Violence Solves Everything

What is it?

Violence Solves Everything is a skill-based, speed platformer. On a stranded ship floating through the vastness of space, a lone maintenance bot must restore power to the ships core functions before the ship meets catastrophe. Provided only weapons for tools, the bot must use what it has to navigate the ship and locate the backup power cores for each section of the ship.

There are no enemies in VSE. Instead, the environmental danger of the deteriorating ship is the antagonist of this story. The player will locate a variety of weapons, but rather than using them for destruction, these weapons become tools for traversing the treacherous environment. Equipped with tools, the player will gain new skills. A shotgun blast, for example can provide the boost for a double jump, or a buzzsaw that allows the bot to ascend vertical walls.

My Role

  • Gameplay Programmer
    • Scripted core mechanics of gameplay including the player movement controller and weapon mechanics.
    • Created core game management logic.
  • Technical Designer
    • Directed the use of tools in designing gameplay interaction and environment aesthetics for performance and consistency in design and play.
  • Systems Designer/Engineer
    • Assisted in design and programming of game systems including Collectible Achievements, Scene/Level Management, and Data Persistence.
    • Refactored systems through prototype to final product for extensible structure, designer-friendly use, and optimized performance.
  • Level Designer
    • Assisted in the design, structure, and creation of game levels

 

 

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Development Cycle

Violence Solves Everything was my university capstone project. A team of five, including myself, was tasked with pitching and designing a new game from the ground up. The game was to be designed and produced over a four-month development cycle. With no set project limitations, the team was wholly responsible for managing the scope of the design with what we were capable of delivering in the four-month time frame.

In those short four-months, the team took VSE from pitch to prototype to polish. In addition to development, the team was also responsible for all QA and testing to ensure a fun and functional game. We conducted weekly structured playtests from a pool of around 30 testers. The team then analyzed and implemented feedback from these tests to iterate upon the project and meet weekly deliverable milestones.

Postmortem