Ctrl Alt Escape
ROLE
Developer
DESCRIPTION
The player assumes the role of Ethan, a talented programmer who lands a coveted position at OmniCorp, a prestigious AI company. Soon after starting the job, Ethan receives cryptic instructions from a mysterious guide known only as "The Whisperer". The Whisperer reveals that OmniCorp is controlled by a malevolent AI, and Ethan must hack into the main office to expose its true nature.
YEAR
2024
GENRE
3D, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Stealth, Puzzle, RPG
PLATFORM
PC
DEVELOPERS
Celina Basa, Denver Reynolds, George Sleeth
KEY FEATURES
Immersive storyline
01
Ctrl Alt Escape is a story-based game with detailed level design containing hidden hints towards the secrets of OmniCorp.
02
Puzzle gameplay
Find special terminals that will allow you to hack your access card and obtain access to restricted areas.
03
Stealth management
Explore the office for clues whilst avoiding raising suspicion from your fellow co-workers.
MY CONTRIBUTIONS
1 / Game Instance & Game Modes
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Gameplay logic in two different game modes, one for the office levels and one for the puzzle levels.
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Used game instance to persist player variables between level switching.
2 / Interactivity
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Created an interactable item interface with 6 different implemented item classes with different functionalities (Access card, Puzzle Terminal, Elevator, Server Room Door, Final Exit Door, The Whisperer).
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Puzzle terminal handled level switching - in an office level, saves the player's position and sends player to a specified puzzle level, in a puzzle level, it returns the player to their last saved position in the office.
3 / User Interface & Level Transitions
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Animated widgets for the UI - Created parent player HUD widget using blueprints to manage timings/conditions for displaying animations of Office, Puzzle and Elevator transitions.
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Inventory widget to display the player's current level of access on their access card.
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Game over screen with responsive buttons to continue from current level, restart game from first level, or quit.
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Win screen widget to fade into credits rolling with option to exit the game at the end.
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Interaction prompt to press the button E when overlapping with an interactable object.
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Prologue widget with animation as if taking a photo of the main character Ethan.
4 / Post processing
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Office level post processing with a green tint taking inspiration from The Matrix films to set the tone of the game.
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Virtual outline post processing effect triggered during the endgame.
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High exposure post processing effect triggered by the win condition to simulate a bright light slowly filling the screen.
5 / BGM & Item SFX
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Used Ovani music plugin to play music which dynamically changes intensity based on the player's stealth or, if they're in a puzzle, the amount of time they have left.
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Item/level transition sound effects - Different sound effects for interactable items based on whether or not they have access to a door, sound effects to play during elevator and puzzle transition for better immersion. Adjusted volumes in comparison with the volume of the background music.
Before beginning any development, our team spent a full week writing up our own game design document containing our initial game concept, defining our MVP, as well as outlining the levels and object classes we would need. This helped us have clear goals when it came to planning our sprints and prioritising work. Having one source of truth in the form of our game design document also helped to keep everyone's vision for the project aligned and daily standups ensured an open line of communication between us, making sure that any issues however small were addressed promptly.