Dimensional Survivors 3D!

What is this??

My GDTV 2023 entry and third time doing these fun GDTV game jams...  I'd determined to finally make a 3D game this year so was mildly amused that the 'life in two dimensions' theme won (just kidding, I voted for it).

The Game

An FPS interpretation of pseudo-idle games like Vampire Survivors at least in the sense that you only directly control movement and not the attacks. I wondered how a 3D version of that might play out. That's a partial link to the theme of 'life in two dimensions': attempting a traditionally 2D genre in a 3D context. Okay, an inversion of the theme... Getting tons of monsters on the screen proved to be a bit of an optimisation challenge.

Controls and tenuous link to the theme

• Hold down the shift key to enter a dimensional wormhole!
  • During this time you are invincible and move at 2.5x speed.
  • Your dimensional travel is limited however it will recharge over time.
• Otherwise run around with WSAD, blast enemies, collect XP balls and upgrade your arsenal and player's stats.
• P or TAB to pause the game.

Gameplay Gif

Notes

Only had two days to work on this, so compared to my previous submissions it's lacking a little polish and juice, but I think there's a germ of an exciting 3D survival Shooter in here somewhere.

• Sound effects are perfunctory, but hopefully aren't too annoying.
• I didn't have time to really play test end-to-end so please try and let me know if the balance is way off.
• Should work with a controller although not tested.
• Please let me know how the performance is. I've erred on the side of not spawning too many monsters compared to how things were yesterday...
• I'd intended to explore the 'dimensional' wormhole concept more, something like the effect of Frodo putting on the ring of power. Alas game loop came first!
• As I added in long range shooter enemies, the game has turned out not very idle at all as you'll be frantically dodging and dimensional wormholing away (tip: and through!) from the enemy hordes.
  • ...I at least made the scariest monster unable to hit the broad side of a barn (most shots will pass over your head, just don't jump!)

Known Bugs

1. WebGL camera weirdness (gradually aiming down) or not allowing movement.
   1. Workaround: browser refresh seems to sort it. Seems Firefox specific.
2. Slowdown when first new enemy type is spawned - likely an object pooling issue: I setup each pool on first spawn, should be changed to an upfront setup.

Thanks

• To family for putting up with me being not-very-present for the 48h before the deadline.
• To everyone that reviews my game and gives feedback.
• To everyone that participated in this jam. It's a top learning experience and the time limit means it fits with day job and other responsibilities.

Credits

Models:

Dungeon Mason RPG Monster Duo | https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/characters/creatures/rpg-monster-duo-pb...
Dungeon Mason RPG Monster Buddy | https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/characters/creatures/rpg-monster-buddy-...

Music:
Race The Sun | Scott Buckley | www.scottbuckley.com.au - Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

Other:
Unity Tutorial Assets / Materials

Post Jam Bugfixes

• Remove annoying hiss sound when picking up blaster
• Fix issues with starting new game after losing / wining - hurrah! (fix was to de-register listener on UpgradeMenu's OnDestroy method...)
• Some minor UI QoL changes.
• XP bar becomes inaccurate at higher levels.
  
• Leveling up during the win transition locks the game.
• Fix Invincibility feature in the pause menu.