Rogue Company Prototypes

C++, Unreal Engine 4

Pitch Presentation

As part of voluntary game jam, I solo developed several prototypes within Rogue Company, primarily using already existing assets. At the end of the game jam, we pitched our ideas in front of the studio. I also added my custom map and prototypes in a separate developer queue so that the studio could playtest what I created. This was definitely a memorable highlight during my time at Hi-Rez, as we all got to flex our creative muscles further. The design team also began integrating the vents in future projects (which unfortunately were canceled). Overall, I wish more studios held game jams :)

Below are some of the prototypes in action!

SUPER - Golden Gun

In our game, each hero has a Special Ability with a default time-based cooldown. I thought, why not have a skill-based ability, similar to Killstreaks in Call of Duty. So this SUPER Ability can only be fueld by how much cash you accumulate during a match. Killing players, reviving teammates, and completing objectives all reward the player with cash (so its not geared only towards slayers). At the time, I was heavily into Destiny and loved the 007 golden gun SUPER, so I implemented something similar.

Once activated, there is a charge-up animation which requires some time, so players had to be safe (or confident) to use it at the right time. Upon animation completion, the Golden Gun is rewarded which is a 3 round pistol that insta kills. You also get extra temporary armor, and a cool firey glow along with 3 visual pips to others know how much ammo was left. There is also a duration at the bottom and once time runs out, the SUPER is lost. Each subsequent SUPER would then require more cash than the previous. This was to prevent really skilled players from dominating and abusing the SUPER system.

Future ideas was to have unique SUPERs based on our class archetypes, where some heroes were Support-based (Ex: healing bubble shield), while others might be Intel-based (Ex: UAV radar). The goal was to feel unstoppable and powerful... if only for a short time.

TLDR: Skill-based abilities for all player types

GoldenGun_2.mp4

Traversal - Aerial Vents

What immediately stood out to me when I first played Rogue Company were the cool cosmetic fly-in sequences at the begining of a match. Players would hop on their cool wingsuit, hoverboard, or jetpack and quickly coordinate where they wanted to land. I felt this was under utilized... it was so COOL! Thus with that inspiration, I created these vents that acted as a traversal mechanic, launching players in to the air so that they could activate their kick-ass winsuits and get the drop on the other team. This was incredibly jank for my map, as the level had to be designed with this in mind. However, I left this as a tool for the level designers toolbox for potential new maps. Last I heard, the design team was really impressed and wanted to use it for future maps and projects.

TLDR: Traversal mechanic that utilizes cool wingsuits

Vents_Trim.mp4

Combat - Stagger System

Inspired by Gears of War, I created a system that rewarded players for choosing what bodypart to shoot at. Aiming at the torso/arms/head kills the player, while aiming for the legs will build up a stagger meter. This stagger was quicker to fill up than killing an enemy player. Once full, the enemy would be immediately in a downed (aka Downed But Not Out) state, making them unable to fight back. It was risky, as these quickly downed players could be easily revived (which in my Arena game mode only takes 1 second) and shooting at far range at downed players reduced the damage dealt (another caveat to my arena game mode). However, performing a melee on a downed enemy was an instant kill, encouraging close quarter finishes. In the end, I wanted to add more skill and depth to gunplay.

TLDR: Combat mechanic that reward pin-point accuracy by downing enemies quicker, but leaving them open for quick revives

Vent_Knee_Melee_Trim_Slomo.mp4

Weapon - Gravity Hammer

I've always loved physics-based mechanics and I especially loved the Gravity Hammer from Halo 3 (can you tell how much I love Halo 3 😁). This was another quick and easy modification to an already existing Sledgehammer weapon we had. Simply applied physics temporarily on initial impact, which would launch nearby enemies into the air. It would also apply AOE damage, requiring 2 hits to kill. Didn't have enough time for UI updates, so had a counter above the player to indicated how many charges were left. After 5 confirmed hits, the hammer would be out of juice. Also added a lunge distance to really give that power fantasy. Post fire recovery was really long, which is expected since this was going to be a power weapon on my arena map in the center of the line of contention.

TLDR: Physics based melee weapon

GravityHammer_1.mp4

Headshot Killing Blow

Since our game was a live service, there was always a push for players to spend more on cosmetics. I always admired the Halo 3 birthday skull, which would play confetti when landing a headshot on grunts (along with kids eerily screaming "Yay!"). Thus, I thought we could add these special visual effects to our game store for monetization... seemed simple enough. Sky was the limit, but I only had a few particle systems to play with :)

TLDR: Gun-play reward via cosmetic monetization

Headshot_VFX.mp4

Arena Map + Game Mode

Inspired by classic arena games (Quake, Halo, 007), I wanted to bring this game mode into Rogue Company's roster. This required a new game mode, called Arena. Weapons would be spawned on the map via weapon spawners that I created. So there was not shop or loadout, which you saw in our tactical game modes. Players would respawn after a timer, with longer respawns for objective modes to make their death more impactful to the the team. Equal starts for all players in terms of weapons (Heroes had their unique special abilities). Power weapons were along the center of the map (Rocket Launcher, Gravity Hammer), which had a longer spawn time once picked up. I also decreased the global damage done to players, as I really valued the longer TTK (Time To Kill) in arena shooters rather than the twitch shooting in most modern shooters. Getting downed had a quicker revive (from 5s to 1s) and damage dealt by shooting a downed enemy was far less. Performing a melee on a downed enemy was an instant kill. In terms of the map, I placed each weapon, power weapon, and gadget in places that felt right, such as the rocket launcher in the center, and sniper rifles on both team's towers. Overall, I felt it merged our hero-based shooter with classic arena mechanics... something that I truly haven't seen done before.

TLDR: Classic arena style game mode and map with a Rogue Company twist

Arena Flyby Weapon Spawns_Trim.mp4

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