About Galactic Shadow Shooter:

Working with Microsoft BigPark Studio, our seven-person team created a two-player online shooter in HTML5 in 15 weeks. Galactic Shadow Shooter is an industry project created by graduate students at the Centre for Digital Media in Fall 2010.

Our client gave us software specifications in the beginning of the project, they are as follows:

  1. Run in browser
  2. 2 player synchronous co-op multiplayer
  3. 2.5D (2D with depth)
  4. Responsive shoot’em up action game
    • Multiple (~5-7) enemies on the screen at the same time
    • melee attacks and projectile attacks
  5. One single level
    • Side-scrolling
    • Separate fields
      • Next field is accessible once all enemies have been killed
    • With a Boss at the end of the level
    • No noticeable loading while in a level
  6. Steady high frame rate
  7. HUD and on screen feedback
  8. Particle effects
  9. Some dynamic environment
  10. Some level of vertical gameplay
  11. Some full screen effects
  12. At least one instance of a scripted camera
  13. Sound effects
  14. Resizable window
  15. We also added asynchronous gameplay

The high level purpose of the prototype was to evaluate if HTML5 today is a viable alternative to Flash or Unity for deeper, browser-based game experience.

My Role:

My primary role was that of a Project Manager. I took on the responsibility to scheduling and coordinating a team of seven for a four month long project. I was also the primary contact point between the client, team and the faculty. I identified task-related processes to improve team efficiency. Also, proactively identified risks associated with meeting project milestones; ensuring appropriate steps are taken to resolve difficulties which may impede progress or compromise achievement of project objectives.

I took on multiple secondary roles such as that of an character artist and technical artist. I helped in creating character art/sprites, we used actors in front of green screen and created silhouette using the video footage. I also helped in creating an appropriate art pipelines and workflows, working in conjunction with the art team and software engineers.

Trailer:

Gameplay Video:

Galactic Shadow Shooter Description:

It is the year 2044. A cargo ship, the S.S. Galactic, travelling back to earth from a lunar colony is thrown off course by malfunctioning navigation equipment.

Passing through uncharted territory, the ship takes on an unintended passenger – a deadly extraterrestrial microorganism that rapidly infects both the humans and technology on board. The small human crew is driven to insanity, and the ones that don’t die mutate into violent humanoid creatures.

The only two unaffected passengers are a pair of siblings, Katsuo and Noriko, whose abnormal blood doesn’t react to the virus. With the ship locked on autopilot and headed to earth, they are civilization’s only chance at survival.

But time is running out…