The Awakening of Thorus

Available for download on my itch.io page.

  • Developer(s): A small university team (5 members)
  • Role: Narrative, gameplay, and supporting level designer, and art and audio lead
  • Engine: Unity3D
  • Programming Tools: MS Visual Studio (C#)
  • Platform(s): PC (Windows)
  • Development Time: 4 months
  • Release: May 2020 (the final year of my bachelor’s degree at UEL)
  • Genre(s): Adventure, role-playing, first-person shooter
  • Mode(s): Single-player
Synopsis

The Awakening of Thorus is a single-player role-playing first-person shooter made in Unity3D. The main character is Erro, a Terrain who lives by his own rules in a fantasy sci-fi universe. His best friend is a humanized AI called E.T.H.A.N. which stands for “extremely talented human artificial network”. Their journey is set on an unexplored planet called Thorus where they need to collect certain materials for their business contract. While exploring the planet, they discover a clue that turns their quest into a search for a mysterious ancient artifact.

The game is a fast-paced sci-fi shooter set in an alien world, that has a light-hearted narrative. It is playable on personal computers with Windows operating systems. The game is a true celebration of the fantasy sci-fi stories that touched many generations of various media genres. It is a combination of exciting combat and interesting narrative elements through whose interplay players can experience a satisfying and immersive gameplay experience.

Gameplay
  • Play as an offbeat and exhilarated space explorer who always gets himself in trouble
  • Use the standard first-person shooter mechanics to explore the game world
  • Navigate different level elevations by using double jump and teleporting mechanics
  • Fight the enemy by shooting and using the dash to dodge their attacks
Learning Outcomes
  • Working as a part of a team with set roles and responsibilities
    • Communicating daily and keeping up with updates
    • Using various work management tools to organize tasks among team members
    • Maintaining continuous work discipline and professionalism
    • Adapting according to team’s needs and finding solutions for possible issues
  • Writing absorbing linear narrative and adapting the length of dialogue according to the gameplay needs
  • Converting narrative into the screenplay format
  • Supervising and guiding voice-over actors performances
  • Designing and implementing narrative-related exploration areas
  • Choosing appropriate art style (assets, lighting, colour palettes, etc.), music, and sound effects
  • Writing documentation for multiple production stages (alpha, beta, and master builds)
    • Creating gameplay flowcharts, UI wireframes, production tables, etc.
    • Defining design pillars, unique selling point, and high-level concept
    • Developing user personas, researching the market and competitors