Former Bellwood-Antis student Vincent Cacciotti graduated from Bellwood last year, but he has already made a new game for his college class.
The game is called “The Shape Escape” and it’s an auto-runner, where you need to move a ball left and right with the space bar and make your way through platforms, spikes, and enemies. It features six levels and a boss.
Vincent is currently attending Penn State University for aerospace engineering, a program that requires a lot of effort and moves at a fast pace. For one of the class assignments, they had to show an understanding of C#; a type of coding. There are many ways to show this, one of which creating a video game.
”There are so many ways to use C# (the coding language), and I wanted to get comfortable with it. I thought making a video game would be a great way to do that because it gives real-time feedback. If something’s wrong, I can see it right in the game instead of writing all the code first and then running it at the end,” said Vincent.
Since the coursework moves quickly, it’s strongly recommended to build a coding background before pursuing aerospace engineering. While trying to stay ahead of the fast-paced curriculum, Vincent decided to go above and beyond.
”I didn’t necessarily have to write as much code as I did, but since I chose this major because it’s something I’m passionate about, it wasn’t surprising that I enjoyed the process,” he said. “Completing a game like this, even though it’s on the smaller side, felt rewarding. Plus, I know the skills I gained will be valuable in the future.”
He ended up doing it mostly through winter break, with the entire game in total taking about 50 hours. So far, only one person has managed to beat it, and most people are unable to get past level one.
The hardest part for him was that he didn’t have the code memorized since he’s still a beginner, so if he wanted to add a new movement, he had to look it up and figure out how to add it. Vincent said he also found it challenging to make sure he implemented new moves in the right place in his scripts.
The game’s primary antagonist is called “Triangle Man.” The story revolves around him capturing 7 different circle men, with each level ending with you saving one of them. One of the levels also features you getting chased by a massive “Triangle Storm” to the end.
“I wanted to focus more on developing code than getting into the art and animations,” explained Vincent. “So, I kept it simple with basic shapes that didn’t require much work. I looked at a circle and thought, ‘What would pop this?’ A triangle seemed like the perfect fit. That’s how the idea for Triangle Man and the Triangle Storm came to be.”
The game is now available on the Unity Store. Check it out!
