My role: design, QA, card board construction
Genre: Arcade
Engine: custom
Language: C++
Time period: 1 week
Team size: 4 people
In the game, players take command of a spaceship's console as they try to navigate a dangerous asteroid field. The goal is to stay alive long enough for the warp engines to fully charge up so the ship can jump to warpspeed. Each part of the console has different components, so players must balance putting out fires versus managing the pressure gauge, and switching power to different areas of the ship, all while fighting off deadly asteroids and alien spaceships.
For Warpspeed! I designed the different ship systems that the player manages. Each system has a unique component that is intrinsically tied to the other systems. There is a power supply (the left-hand tower) that connects to three different systems: warp drive, shields, and weapons. Only one system can be powered at once, and players control this by moving the alligator clip between the different sockets. The warpdrive charges faster while powered, the ship takes reduced damage while the shields are powered, and the player is only able to shoot at enemies while the weapons are powered. The gameplay revolves around managing which system needs power at any given time.
My proudest part of the console is the hand-shaped touchpad. After the player finishes charging the warp engine, they slam their hand down on the touchpad to jump to warpspeed, thus winning the game. After building up so much stress it's very satisfying to just hit something as hard as you can, and then let out a breath of fresh air.