Logo, a cartoon squid.

JAKE LEW
Game Dev Other Projects About
CAMPYRE

2024 | Browser (PC)

Made for a course assignment, Campyre is an arcade-style horde survival, where the player fights off waves of enemies and bosses using whatever weapon they find.

A weapon freshly picked up from the ground allows the player to wield its full potential for a few seconds, before its flame dwindles to a weaker version. The player can keep this rally up by constantly switching weapons to keep up the heat.

OVERVIEW

Released: April 2024 on Browser for PC.

Play on browser: https://aedanite.itch.io/campyre

Reception: Praised by faculty and peers for its polish, “juicy” animations, and snappy arcade gameplay.

Time spent on project: 2 weeks

Team size: 2

Contributions: Gameplay design, programming, game feel, and visual effects.

ARCADE-STYLE CHAOS

Meant for quick play in class with 3 weeks of development time.

  • Scoped to be played finish in a few minutes.
  • Focus on those few minutes with polish and game feel.

Themed around "fire" and "hot potato".

  • Gameplay should have the player keep moving and "stay warm".
  • Frequent enemy attacks to get player to dodge.
  • Temporary weapon buffs to encourage weapon swapping.

Emphasis on exaggerated motion and reactive combat.

  • Chaotic blocky fire visual effects that spread around.
  • Cartoon squash-and-stretch physics.

EMPOWERED WEAPON SWAPPING

Each weapon is meant to embody a distinct playstyle and feel.

  • Torch/Sword for wide sweeping attacks.
  • Bow for fast and swift projectiles.
  • Staff for explosive radial projectiles.

Must be simple, intuitive, and satisfying to play.

  • Aim and Click to attack, Spacebar to pick up weapons.

Weapons are briefly empowered after being picked up.

  • Sword gets greater range.
  • Bow gets piercing projectiles.
  • Staff gets larger explosions.
  • Encourage players to feel strong and play aggressively, and to keep picking up fresh weapons.

Balanced around empowered weapons defeating enemies in 1 to 2 hits, and depowered weapons taking about 3 hits.

  • Depowered weapons must remain capable of defeating enemies to get a weapon drop.

SATISFYING PUNCHING BAGS

Enemies must feel good to hit.

  • No health bars, but enemies catch on fire with intensity based on remaining health.
  • Non-piercing arrows get stuck on enemy bodies.
  • Knockback physics from sources of damage.

Must be simple and fair to fight against.

  • Enemies primarily horde the player, dealing contact or ability damage.
  • Abilities must have clear telegraphs and counterplay.
    • Homing projectiles are slower than regular projectiles.
    • Area attacks show its range and progress before dealing damage.

TEAM

Grey Goh Zi Ying | Tileset Assembly, Arena Layout, Asset Integrator and Editor

Jake Lew Zhi Jie | Gameplay Designer, Programmer, Animator, and VFX Artist

ASSET CREDITS

Under CC0 license or equivalent, sprites edited from Kevin's Mom's House, music from Tallbeard Studios, SFX from Shapeforms, Kronbits, and Leohpaz, and font from datagoblin.