Skipper’s Boardwalk

Problem

Two months into the capstone, the team had no programmers. The build had stalled at greybox, but the Level Up ’24 deadline was fixed.

Goals

• Stand up a playable vertical slice in Unity.
• Make minigames readable, responsive, and easy to retry.
• Keep code simple and shippable as a first-time Unity developer.

Constraints

• Solo engineering on Windows (keyboard/mouse).
• Integrate existing 3D/2D assets; build all gameplay systems from scratch.
• Event hardware performance and short demo sessions.

Traversal & Interaction

• Smooth first-person controller with sprint/crouch tuned for narrow boardwalk paths.
• Clear on-screen prompts at stalls and doors; consistent interact key.
• Cursor/focus logic prevents input traps on pause or minigame entry.

State, Scoring & Progression

• Tickets and progress persist reliably; clean reset for kiosk use.
• Central flow handles minigame results, payouts, and dual ending gates.
• Scene order follows the demo: Main Menu → Hub → Minigames → Endings → Credits.

Minigame Framework

• Shared base handles entering/exiting, prompts, and camera/controls handoff.
• Throw-based games use a simple, tunable system for aim/throws and success feedback.
• World-space UI pauses hub interactions, then cleanly returns control.

UX & Presentation

• Main menu, slideshow, pause, settings, and credits with smooth fades.
• Night-carnival lighting balanced for readability and performance.
• Simple audio cues for win/lose without overpowering narration.

What I Built

• Player & Camera: Smooth FP controller tuned for ramps/tight spaces; adjustable crouch height.
• Game Manager: Scene/state flow, minigame enter/exit, payouts, reset logic.
• Minigame API: Shared base keeps input/prompts/feedback consistent.
• UI: Start/Settings/Pause; anchors/pivots; prompts; audio sliders.
• Lighting: Readable “night carnival” look on event laptops.
• Builds: WebGL Lite + Windows download, editor helpers for capture.

Code Receipts (snippets)

// Minigame enter/exit (simplified)
public enum GameState { Hub, Minigame }
public class GameManager : MonoBehaviour {
  public static GameState State;
  public void EnterMinigame(IMinigame m) {
    State = GameState.Minigame;
    UI.ShowPrompt(m.Instructions);
    m.Begin(() => ExitMinigame(m));
  }
  void ExitMinigame(IMinigame m){
    Tickets += m.Payout;
    UI.HidePrompt();
    State = GameState.Hub;
  }
}
          

Show-floor Friendly Loop

• Guided cold-open: fade-in, VO hook, objective card.
• Large floating prompts at kiosks plus breadcrumb lighting down the pier.
• Minigames hand back keyboard/mouse focus instantly; payout pops reinforce progress.
• Padded gate timing lets staff narrate without pausing the build.

Look Dev Goals

• Preserve spooky boardwalk silhouettes without muddy mid-tones on event laptops.
• Single directional key light + rim fill feeds a 3-step toon ramp for crisp edges.
• Shader exposes emissive boost per-prop so signage pops when the sun cycles.

Before → After

Before

After (Toon Shader)

Delivered

• Playable vertical slice for Level Up ’24.
• Stable kiosk loop; quick restart; readable minigames.
• Browser-ready WebGL slice + downloadable Windows build.

Next

• Input remapping; gamepad support in Windows build.
• Basic telemetry for minigame completion/time-to-first-task.
• Accessibility pass (subtitles presets, color-contrast tweaks).