Project Overview

Stumblebumps Unite marked a significant milestone in my career, as it was my first opportunity to collaborate with a large, diverse team. This project allowed me to work alongside specialists in various areas, offering valuable insights into their needs and workflows during the game development process. Serving as the capstone project for my senior year, it provided a unique platform to apply and further develop my programming skills within a collaborative, industry-like environment. In this project, I had the privilege of taking on the role of Lead Programmer, where I was responsible for overseeing the development of multiple core systems.

The team had a great mix of talents: one Designer, one Producer, four 3D Artists, one 2D Artist, two Programmers, three Level Designers, one Audio Engineer, and two Animators. Our diverse collaboration infused creative energy, bringing Stumblebumps to life.

Backend Systems

One of my key contributions to the project was the design and management of the game state. I developed a robust system for tracking the game’s state throughout different stages, including checkpoint management and the implementation of a spectator system. Additionally, I focused on optimizing the game's performance and ensured all systems were modular, allowing for streamlined functionality. This modular approach ensured that each game mode only loaded the necessary components, improving efficiency and reducing unnecessary resource usage.

Animation Integration

Stumblebumps Unite was one of the first projects in which I worked closely with a dedicated animator to integrate an animation system. By utilizing Unity’s animation blend trees, I played an integral role in bringing character animations to life. Given the game's fast-paced mechanics, I focused on fine-tuning the animation transitions to allow for seamless interruption points, ensuring fluid movement and responsiveness. In addition to implementing core locomotion animations, I also worked to incorporate emote animations, enabling players to taunt and interact with others dynamically.

Tools Development

To streamline the level design and testing process, I developed custom tools to improve the workflow for level designers. Specifically, I leveraged my understanding of Unity’s inspector GUI and custom buttons to create an intuitive interface that provided real-time feedback and enabled designers to test various game scenarios. This included the ability to create temporal game state data from previous scenes, ensuring that level designers could access the most up-to-date character controller for thorough testing. These tools were vital for ensuring the accuracy and functionality of the game’s levels, enabling designers to work efficiently and effectively.

Read more about Stumblebumps on itch.io.