The Mansion

The Mansion - PVP Asymmetrical Game

Time: Sep 2023 - Dec 2023
Roles: Game Designer, Programmer
Tools: Unity

The Mansion is a two-player asymmetrical PvP game developed over a semester by a five-person cross-disciplinary team. One player controls a little girl in an action-adventure style, while the other plays as a ghost leader using strategy to control spirits. Built in two-week sprints, the game explores virtual and augmented reality gameplay using controller and mouse/keyboard.

Main Contribution:

Gameplay Programming: Implemented core player and enemy action states (attack, dodge, death, hurt, idle) using C# in Unity. Built locomotion systems for both third-person and god-view perspectives, managing character speed, force, and navigation. Developed gameplay modifiers for animation, hitbox/hurtbox detection, stamina, and invincibility mechanics.

System Architecture: Created robust systems for combat state machines, enemy AI, player tracking, and status management. Developed UI systems including health/stamina displays, menus, and input-based UI alignment.

Level & Narrative Design: Designed the mansion level layout and puzzle flow, incorporating Chinese architecture and folklore-inspired monster encounters. Wrote the overarching story and objectives, enriching gameplay with emotional stakes and traditional themes.

Production & Prototyping: Led integration of design, programming, audio, and art assets across platforms. Rapidly prototyped and iterated level and gameplay systems using team feedback and testing.

Narrative Design

You are a girl who tries to retrieve your dead grandma's memory pieces (three objects) by venturing into the haunted antient Chinese mansion; and you are a monster residing in the mansion trying to kill the girl who intrudes on your territory...

Game Mechanism

The Mansion is a two-player asymmetrical PvP game rooted in traditional Chinese folklore and architecture. One player, in third-person view, controls a girl seeking her late grandmother’s lost treasures. The other, in a top-down god view, plays a spirit strategically commanding monsters and traps to stop her. Combining distinct gameplay perspectives with cultural aesthetics, the game offers a unique, competitive experience using controller, keyboard, and mouse.

Player A: third person perspective
Player A needs to be quick-minded and prone to action

player B: god view
Player B needs more brain, but also need to make decision in a timely manner.

Level Desgin
Player A enters the entrence from the left hand side with a beginning tutorial. By collecting three treasures A, B, and C and exit through the top left, player A can reach a success escape. Player b will be in charge of controlling the monsters within the maze.

Characters

protagonist

Bride Monster

Big Head Monster

Hand Monster

Code construction:
Action state:

Enemy state
Player state
state modifiers

Locomotions
Status
Tracking
UI

As a programmer on the team, I am specifically in charge of the game play in C# and Unity using Controller.

Action state

Enemy state (Enemy attack, death, hurt, idel, rotate around player, and set position)
Player state (Player attack1,2,3, death, dodge, hurt, and idle
state modifiers (Player state: hold input, stamina control. State: add force, animation control, hitbox control, hurtbox control, invicibillity, locomotion control, modifier, specific cancel)

Locomotions:

CharacterLocomotion (character speed, force, rotation, ground gravity, weight, nav agent, and update position)
EnemyLocomotion (Enemy movement and rotation)
PlayerLocomotion (Player movement and rotation)
RootMotionToLocomotion

Status:

Enemystatus (If enemy health is below 0, enemy defeated)
Hitbox (Hit direction, invoke hit result and hurt box)
Hurtbox (Hit result after getting hit including knock back action, direction respond to hit)
Playerstatus (Calculate the status of player, including player’s heath, death, and stamina recovery)

Tracking:

MouseTrackPosition (Track player B’s mouse position)
MouseTrackUI (Track player B’s mouse position and reflect with UI)
SetNewPoint (While player B click on a position, the enemy will spawn)

UI:

GUIManager (this is in charge of the healthUI and the staminaUI)
MenuOption (in charge of the option selection in the beginning scene where player can start the scene, select difficulties, get instructions on how to play the game, see credit page)
MenuUIManager (this is an alighment script that is applied to aligh size of the UI)

Festival plan: