solutions for certain problems or implementing them casts a bit of a dark shadow over this project.

Photoshop – Isometric House Practice

Posted by Jan Schlosser

Isometric house drawing made with Photoshop. Even though I wouldn´t call myself an artist, more a hobbyist, once in a while I have a strong itch to do some art. I wanted to practice drawing with my Wacom Tablet. But, because I struggled to come up with my own vision, I just followed a YouTube Tutorial by Sephirot Art. While my isometric house can´t keep up with Sephirots, I am still happy with the outcome. It definitely feels like I gained some good practice which I can project on future drawings.

Isometric House Drawing by Jan Schlosser

3DS Max – Oil Rig

Posted by Jan Schlosser

A 3D model of an oil rig in the dessert. The model was made with 3DS Max back in 2014. Part of our 3D modelling course in school, this is my first ever produced 3D asset. Currently I am not using 3DS Max anymore, as I have switched to Blender. After many hours in Blender I just feel more confident with the program than with 3D Max.

Pictures of Oil Rig Model

3D Model Oil Rig 3DS Max by Jan Schlosser
3D Model Oil Rig 3DS Max by Jan Schlosser

RPG Maker MV – Parallax Mapping

Posted by Jan Schlosser

Description

I tried out some parallax mapping in RPG Maker. The background picture is a digital painting I made of a photo from google. The rest is a mixture of drawings, patterns and textures. While playing the game scene, the character is able to walk behind the trees and the sunrays slightly move. Walking behind objects is not integrated in RPG Maker MV, so to achieve this, a parallax map is a good workaround. I messed up a little on the front edge of the rock and should have drawn the trees with stronger contrasts as they seem a bit blurred. This drawing was part of a survival game I was working on in RPG Maker MV.

Although the game was never finished, it helped me learn the basics of the engine. The easy to use and reduced engine is a welcoming change compared to Unity. Even though RPG Maker has its limits, I would definitely consider this engine for certain kind of games. It also could be used to do rapid prototypes. RPG Maker is especially suited for beginners and kids. David Browne´s Tutorial functioned as inspiration for my work. Naked character credits: Gordon Ramsey and FuzzyDemon

Picture of RPG Maker Parallax Map

Parallax Mapping RPG Maker MV by Jan Schlosser

BB Radio – Geschlechterduell App

Posted by Jan Schlosser

Description

Promotional game for BB Radios regular quiz show „Geschlechterduell(Genderduel)“ done in 2017. The quiz was made with Unity3D and has 3 different available play modes. A single-player mode for men and women, and a third one for couples. In the game, the user has to answer a series of multiple choice questions about the opposite sex. After answering all questions the results get evaluated. The background graphics were done by an agency, everything else by me. BB Radio uses the quiz game Genderduel at live events as a promotion tool. Players can win small prices on site. The questions and answers are saved in a JSON file, and get readout and randomized during runtime via script.

Pictures of Quiz Game

Photo of BB Radio Geschlechterduell Quiz Game
Photo of BB Radio Geschlechterduell Quiz by Jan Schlosser

Unity3D – 3D Pacman Prototype

Posted by Jan Schlosser

Description

A humble 3D Pacman prototype game that incorporates the traditional Pacman as a Minimap. After attending a programming class in Unity3D at School 4 Games, I was given the task to develop a functional 3D Pacman game. Made in 2012, this became my first Unity project that was actually playable. Even though most code was copied-and-pasted, this project helped getting a first taste for code. I also drew the Minimap. All other art assets are from the Unity Asset Store.

Screenshot

Pacman Game Screenshot made by Jan Schlosser

Video of Pacman Game