- Our Objective -

Project RAILGUN was a Unreal Engine 5 project developed during my studies at Cal State East Bay as part of the Spring 2025 Semester in collaboration with Katelyn Ang, Emmet Beebe Foley, and Yuhtoku Fujikake. Given a loose goal of a game project to last at least five minutes, we settled on creating a fast-paced first-person shooter prototype centered around high-speed movement and a single, powerful “Railgun” weapon. The objective was to design a gameplay loop that rewarded accuracy, momentum, and precision, delivering a tight and skill-driven experience. This project represented a significant evolution from my earlier work, transitioning from experimental mechanics to a more structured and cohesive game experience.

- Responsibilities -

As lead programmer and a primary creative contributor, I handled core gameplay implementation and helped guide the project’s overall vision.

• - Implemented core mechanics such as combat flow, systems design, and managed master version
• - Built internal tools to streamline encounter creation
• - Led gameplay direction during concepting and iteration phases
• - Contributed to creative direction, including drawing in inspirations of B-Movie Horror
• - Helped process prototype testing and integrated player feedback

- The Process -

To bring the concept to life, I began by prototyping in Unreal Engine using the First-Person Template as a foundation, experimenting with the gamefeel before committing to design documentation outlining later systems. I gave immense focus to our central mechanic early on, the Railgun itself—a one-hit-kill weapon designed to encourage precision and constant motion. The Railgun’s reload system was tied to accuracy, rewarding players who landed shots with faster recharge times, while additionally applying heavy 'knockback' to the player in the air. To achieve the highest mobility, is to open the risk of losing your primary offensive tool for longer, unless you 'chain' together from enemy to enemy, while simply helping to sell the power of the weapon. In parallel, I designed the dash system to be simple and intuitive, keeping it limited to eight directions for consistency and control. Vertical dashing was initially tested but ultimately removed to preserve clarity and maintain balance in player navigation to not render the 'Railgun Jump' redundant.

Playtesting in April 2025 provided valuable feedback on level readability, difficulty, and player control. One key adjustment that emerged was the addition of a very short ranged punch, with players desire for one causing me to readdress our initial vision. In testing, while seemingly just a fallback option, it opened space for high skill execution when combined with movement. An additional element of tuning applied after testers found the melee enemies punishing was adding a telegraphed wind-up before their attacks to maintain challenge without sacrificing fairness.

From a technical standpoint, one of the most significant improvements came from overhauling the enemy spawning system. The original version relied on hardcoded blueprints for each encounter, which made design iteration slow and cumbersome. I replaced this with a modular spawn node and boundary setup, complete with adjustable parameters accessible through dropdown menus. This redesign reduced iteration time dramatically, allowing me to tweak encounters and pacing in seconds instead of minutes.

Display of new internal spawning system tool.

The project concluded with a rebuilt level that featured an improved encounter flow and refinements to player movement. Some notable work from my colleagues include Foley's illustrations, Fujikake's processing of playtests, and Katelyn Ang's material work. Through this process, Project RAILGUN developed into a project of continual reflection at Cal State East Bay. This proved one of my more extensive periods of iterative design, continually working from the feedback of testing to ultimately drive the final version forward. In a way, it felt like a living project by the end where the demands of existing players melted into new content design.

Why spawn enemies when they expect it ALL the time?

In reflection upon this project, I still adore the feel of the "Railjump", working well beyond initial expectation for how cleanly it offered a trade of offensive to burst movement. It is to me what sets this Railgun apart from the others you've seen in games. When considering what I wish to have done better, there is a heavy reliance upon stock animations within Unreal's Template I could have operated to touch up.

Credit for External Resources used in Project

- Effects such as dashing, double jumping, damage, were sourced from Pixabay. The creators attributed are: freesound_community: Electric Shock, Energy Gun, Gamma Laser, Gas Leak, Woosh, Ough. RescopicSound: Impact

- The music that plays in all levels are drawn from the band Hollywood Burns, sampling the following songs:

A Moment of Bliss

Black Saucers

Californian Nightmare

Silent Fortress

Revenge of the Black Saucers

Closing Titles

- The Railgun Model was created by CalWhite on sketchfab https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/halo-railgun-redesigned-ddb78bd428fa4be7a8b3613be5480192