Astromech, produced for Mech Jam III, represents some of my best in solo development - featuring randomly generated levels full of asteroids, debris, and treasures, players control a modular space-faring robot to collect all the parts listed as quickly as possible - each part has its own value, but the longer you spend out in space, the more fuel you spend - it's a real run for your money.
One of the biggest challenges with astromech was developing shaders that would really make the game pop - this is where some of the largest roadblocks came in development, but also some of the most rewarding outcomes.
This shader was designed for the forcefield that surrounds the map. By calculating the camera's position against the scene depth, the material could give the player the impression that a forcefield appears in a certain radius from the player's position. This tightened up gameplay seamlessness and also made the presence of invisible walls less ludo-narratively dissonant.
Another feature within Astromech that I'm very proud of is the cutscenes - during loading screens and at the end of gameplay, semi-physics-based cutscenes take hold providing a neat segue between gameplay states.
If you only play one of my PC games, I recommend it be this one - there are so many fun features to explore, and it can be quite challenging - and rewarding.
You can also watch a full gameplay demo below!
