Harvest Coast

Harvest Coast offers a relaxed VR experience, putting you in command of two colossal mechanical arms. Engage with the surrounding objects to fulfill tasks and maintain the factory’s operations!

This project was born from a three-week game jam, where time was of the essence. With the clock ticking, we maximized our resources and fostered tight collaboration. From ideation to execution, every aspect was crafted within this brief timeframe.

Project Overview

Date: 3 weeks at 4th semester (2022) at Game Design HTW Berlin
Team: 5
Software: Unity, Blender, ZBrush, Substance Painter, 3D Coat, Photoshop
Plattform: PC
Constrains: VR Only

My Responsibilities

Modeling and Texturing
Game System Design

Underwater Experience

Crafting a captivating underwater environment within a mere three weeks presented a formidable challenge. Nevertheless, we were determined to immerse players in the enchanting depths of the underwater world.

Despite the tight deadline, we managed to achieve a commendable outcome. Schools of fish gracefully navigating through the water, aquatic plants swaying in the gentle current, and an array of lighting effects all contributed to the immersive experience.

Gameplay

In Harvest Coast, players find themselves in a diving capsule at the depths of the ocean, commanding two colossal gripper arms. Amidst the marine life, transport plates ferry raw materials, presenting players with the task of maneuvering the robot arms to secure these materials. Subsequently, the harvested materials undergo processing in one of the machines, ultimately shaping them into triangles, plates, or bars.

The objective is to fulfill orders by combining these shapes in the correct colors. Finally, players can deliver the orders by loading the crafted object into the cannon and launching it to the water surface!

Modeling and Sculpting

For this project, I undertook the creation of various assets, ranging from large mechanical arms to smaller components. Designing the intricate movements of the player-controlled mechanical arms posed a significant challenge. However, the creation of the cannon, utilized for delivering orders, proved to be a comparatively straightforward task.

Additionally, I sculpted two ore nuggets, which I found particularly intriguing to design. Although I thoroughly enjoyed crafting these, I had hoped to incorporate a greater variety of ores into the game but the time constraints limited the scope of our project. To enhance the overall style we used an cell and outline shader in Unity.

Learnings

Modeling and Texturing

modeling, scupting, stylized texturing in 3DCoat

Game System Design

creating a reduced and simple gameplay concept

Time-Efficient Work

working with limited time, find time efficient approaches, working efficent

Development

We devised a game concept from the outset and remained committed to it throughout the development process, as this was a three-week game jam. Adhering to this predefined concept allowed us to allocate more time to implementation, despite its relatively straightforward nature. While our focus was on efficiency due to time constraints, maintaining a clear vision from the start enabled us to streamline the development process and prioritize key features.

The development process unfolded both on-site and remotely, with each team member contributing from various locations. Gradually, the individual elements of the game began to take shape until we ultimately presented the finished product after the three-week period.