LANCE FREEMAN _GAME PROGRAMMER
What is Discarnate?
As the newest member of your coven, you have been given an important task. You must follow their instructions in order to resurrect your matron, Arete. This is a very important task, so your elders will be watching, and remember, do it for her...
Gameplay
Discarnate is a VR witch simulator experience where you must complete objectives in order to revive your dead matron. The playable build had the first level finished, which was the elixir quest where you must brew the transposing elixir, lightly toast a mushroom, and get the eye of a newt. Only then can you get the Elixir of Vitality.
My Contribution
Summary:
Roll: AI & Systems Programmer
I was brought onto the project after the green light phase as an AI Programmer. At this point the game had the first chamber, some furniture, and a rudimentary form of the cauldron mixing system. The first goal the team set was to improve upon the first level with a basic cooking system, liquid potion mixing, and an AI newt to chase. I was assigned the cooking and AI newt initially, though due to a tech access problem, we had to convert to SteamVR from Oculus which I assisted in transitioning this system.
We were making good progress in the first month, getting in the cooking system, and early passes at the AI newt, as well as potion mixing. This was around mid February of 2020, and when we left for spring break, a week later school informed us we were going remote due to Covid-19. This did mean we had to cut back scope ever so slightly, so instead of getting in the additional 1-3 levels that were planned, we focused our efforts on making the first level as good as possible.
During this time I was the main tester for our game, as only one other member of the team had a VR headset. From here we polished the game, and I finished implementing the newt AI. While it was simple, it was effective for what we needed it to do, and actually provided some challenge when it came to catching it.