Dawn of Survival: Shooter Game
2024.04-2024.09
Overview
The "Shooter Game" is a side gameplay inspired by UA videos commonly seen on platforms like YouTube. In this feature, players control a character that automatically moves and shoots, sliding across the screen to dodge obstacles, collect power-ups, and destroy anything blocking the way. Players can choose between buff doors that grant attribute boosts or summon a sub-minion that follows and fights alongside them, adding strategic depth to the experience. This side game appears only in the early stages of the game to engage new players and introduce them to the core gameplay elements.
Objective
The main goal of the "Shooter Game" was to attract new players within the first few days, enhance player retention, and reduce user acquisition costs. The attributes and weapons featured in this game are linked to the player’s main heroes, ensuring a seamless transition from this side game to the primary world map gameplay.
Role: Game Developer
Role:
As the sole developer of this feature, I was responsible for creating the entire base architecture, developing all mechanics, and implementing gameplay elements. I worked closely with the designer to fulfill all requests, including a full set of level editors for designer use, 4 game modes, 30+ different level items, 20+ enemies, 3 unique bosses with their own attacks and behaviors, and 3 main weapons (Laser, Shotgun, Missiles), among other features.
1. Concept & Research
Collaborated closely with the designer to fully understand the vision of the "Shooter Game" and ensure alignment with its purpose as an introductory side feature for player onboarding.
Studied user acquisition (UA) techniques to incorporate gameplay elements that would attract new players while enhancing retention.
2. Design
Developed a user-friendly control system where the player moves by sliding the character across the screen, designed to be both engaging and easy for new players to grasp.
Integrated power-ups and debuffs, such as buffs from blue doors and debuffs from red doors, creating a balanced yet strategic gameplay experience.
3. Implementation
Built the entire gameplay architecture, including the automatic movement and shooting mechanics, power-up collections, enemy behaviour state machines, .
Implemented object interactions, ensuring smooth transitions between different gameplay stages and consistent player progression.
Collaborated closely with the designer, delivering all requested items and gameplay elements within a 4-month development period.
4. Optimization
Utilized profiling tools and custom scripts to optimize performance, addressing memory leaks and enhancing stability, especially on older mobile devices.
5. Testing
Conducted playtesting to ensure that the automatic movement, shooting mechanics, and door interactions worked smoothly and provided a fluid player experience.
Results
The "Shooter Game" successfully fulfilled its role as an introductory feature, contributing to a 40% reduction in advertising costs and a 20% increase in early game player retention. The seamless transition from this side gameplay to the main world map helped new players familiarize themselves with key mechanics, setting the stage for long-term engagement.
Takeaways
This project allowed me to hone my skills in both front-end game development and feature design. I gained valuable experience in working independently to create a complex game feature while also collaborating with a designer. Additionally, I improved my abilities in performance optimization and profiling, which significantly enhanced the user experience on older mobile devices.