The Current (TBA 2025)
About
I joined this project as a Gameplay Programmer and was quickly given the responsibility to write the code that implemented a wide array of Card Effects which are crucial to the core gameplay.
Additionally, I was given the reins to design and implement several Cards / Card effects of my own which would exhibit the unique positioning aspects of the grid-based gameplay.
My Programming and Design skills contributed to core features such as:
Grid Based Card Battles: Players have to think about card synergies in terms of positioning (on the Grid) and sequencing (creating card 'Chains')
Rougelite inspired Deck Building: Long term gameplay decisions that evolve over the run-based structure.
Project Info
Role:
Gameplay Programmer / Game Designer
Time Frame:
6 Months
Team Size:
8-10
Tools Used:
Unity, C#, Visual Studio, Google Sheets, N Crunch
Trailer
Introduction
This was the first video game I have worked on professionally and it served as a great introduction into the industry. I was fortunate enough to be able to take technical ownership of a key part of the gameplay (Card Effects) and write code that needed to seamlessly integrate with an existing, complex code-base which heavily relied on the Clean Architecture programming design pattern.
In addition to the more technically challenging aspects of the Card Effects, I also contributed to some improvements to the gameplay UI and 'juice' in the interface using both C# scripting and Unity tools such as the Animator.
Seeing my technical efforts and some of my own ideas and card designs be a key part of a project's Alpha release was hugely rewarding and taught me a lot about scalable and modular architecture as a strong foundation in video game development.
Description of 'The Current':
The game blends deck-building mechanics with RPG and Roguelike elements in a decision-rich, sci-fi storyworld. The deck-building elements unlock a wide array of options for gameplay, offering a dynamic and ever-evolving combat experience that encourages experimentation and careful planning.
Key Features
Card Design and Effects
A great example of one of my contributions is the 'Prism' card. I designed the mechanical concept for the card myself along with the name, and then went on to implement the underlying code for the Card Effect.
The card's unique mechanic allows it to mirror, or create copies of surrounding cards in the playing grid - thus allowing the player to create temporary duplicates of their favorite and powerful cards and chain them together to unleash lethal combos!
This particular effect makes this card a late-stage, extremely powerful addition to the player's deck. Also, the effect on a technical level also had the potential to be quite unwieldy! With the potential for many edge cases of continual duplication creating feedback loops of mirroring. All of this meant that careful consideration and iteration was required in the code to protect against these edge cases while still delivering the satisfying gameplay.
The script which defines the Mirroring effect is below with detailed commenting to indicate the steps of the algorithm. Though this project was my first time working within a Clean Architecture code-base, I quickly grasped the key concepts such as Entities (Cards, Grids, and Stats) and found it to be very robust and flexible system.
UI and Visual Communication
At a later stage in the game's development, the studio conducted some external playtesting to gather feedback on player experience and to gauge how well player's grasp the gameplay. From these sessions, several user experience issues were identified with the flow and the clarity of the Card Battling sequences. I worked closely with the Game Director and Lead Designer to come up with low-cost improvements to the UI that could improve visual communication.
The result are 3 elements that are shown in the GIF below:
Turn Prompts: Previously, players were confused when it was their turn and when it was the Enemy's turn and so these snappy but clear turn prompts helped to cue them.
Damage Popups: Previously, players could only discern the ultimate damage they dealt or received by observing the health bar which is not always easy to see. We added Damage popups to create a much clearer and more satisfying bit of instant feedback.
Targe Reticule Punch Animations: Though subtle, the punch animations on the Enemies' target reticules cue the player that that they are able to execute their Card Chain as soon as they have made one. Previously, this was a point in the battles that several playtesters got confused by and this nudging helped to guide the action.
Above all, my work on The Current taught me how a full-scale game development pipeline functions and allowed me to meaningfully contribute to several areas of the process. My work on the Card Effects in particular gave me the chance to 'own' a feature from Design, through Technical Implementation, and then see and polish the Result.
The latter work on the project also introduced me to how development cycles respond to playtesting and feedback in order to tighten areas of the game experience that are lacking.
What I Learned
