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Beneath Normanby

Beneath Normanby is an endurance horror game with the objective of exploring vast sewer systems to find fuel for a generator that keeps the lights on. This was a group project made by 10 people over 3 months for my Beta Arcade module at Teesside University, in which I was the team lead, one of two programmers, and the UI designer.​​

Tech Design Contributions:

  1. Instant and latent interactions, with a variable time for latent interactions.

  2. Implemented functionality for the generator, including:​​

    1. Refuelling and repairing the generator, with interaction time proportional to resources consumed.​

    2. Taking damage causes fuel to leak. The speed of the leakage is proportional to the amount it is overfilled, simulating pressure in the tank.

    3. Checking the dial will give an approximate time that the generator will run for to add uncertainty to the horror environment.

    4. Turning off the generator broadcasts to all electrical lights to turn on/off.

    5. Adding creature parts to the grinder will spawn fuel from the output, as an expensive but emergency source of fuel.​

  3. Basic inventory system in the player to track ammo, tools and resources using an enum-int maps.

  4. Implementing all settings, including remappable controls, graphical and audio settings, and a myriad of accessibility options.​​

UI Contributions:

As the only person on the team with any experience with UI, it fell to me to design and implement everything shown. An artist with experience making 2D assets made the visuals. Notable UI features include:

  1. ​All screens are created on initialisation and shown/hidden when relevant, using a data table to change relevant player input and pausing.

  2. Main menu utilising camera transitions and level sequences for visual interest.

  3. Equipment hotbar made in the style of Garry's Mod. Updates when new equipment is collected. Made modular for the easy addition/categorisation of items during development.

  4. Added a shop menu with the option for randomised items and prices from a data table.

  5. Damage indicator that shows the direction of the source of damage.

  6. Collecting many items rapidly adds pop-ups to a queue so that all are legible.

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