Yokai Smash is a fast-paced beat-'em-up game where the player must fight off waves of supernatural enemies. You play as an Oni warrior, fighting against endless waves of Yokai using one of three weapons. Rack up points by slaying the yokai and grow stronger by collecting powerups while trying to stay alive.

My first game project made at AIE. This project was also my first experience working in a team environment, which introduced me to collaborative development and version control workflows. My main responsibility was developing the player movement and combat systems. Because the game uses an isometric camera, movement needed to feel natural relative to the camera’s angle while still allowing the player to position themselves precisely during combat.

A major part of the project was creating the weapon hit detection system. Since combat relied on melee attacks, it was important that hits felt accurate and responsive. A simple collision check wasn’t reliable enough because fast weapon swings could pass through enemies between frames. To solve this, I placed multiple detection points along the weapon. During each frame, I performed raycasts from the position of these points in the previous frame to their position in the current frame. This allowed the system to detect collisions that might otherwise be missed due to fast movement, ensuring that attacks consistently registered when the weapon passed through an enemy.

Beyond the technical work, this project was an important step in learning how to develop games as part of a team. This was my first time using Git in a team environment, which gave me experience with branching, merging changes, and coordinating development without disrupting other team members’ work.

Labyrinthian is a first person horror-pursuit game where the player must navigate a labyrinth while being hunted by a Minotaur. Theseus, the great hero of Athens, has entered the fabled Labyrinth to slay the Minotaur, but has not returned. You play as Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, following Theseus into the depths of the Labyrinth, and the nightmare that awaits within.

My second game project made at AIE. In this project I was responsible for the player movement and stamina system, implementing AI navigation and integrating the Minotaur’s animations with gameplay.

A large part of the work was building the Minotaur’s AI using a state-based system. The creature needed to patrol the maze in a way that felt natural while still keeping pressure on the player. I used a node-based navigation system where patrol points were scattered throughout the map. Early on, the Minotaur would sometimes wander too far from the player, which made encounters rare and reduced tension. To solve this, I limited the Minotaur’s patrol to nodes that were within a certain range of the player. This kept it active in the same area as the player and ensured it remained a constant threat.

Another key part of the AI was designing the Minotaur’s chase behaviour. When the Minotaur detected the player, it needed to pursue them while giving the player a chance to escape. I implemented a system that created a temporary node at the player’s position when they were detected. Each of these nodes had a duration value, and the Minotaur would move toward the node with the highest remaining duration. If the player managed to break line of sight, the Minotaur would move to the player’s last known location and search the area.

Working on Labyrinthian helped me develop a stronger understanding of AI navigation, structuring behaviour with state machines, and integrating animations with gameplay systems. The project also improved my problem-solving skills and gave me practical experience designing systems that influence player tension and engagement within the game.