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Off Beat

Summary :

Off Beat is a musical platformer that shifts between 2D and 3D gameplay and tasks players with collecting tracks to restore the level's song and progress.

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Off Beat was created over 4 months in Unreal Engine 4.  It features 2D and 3D gameplay segments, a dynamic soundtrack that builds as the player progresses, and stage elements that move in time with the music.

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Creator

1

Unreal 4

4 Months

Rhythm Platformer

1

Mouse & Keyboard

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Post Mortem

Off Beat was created out of a desire to create a polished portfolio piece that was light on scope but still had interesting enough systems to be a good learning experience.  I was a music major prior to coming to DigiPen, so I also wanted to bring some of that influence into my portfolio.  To help with the art scope, I chose a simple polygonal art style with a high contrast color palette.  All of the effects were done programmatically and are meant to help improve the game's visual polish while also assisting the player with keeping the tempo.

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Overall, I'm quite proud of the game.  I was able to create a complete vertical slice that has a logical mechanical progression and contains all of the systems I was hoping to get in.  The difficulty spikes a bit too high at the end and I wasn't able to compose music that mirrored the movements of objects on the screen, but those are minor complaints and don't hurt the overall experience much.

The Good

The Bad

  • The game is a complete vertical slice that showcases the concept

  • I was able to get every system in that I set out to complete when starting the project

  • The art is consistent and looks pretty nice despite being so simple

  • My dad was able to play it and had fun, so that's cool

  • The last section is a bit too punishing compared to the rest of the game

  • If left playing for a long time, the music can get a bit off due to Unreal rounding errors

  • The ending cutscene is pretty lackluster

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