What Remains of Me
About
What Remains of Me is a 2D Metroidvania where the player takes the role of a robot with no memories navigating a war-torn world between a conflict of robots and humans. The robot, Atlas, utilizes a wire to navigate the world, whether that be through platforming, operating machines, or fending off enemy virus-inflicted robots. Through their interaction with the world, Atlas may also be infected with virus which will change their interactions with other NPCs.
This game is the first project being developed by the Games@Northeastern:Studio as a collaboration between multiple semesters of students, having as many as 60 students working concurrently and 200 total students over the game’s lifespan.
Role: Project Manager, Programmer
Time on Project: May 2021 - August 2022
Engine/Language: Unity | C#
Platforms: PC
Contributions
Implemented A* pathfinding algorithm to enable enemies to track the player
Developed behavior tree system for enemy AI to implement behavior dependent on vision, player proximity, and enemy design
Created and managed the studio Github repository’s feature branches
Led project management of our student-driven studio to ensure efficient development and organization
Utilized Agile management in Trello to organize development efforts and track progress
Wrote sprint summaries at the end of each sprint to organize all work done by the studio
Designed initial team structure of the studio to organize related work efforts by other studio members
Lessons
The Games@Northeastern:Studio began in May of 2021 with the intention of giving students hands-on experience in working in and coordinating amongst large groups. I was a part of the initial efforts of the studio and worked in it for a bit over a year, and while my initial intention was to be a programmer on the project, my commitment and seniority in the studio had made me fit to help organize the studio as well during my time there.
Our professor that led the studio initially had a hands-off approach to management, having us students figure out how to organize ourselves with some assistance when asked. Due to this, we struggled in the beginning to work effectively as a large team. Through our mistakes, however, we were able to communicate effectively about what we needed in order to succeed as a studio and put in the proper infrastructure where necessary. Working on this project helped me learn how to effectively communicate in a large group, how to manage the work of a team, as well as listen to and help solve team members’ problems.
