Downbringer

• What It Is

  I programmed and designed for a 2D action-platformer about discrimination, segregation, and an imbalance of power between peoples.

• What I Did

  • Served as game designer and the only programmer for a 4-week action-platformer game in the same team of 4 that worked on Rebound

  • Ideated and implemented player character abilities

  • Multidirectional dash that both deals damage and grants temporary immunity

  • Shield-and-launch that allows the player to catch incoming projectiles and redirect them back at enemies

  • Created enemy behaviors

  • Enemies have two lives so that after losing their first life, they drop a health pack and become weaker

  • They can attack via basic patrols, throwing projectiles, and body slamming

  • Added environmental mechanics like dashing through a destructible block to get a dash reset and classic death spikes

  • Structured interaction systems where the player can trigger NPC dialogue as well as collect and read newspapers tying into the game’s lore

  • Arranged UI for the health system, newspaper journal, pause menu, and main menu

  • Provided training range section in the main menu for players to learn how to play since the level design was insufficient

Yeah, these GIFs have garbage quality

Narrative & Gameplay Tie-ins

The story of Downbringer is about two races of people. The Clay people live above ground in a beautiful, clean utopia, while the Mud people live below ground in an ugly, trash-covered wasteland. The Mud people are determined to immigrate into the Clay utopia by building a tower to the surface. When the Clay people get wind of this plot, they send one of their most talented special agents to stop them. The agent must destroy the tower and keep the Mud people below ground, separated from the Clay. The player is this agent and as they explore the tower, they will discover that not everything is as it seems in this 2D action-platformer allegory about discrimination and segregation.

• Wanting to represent the discrepancy in ability due to societal differences, our team decided to overequip the Clay agent to fight the unsuited Mud people

• At the agent’s disposal are the aforementioned dash and shield-and-launch. We intentionally did not include a jump mechanic — a staple of platformers — because the dash can confidently replace it and the agent is trying to descend the tower rather than ascend

• We also wanted to allow for a pacifist playthrough of the game. The agent’s enemies have two lives so that one attack from the agent simply stuns them and a second one will kill them. This choice of play is part of the conscious-building of the player as they learn more about the underlying story.

Gameplay is centered around fending off enemies as well as fundamental platforming elements where the player must dash from place to place. These sections can include some tests of skill where the player must break a foundation of the tower and obtain a dash reset in order to get to the next area.

This level shows the dash reset as described above

As the programmer, there are a few areas that I would like to improve in further development of this game including (1) special effects for the dash and shield to make them feel juicier, (2) better camera work, and (3) more reactive enemy AI.