“Mars Walker” was created during a two-week game jam as part of the Game Design minor, where the focus was on exploring the discovery aspect of the MDA framework. This was my first “game jam” style project, where rapid progress and creativity were prioritized over long-term polish. Collaborating with Roxanne Giling, we developed a Mars exploration game where the player controls the Curiosity rover.
In the game, players guide the rover across a procedurally generated Mars-like terrain, created using a height map of the Martian surface. The goal is to examine space rocks while uncovering a dark secret hidden beneath the surface. The game was designed to emphasize curiosity and exploration, rewarding players for discovering hidden elements in the environment.
This project was a significant milestone in my learning journey with Unity, where I gained hands-on experience with:
- Terrain generation: Generating Mars-like landscapes from height maps.
- UI design: Creating interfaces that enhanced the player experience.
- Shaders and visual effects: Adding atmosphere to the barren Martian environment.
- Model importing: Integrating external 3D models, including an accurate depiction of the Curiosity rover.
While the game successfully captured the “discovery” theme and received positive feedback during the assignment, the gameplay itself lacked depth, and the project was not continued after the game jam.
You can find the game and its source code on GitHub.
