top of page

CtrlShift

Capstone Project, University of California Santa Cruz

"CtrlShift" is an asymmetric local co-op game, where one player assumes the role of the hacker and uses the PC, while the other player takes on the role of Agent, wearing the VR headset. The game is made for the HTC Vive, and room scale game play, using Unreal Engine 4.

​

Communication is key in the game, as each player has a different view and experience of the game. We wanted to create an experience with VR that was not solitary, as well as making use of the PC needed to run a VR game. But most of all, we wanted a tactical, fun "1980's vision of the future" co-op, where each role would be just as important as the other, no matter how different they were.

Gif1_HighQual.gif

We developed the game over the course of eight months, including a pre-production phase, to publication on itch.io, and we learned a lot during that time. My roles on this project were Producer, Development Director, and Level Designer. My tasks consisted of:

​

  • Tempering large changes in design and scope creep during the production phase. 

  • Planning for playtests utilizing different groups of testers (including teams, peers, target audience and show case attendees), taking into consideration production schedules and milestones, goal and scope of said test (i.e. particular feature, level or bug fix verification, gathering method, analysis and presenting findings and recommendations.

  • Social media posts, outreach to organizers of local show cases for demo and playtesting. 

  • Level design and building, testing and revising levels. Levels had to be experienced from two very different points of view; top down with live data, a video feed from surveillance cameras placed in the level, and VR player icon, as well as from “within” by the VR player, and designed for room scale functionality.

  • In charge of project schedule, utilizing 2 week sprints. 

  • Leading daily Scrum meetings with the core team. Communication with external art and audio teams, such as scheduling meetups, deadlines, progress checks, and expectations.

​

The game was developed in tight collaboration with an external student art team from SJSU, consisting of Rodney Balajadia, Garrett Gerberding, Yuki Wong and Mark Garma, as well as an external student audio team from Academy of Arts, consisting of Brendan Wolf and Daniel Helling. The UCSC core development team consisted of myself, Dylan Faust, Ashkan Nourkhalaj, Lingyi Qu and Zejun Yuan. 

​

​

​

If you would like to visit the CtrlShift website, please go to:    http://www.ctrlshiftgame.com

If you would like to play the demo, it is available at:    https://the-hive.itch.io/ctrlshift-demo

​

Award:

https://venturebeat.com/2018/03/23/intel-university-names-the-top-college-game-projects-at-gdc-2018/

​

Mentions:

https://video.arstechnica.com/watch/all-things-gaming-ars-technica-s-editors-picks-for-the-best-of-e3
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/06/e3-2017s-brightest-indie-games-cataloged-in-words-and-video/
https://www.mediaindieexchange.com/games/ctrlshift/
http://n4g.com/news/2075294/indie-game-ctrlshift-brings-asymmetrical-multiplayer-vr-to-the-table-concealed-gaming

bottom of page