Prize Fighter was my first-ever 3D platformer built in Unity. While helping to produce this game, I learned several things about producing this type of game with teammates.

Firstly, I learned the proper workflow for creating attack functions in a 3D space. This includes the creation of 3D hitboxes that conform to the player character’s animation tree. I also learned how to differentiate attack properties depending on the character’s state. This was used to help define the Grounded Punch and Dive Punch as two separate functions. This process also involved the creation of a custom C# script to increase the gravity scale of the player, as Unity’s 3D rigidbodies operate under different physics than Unity’s 2D rigidbodies. Working with the art team helped me to understand the best way to set up animation state machine logic. It helped me settle into the role of being a combat designer and affirmed this is the path I want to take in life.

Secondly, I learned that starting with simple proxies is a valid approach to making fun-feeling systems. For a long time, the model of HexDog was not considered ready for use. Until it was, I created a proxy character out of primitive cubes and attached the movement scripts to it. I was worried that the size and movement of the proxy character would not translate well to the final character model, but we built the scripts we wrote to accommodate differences in dimensions. Eventually, when HexDog’s model was finally ready, everything translated with much less hassle than I dreaded it might.

Thirdly, I learned that systems that were too scary for me to comprehend at the time could have been used to great effect if I let go of my own biases. When developing this game, I found the idea of NavMesh implementation for enemies too daunting, foregoing it in favor of controlling enemy movement between two different colliders attached to it that it would lerp its position between. This only worked to a degree due to specific float-point comparisons, but I felt so overwhelmed by the alternative that I did not consider working with it for very long. I could have expanded my knowledge on a skill I went on to develop in favor of a less effective result. If I were to recreate this game now, I would focus a lot more of my time on setting up a system that uses NavMesh effectively.

Fourthly, I learned how to allocate time to a platforming-based boss encounter. The Claw Machine was the culmination of everything I have learned to do through this project as I created a robust state machine for The Claw’s behaviors. This includes the proper calls for it to move between defined targets, descend, attack, and retract before setting the next target to move towards. The state machine script also included logic for it to become distracted by holograms to ignore its pre-established targets and attack a new target. From there, it would enter a state to become stuck, allowing the player to damage it. Creating this step-by-step process helped me get the boss battle logic done in much less time than I anticipated, and I was able to impress both my team and myself with how much I was capable of.