Match Point

 

 

click for larger versions.

 

< < < Note: This game was made in Panda3D, and I can't capture it at a decent framerate on my four-year-old laptop. Eventually I will post a video, when I get access to a better computer and install python, panda3d, and camtasia... > > >

 

Match Point was a two week 3D project, created with python and Panda3D. In the game, you play the Fire Chief of a peaceful village, that has been overrun by escaped prisoners driving "makeshift" tanks. Jumping into your pickup/fire truck (with a makeshift water tank on the back), you must put out the flamethrower fires and stall the tanks, before the big-city police can come to the rescue.

 

This page will be expanded more when the video is uploaded.

 

Tech:

This game featured a lot of interesting tech. One feature was that it was playable at any resolution, and both the HUD and world resized to the appropriate dimensions. You could play in a widescreen format, or the standard 4:3 resolution, without any letterboxing.

 

Another was the radar screen, which was a second camera placed over the player. It showed a better view of the game world, and featured three zoom modes. When you were crushed or burned by a tank, you would stall and the radar would jam, flickering and spinning around randomly for a short period of time.

 

Another was the particle effects, for the burning homes, the flamethrowers, the steam, and the water stream. They were all constructed individually from defined mathematical parameters, which specified their flow control and general motion paths. I felt the final results really represented the effects we were looking for, and greatly added to the aesthetic of the game.

 

Team:

Greg Lane (Me) - Variable-Size Hud/Art, Radar, Menu Interfaces/Art, and Music.

Andrew Dolce - Player Controls/Handling, Particle Effects, and Collision.

Jeff Roberts - Enemy AI, Pathing, Level Generation and house Burn Meter code.

Ryan Hatleild - Sound Effects.

Mak Mendelson - 3D Models and Grass Texture.