The Project
Sustainacity is a unique superhero game developed in Unreal Engine 5 with a core theme of sustainability. Designed during my third year of college, a third-year college project where the research and documentation mattered as much as the game itself.
You play as a superhero flying through a procedurally generated low-poly city, tasked with defending it from incoming asteroids using laser-eye abilities. The project combines smooth flight mechanics with arcade-style defence gameplay.
Research
My dissertation; "How do you maintain engagement in a simulation game?"; was the starting point for this project. It looked at how games keep players interested, mostly through difficulty and immersion.
Dynamic Difficulty
Kristan et al.
Adjusting the challenge while you play, based on how you're doing; hard enough to stay interesting, never so hard it gets frustrating.
Autotelic Personality
Flow Psychology
Some players are motivated by the activity itself rather than rewards. The design tries to reward curiosity and mastery, not just points.
Immersion
Michailidis et al.
If the world feels believable, players care about protecting it; which is the whole hook of the game.
How It Was Built
Core Systems
Although the marking focus was documentation, the prototype is fully playable. The procedural city generation ensures a unique environment for every playthrough, while the flight controller provides a satisfying sense of movement.
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Procedural City WFC algorithm generates unique low-poly layouts.
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Flight Mechanics Smooth superhero flight controls.
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Laser Combat Auto-aim assist for destroying asteroids.
Tools & Tech
Unreal Engine 5
Utilized Blueprints for rapid prototyping of simulation logic and the UI system.
Blender
Created a cohesive Low Poly art style to allow for large-scale city rendering without performance hits.
C++ / Blueprints
Hybrid workflow using C++ for core systems performance and Blueprints for rapid gameplay iteration.
Canva
Used for planning layouts, presentation slides, and visual documentation.
Looking Back
What Went Well
- Documentation: Kept thorough records of development over several months.
- Implementation: Clean Blueprint and animation work kept development moving.
- Playtesting: Players confirmed the game was genuinely fun, not just functional.
Areas for Improvement
- Graphics: The buildings could look better and the city could be bigger.
- Tuning: The mechanics and difficulty needed more polish.
Documentation
Detailed design documents and presentations created during development.
Presentation Slides
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