Lunarnauts
Overview
Lunarnauts is a 2d sci-fi management game where you are tasked with guiding a group of rowdy apes to the moon. The game features intricate systems that work in tandem with one another to provide the player with a challenging experience. A wacky management game, players will have to manage the different resources abord the ship to keep the apes calm. If the monkeys lack a certain resource, they will go bannas and begin to destroy the ship.
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The game was made using the Unity Game Engine.I was responsible for creating the characters as well as their animations. I also helped to design some of the systems of the game as well as provided my voice for the monkeys. I used photoshop for the majority of my work.
Responsibilities
Game Design
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Conceptualized the main idea of game
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Came up with each ape's perks​
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Designed how the systems would work together
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Art Design
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Designed the general look of the ape
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Animated each of the ape's animations
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implemented the apes into Unity Game Engine
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Art Design
When deciding on an art style for Lunarnauts, I knew that our apes needed to be cute and easily recognizable in our management game. We took references from games such as Kirby and Rayman, as they fit the goal that we had in mind.
Due to this, our apes featured a pudgy round body as well as wet and expressive eyes to give them a look of softness and cuteness. I also made the decision to make their limbs disjointed. Animation would be easier as we did not have to account for the position of the joints while they moved around.
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The apes also had to be colour coded so that they would stand out from each other. We based their colours off fictional and existing apes. White for the yeti, brown for a chimp and black for the gorilla. We also created a blue holographic ape that would serve as the ship's ai and tell the player important messages during the course of the game.
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My work was done primarily on photoshop, where I would animate the apes and then exported the frames onto Figma.
System Design
I also had a hand in designing the systems of the game. The ship features 6 rooms, each vital to keeping the ship running. They either generate resources or aid in propelling the ship forward.
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The crew members are also part of a system. Each ape has a stamina and sanity meter that depletes whenever they perform tasks around the ship. In order to replenish their energy, apes can go to the rest room to recharge by eating bananas and regain their sanity by making a visit to the therapy room. If an ape loses their sanity, they will begin damaging the room they are in and deprive the ship of a vital resource.
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I also provided the suggestion that each ape should provide a specific bonus when it works in a certain room. This gives the player an optimum solution when they play the game as they exploit the strengths and weaknesses of each ape.
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Because the systems of the ship are tied together, disrupting the balance will put the player in a difficult position. As a result, it is vital for the player to learn how to manage their apes carefully. If they understand how each system works, they will be able to reach the moon in no time.
