Action-Puzzle Platformer | Indie Development Project
Project Overview
RoBo: The Allectric Idventurer is an action-puzzle platformer where players control RoBo, a toy robot, accompanied by Robin’s spirit as a witty companion.
The journey focuses on energy management — building tools, solving puzzles, and battling the steampunk gang and its bosses.
The journey focuses on energy management — building tools, solving puzzles, and battling the steampunk gang and its bosses.
My Roles:
Game Designer: Designed mechanics, progression systems, and AI behaviors.
Level Designer: Designed all gameplay levels from initial gray box layouts to polished final spaces.
Programmer: Implemented gameplay mechanics and created custom shaders using Unreal Engine's Blueprint and Material Editor systems
Designing Core Gameplay Systems
I was responsible for designing several of the game's key systems, including:
Energy Management: Core to all interactions; players must manage a shared resource between movement, puzzle solving, and combat.
Tool and Attachment Progression: Players gradually unlock new tools that modify RoBo's abilities, encouraging experimentation and layered puzzle solutions.
Enemy AI Behaviors: Designed simple but strategic enemy patterns that interact with environmental mechanics.
Tool and Attachment Progression: Players gradually unlock new tools that modify RoBo's abilities, encouraging experimentation and layered puzzle solutions.
Enemy AI Behaviors: Designed simple but strategic enemy patterns that interact with environmental mechanics.
All systems were focused on reinforcing player creativity and encouraging careful resource planning.
Level Design Approach
Every level began with a gray box layout focusing on:
* Introducing a new tool or energy mechanic.
* Creating safe spaces for players to experiment.
* Layering challenges progressively as mastery developed.
* Creating safe spaces for players to experiment.
* Layering challenges progressively as mastery developed.
Level Design Focus:
* Early levels introduced single tools with low pressure.
* Later levels combined multiple tools and environmental challenges.
* Boss arenas forced players to adapt their toolsets creatively under combat stress.
* Later levels combined multiple tools and environmental challenges.
* Boss arenas forced players to adapt their toolsets creatively under combat stress.
The levels were designed to reward experimentation, using the environment itself as a puzzle space rather than relying only on explicit objectives.
Programming Contributions
In addition to design, I served as a primary gameplay programmer, focusing on:
Mechanic Implementation: Built core gameplay systems using Unreal’s Blueprints.
Custom Smart Shaders: Developed specialized shaders in Unreal’s Material Editor to visually communicate mechanics (such as energy fields, damage states, or puzzle activations).
Tool Attachments: Programmed modular systems that allowed RoBo to swap tools dynamically during gameplay.
My programming work helped ensure that both gameplay systems and their visual feedback were tightly connected and easy to iterate on.
Achievements
