Booty Hunters
Platform: Windows PC
Engine: Unity
Language: C#
Tools Used: Unity Development Kit, Aseprite, BandLab, Audacity
Duration: 1 week (2022)
Team Size: 3
Roles: Initial Concepting & Design, 2D Art, Audio (Music & SFX)
Booty Hunters was a game jam project I helped develop during the first year of university. The game is a 2D strategy adventure game consisting of four treasure-map themed levels. In these levels, the player must sail the sea in a pirate ship, searching for a hidden treasure chest.
The ship has a limited amount of supplies, with each action costing some supplies to perform (i.e. moving a space, digging for treasure, inspecting a tile). Across the map are different events the player can interact with, such as shipwrecks and islands for supplies and treasure hints respectively, and pirates, whirlpools and other hazards that the player must best in a quick challenge to keep their own supplies.
Available Here: https://josiah-hendy.itch.io/booty-hunters
My contributions to the design of the game largely took place at the beginning of the jam period. I helped establish several core aspects of the project, such as the theming of the play space around a pirate map, and the emphasis on resource management to provide the strategic challenge.
Out of the three of us working on the game, I spearheaded the art and audio pipelines, creating all assets needed for the game. Given the tight constraints of a game jam project, Booty Hunters helped display my capability to produce strong work under pressure. I am still fond of my pixel art work during the jam, and enjoy the cohesion brought about by the consistent nautical theming, such as the "world map" closely resembling a treasure map with a dotted line and compass.
My work on the audio of the jam game also supported the overall aesthetic theming; the background music I produced was an energetic chiptune sea shanty, accentuating the pixel art aesthetic and adventurous feel of the project.
While still rudimentary due to its game jam project status, Booty Hunters' core concept of an old-school-feeling pirate strategy game has an undeniable charm to it that I still find myself drawn to. I thoroughly enjoyed my time working on it and helping to distil its treasure map aesthetic, as well as improving my own ability to perform under tight time pressure.
