Released – 2020 | Role – Senior Developer
Slugterra VR was a difficult ask. A 6 month timeline with a game/level designer at the helm, me in charge of the programming and limited art support was a daunting proposition. For a LAN MOBA on a [then] fresh VR platform (HOLOGATE), it was an ambitious goal and one we were very proud to meet.
Slugterra was nominated for Best VR/AR Game at the 2021 Canadian Game Awards
Technical achievements on this project include:
2 point tracking avatars with fully articulated limbs. Slugterra is a known television IP, so characters of various heights and sizes could be played by any human, from children to NBA players. Keeping them accurate to real-world player positions without distorting the characters or taking artistic liberties (Rayman style floating hands, as an example) was vital to the project and very fulfilling.
HOLOGATE platform support. Getting the game to run on the HOLOGATE platform was difficult since the technology is so new. Fun add-ons like LED light support were added for arcade audiences and were a fresh new experience for us.
Using Unreal’s ability system for character powers in-game. UE4’s ability system has been around for a while but is scantily documented and often feels like an unfinished module. It is obviously designed more for internal use than public distribution, but had recently been pushed into the public eye by Epic. Working with it was valuable as overcoming its lack of documentation and volatility unlocks a vast amount of power for developers.
Spectator views. Quite a bit of work went into the spectator cameras for players in lines at arcades to appreciate while the headset laden players get into the action. Intelligent camera selection, panning routines and action framing techniques were utilized to show as much action as possible.