Name: Magnetic Tac BOOM
Duration: 3 weeks
Date: 2024
Team Size: 3 designers
Genre: Platformer
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
My rol: Designer, Technical Designer and Programmer
Game Jam: Ebb Software internal Game Jam
Magnetic Tac BOOM is a couch PvP platformer with a fresh spin on the classic game of Tag, where both player must throw a magnet at each other to tag them as it attracts a magnetic floating bomb which loses the round of the first player to touch it.
Game’s description
This game was created during Ebb Software’s internal Game Jam, where I had to develop a game in a week along with other two designers with the theme «Attraction». After fulfilling the objective of the Game Jam, we kept working on the game for two additional weeks fixing bugs, visually polishing, and adding secondary mechanics. The main reason was that my team liked the idea and wanted to keep working on it, and because multiple of our coworkers across the company enjoyed the game while playtesting and were looking forward to more.
The best way to explain Magnetic Tac BOOM (MTB) is through the game of Tag, as they share the very same game loop. Although, some key differences can be found that tell MTB apart from the classical game. The main one is a floating, obstacles ignoring, constantly accelerating, and magnetic boom that follows the player being It. This element adds a lot of pressure to the game and makes it more dynamic and challenging. It also represents the ultimate goal of the game because the loser of a round is always the player getting caught by the bomb, being It or not.
The player being It is represented by a Magnet on their back, which is the one attracting the bomb. To get rid of it the player carrying it can throw the magnet, and if the other player is hit they become It and carry the Magnet. Being It or not, also allows players to pick objects from the level and use them to their advantage: the It player can teleport to the location of the magnet when thrown, and the other player can create pools of a sticky substance that slows down any player on it.
Lastly, simply navigating the level requires fast platforming using wall jump and other movement mechanics from 2D platformers. This allows players to express their skills and add simple and natural fun to the base idea of Tag.
What I’ve worked on
During this development, I fulfilled three roles: Designer, Technical Designer and Programmer.
- Designer: I helped create the initial concept, iterated on it until the final product, organized playtest sessions, balanced various elements, and added new mechanics based on the received feedback.
- Technical Designer: As the most scripting experienced on the team, I helped my coworkers with their programming tasks and made decisions on the general structure of the code.
- Programmer: Like my other teammates, I coded some of the mechanics of the game, in my case involving magnets, pickups, and system-related elements. These were my principal tasks, but I also solved bugs and optimized scripts all over the code of the game.
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