Extrimus

a George Mason University
Class Team Project

Platform:

PC

Engine:

Unity

Languages Used:

English

Tools Used:

Photoshop 2022, WacomTablet, MS Word, Unity

Duration:

6 months

Completion:

May, 2023

Team Size:

9

Role(s):

Level Design Lead (including Enemy and Item placement), Lore writing and dialog script, and QA Testing

Documents:

Game Design Document

One-Page Summary

Ten-Page Summary

Overview

Extrimus is a 2D pixel top-down dungeon crawler that follows you, a lone wanderer desperately trying to survive through a lightless apocalyptic Earth. You stay alive by utilizing a device nicknamed S.T.A.R.S. to light your path forward as you try to relight one of the long-extinguished Beacons of the world. Inside this Beacon is 7 floors of relentless mutated creatures scavenging what remains of the resources inside, and if you’re not careful, you might just become a meal for them.

The Beacon you are fighting through has a total of 7 floors, each with a unique theme and design and eventually reaching the top. The light source you are fighting so desperately to reach resides at the top of the Beacon, which means that you will have to fight through mutated monsters that continue to spawn in each room. This might seem hopeless. However, hope is not lost, as using the charge from your S.T.A.R.S. will relight a room, preventing further spawns. The lit rooms will persist when you eventually fall to the waves of enemies. By sacrificing one’s light, you are paving the way for your successors to succeed where the previous ones have failed.

Project Design Goals

  • Create a 2D Dungeon Crawler exploring different level themes and enemy variety.

  • Create a lighting system that changes based on player interaction throughout play loops.

  • Devise many enemy AIs that will react differently to player interactions and combat decisions.

  • In a limited time of 5-6 months, create a game whose cornerstone mechanic involves a special lighting system.

Trailer for Extrimus:

Quick highlight reel from the game is shown below: