Bartek Biszkont - Tiny Machines

Tiny Machines is a final year project for my Games Development course at NUA. The idea for the game first started as a prototype for a 2 week code test in year 2. This time, the project was developed within 8 weeks which included planning/designing, creating assets, developing and playtesting.

The game brings a new twist to the classic "water pipe" puzzle game genre. Rather than set on a grid, each "tile" is connected via spline paths that the lasers travel along to allow for communication between machines to happen.

Players win by fulfilling each input of all goal machines in the level.

Highlights:
Splines
Game State
Undo/Redo System
Camera
C++ & Blueprint Hybrid Workflow

Software:
Unreal Engine 4
Blender
Photoshop
Substance Painter
Visual Studio & Rider

Footage of the 2-week prototype version of the game.

Development view of Tiny Machines.

Modular Machines: Each machine is comprised of input and output components, and potentially a centre piece too, in this case, a battery.
The cable components then connect the pieces together for them to send or receive signals.

Each colour in the game has an unique pattern so that players who have difficulty telling colours apart (e.g. colourblindness) have additional information to help. The chosen colours and patterns are in a datatable and not hardcoded, so it is possible to make this a customisable feature in the future.

The material which is responsible for displaying colours on machine parts is able to smoothly transition two colours together, while both having their own unique patterns. On the other hand, cables, although rare, can display any number of colours travelling within them.

The paths that connect platforms or junctions together are splines, which allow for cool road-like designs. The lasers actors that fly along the paths are Niagara particles with a ribbon attached.

Some levels require large amounts of platforms. The super base class specialises in just that. It automatically generates regular platforms inside it and sets up paths for each through multiple sets.

The player is able to rotate the camera view and also switch to a top-down view if this helps display the level's elements better. As this happens, the inventory icons of each machine update to keep up with the current view.