C# Programmer
A short video showcasing the hoverboard movement, a simple ‘trick’ system, ragdolling and weapon firing.
Movement Systems
Optimize The Null (OTN) was a challenging first step into third person character controllers for me. Since OTN was designed to allow normal platforming as well as high speed hoverboard racing, I basically had to make two controllers and combine them. The 'on-foot' controller was a simple third person platformer controller, with the ability to jump and double jump. The 'on-hoverboard' controller was slightly more complicated as I had to try and balance it's speed and handling to emulate a floating skateboard.
The hoverboard controller ended up allowing the player to boost, jump, double jump and perform tricks. The end product emulated the 'floatyness' of a hoverboard by simply giving the player zero friction. I also experimented with keeping the player off the ground completely by applying upwards force based on the distance between the board and the ground, to varying degrees of success.
Combat System
As an interesting gameplay hook, OTN also incorporated third person combat into it's gameplay loop. Firstly I implemented in-combat strafing that brought the camera down to a better angle to allow easier aiming and dodging. Then I implemented three weapons: the uzi, the rocket launcher and the chainsaws. Both the uzi and rocket launcher were ranged physics based weapons that shot physical projectiles. The chainsaw also used physics, but the actual attacks were registered by colliders on the chainsaws that were moved via animations
Ragdoll System
To give a sense of risk when performing tricks on the hoverboard, I used Unity's ragdoll creation system to allow the player character to enter a ragdoll state. This state would be triggered when the player failed a hoverboard trick, effectively stunning them for a short duration.
