SwapShot

A technical showcase of a 2D puzzle-platformer developed using the Unity game engine and C# language. The game implements a unique pet-swapping mechanic and demonstrates various game development skills, including game logic design, player input handling, object collision detection, and file I/O for tracking player progress.

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Technologies Used
• Game Mechanics
• Architecture
• Installation

Overview

This project is a 2D platformer focused on puzzle-solving through a custom-designed pet-swapping mechanic. The game was built using Unity, with all core game logic written in C#. It features multiple levels and includes a system that tracks and stores the player's best times for each level.

The game was developed as a technical project and published on Itch.io for feedback and improvement. It is currently in a non-commercial, unpolished state, with the emphasis placed on functionality over visual design.

Technologies Used

• Unity: Used for game engine functionalities, physics simulation, and level design.
• C#: Core language used to script game mechanics, player interactions, pet movement logic, and collision detection.
• MonoBehaviour Framework: Utilized to handle Unity’s component lifecycle, including the game loop (Update, FixedUpdate), collision events, and input handling.
• File I/O: Implemented in C# to read and write the player’s best run times in a persistent text file.
• Physics Engine: Unity's built-in 2D physics engine to handle player and pet interactions with the environment.

Game Mechanics

• Pet Swapping Mechanic:
  • Players are followed by a pet that they can shoot towards green boxes in the level.
  • Upon touching a green box, the pet and player swap positions, allowing for puzzle-solving.
  • This mechanic is implemented using collision detection (OnTriggerEnter2D) and positional transformations.
• Player Movement:
  • Movement is handled via Unity’s Rigidbody2D component to enable realistic physics-based movement (acceleration, deceleration, and friction).
  • The input system (Unity Input Manager) captures keyboard input for movement (WASD or arrow keys).
• Shooting the Pet:
  • Shooting the pet is done by calculating the direction from the player to the mouse position, with a force applied to the pet's Rigidbody2D to simulate projectile motion.

Architecture

The game's code follows a modular design to separate gameplay mechanics, level management, and file I/O:

• PlayerController.cs: Manages player input, movement, and interactions.
• PetController.cs: Handles the pet’s behavior, such as following the player and swapping mechanics.
• LevelManager.cs: Manages level transitions and tracks player completion times.
• RunTracker.cs: Stores best run times and writes them to a text file using C#'s StreamWriter and StreamReader.

Installation

1. Download the game from the Itch.io page.
2. Extract the zip file to a local directory.
3. Run the executable file to launch the game.