PC Games

Son of a Gun

Published2023 (planned)
ClientCrank Goblin
PlatformsWindows
Tech StackUnity, Inkscape, Audacity

My roles: 

  • Concept (story, worldbuilding);
  • Game and level design;
  • Development in Unity (2021.1, C#, URP, 2D dynamic lighting, UI Toolkit, New Input System, VFX Graph);
  • Asset team lead (4 people);
  • Sounds.
The game
Story and gameplay
Weapons and enemies

Action packed top down shooter full of bullets, blood and explosions. Collect and manage your guns to exterminate jungle zombies, swarming bugs, heavy robots, slimy monsters and even space ghosts. Select one of 6 characters and upgrade them while progressing through the single player campaign. Overwhelming enemies can be sometimes dealt with by the prototype time-bending device.

  • Plenty of guns in 7 different classes – pick your shooting style
  • Use a time-bending device that will often save your ass
  • Play as one of 6 space mercenaries
  • Tactically push tactical explosive barrels to gain a tactical advantage
  • Use environmental hazards to kill enemies
  • Annihilate 8 gigantic bosses with unique mechanics
  • Experience full of tropes, sci-fi story 🙂

You are Son of a Gun – an interplanetary mercenary working for the Sons of a Gun organization. You’re called always when firepower matters and something needs to be solved by force. While being on a vacation on a tropical planet you’re just received a phone call from the SOAG Command Center…

While fullfilling your mission, you’ll fight in the heart of the distant planets with versatile biomes. Each with their own unique environment and challenges – reach a target area, unlock base gates, download data from data-pylons or survive the horde’s attack.

You’ll have plenty of guns in 7 different classes at your disposal. Grab pistols, shotguns, SMG’s, rifles, plasma guns, sniper rifles, or rocket launchers – you’re defining your own playstyle. Don’t forget about grenades – gear up with your favorite grenade type – cluster, force, explosive, implosive…

Face over 20 different enemy types with swarming bugs, zombie-like creatures, auto-turrets, gigantic robots, horrific degenerations, slimy monsters and even space ghosts.

Mooch

Published2015
ClientCrank Goblin
PlatformsWindows, Linux, OSX
Tech StackConstruct 2, Audacity

My roles: 

  • Concept (story, worldbuilding);
  • Game and level design;
  • Development in Construct 2;
  • Asset team lead (2 people);
  • Sounds.
The game
Story and gameplay

My first commercial PC production released on Steam. Well received by players (Steam player reviews: Very positive).

Mooch is an arcade experience where player must rely only on his reflex and agility. Main protagonist is puppet Blink who starts dangerous mission to find soul pieces of his friend Tula. Watch your every step. Even passages that seem safe may hide deadly traps.

• Hand-crafted graphics – game assets were hand drawn.
 Supported languages: English, Russian and Polish
• Players can use gamepad or mouse and keyboard
• Over 25 types of enemies and 9 dreadful bosses
• 3 unique worlds
• Different story endings dependant on player’s actions
• Special ending for hardcore players
• Secret passages
• Dark mood – grim levels, dead ends, narrow corridors, deadly traps

The story begins in the underground world ruled by the Puppet Master. The evil lord creates puppets, enslaves them and forces them to work in his mines. They do not realize that beyond the narrow corridors of their mines, there is a much bigger and more colorful world. One of the slaves named Blink, accidentally discovers that outside the mines is a place full of light, fresh air and freedom – an outside world. He decides to take matters into his own hands and escape from the mines with his friend Tula. Unfortunately, they were captured by the machine, and Tula was torn apart. Pieces of her soul have scattered through the underground world. Blink has been thrown into the prison where he awaits his doom. This is not the end of the story, it is just the beginning, which will lead to many unusual events.
Embark on a great adventure as the little puppet. You play as Blink who manages to escape from his prison cell. This little guy’s mission is to collect pieces of Tula’s soul and bring her back to life. The end of the story depends on the player’s decisions.

Watch your every step. Even passages that seem safe may hide deadly traps. Puppet Masters’ machines are constantly lurking for the hero and his only way to survive is to outsmart them. Mooch is an arcade game where players must rely on their reflex, agility and tactical skills.

Tactical Troops: Anthracite Shift

Published2021
ClientQED Games
PlatformsWindows
Tech StackUnity, Grail AI Framework

My roles: 

  • Concept (story, worldbuilding);
  • Game and level design;
  • Development in Unity;
  • Producer;
  • Development team lead
    (up to 12 people);
  • Sounds.
The game
Story
Gameplay

Top-down, turn-based game that mixes tactical skills and the feeling of 80’s sci-fi movies. Command a troop of soldiers in a singleplayer campaign or fight on one of 24 multiplayer maps. Explore the planet Anthracite, using advanced teleportation technology and gridless movement.

Explore the beauty and the dangers of planet Anthracite by leading your troops through 41 missions of a story-rich singleplayer campaign with about 20 hours of gameplay. Fight various enemy types including menacing local fauna, Bullets bandits, autonomous robots and well equipped ACP soldiers.

The year is 2130. Sedvan’s spheres, advanced teleportation devices, have activated themselves after decades of remaining dormant. Tactical Troops, a unit of interplanetary mercenaries, are called for what seems like a routine mission on planet Anthracite. This excluded world turns out to hold dangers nobody expected.
This is a routine mission – what could go wrong…

Gridless tactics

Every single movement takes place in a grid-less tactical environment. Plan your strategy and move your troops with freedom: attack on an open field or from a hidden corner. Take cover behind rocks and trees or ambush the enemy from inside buildings and bunkers.

Teleporters

Teleporters add a whole new dimension to tactical combat thinking and they are a permanent challenge to a Commander’s mind. Not only you can teleport your units, but also your bullets and grenades. You can plan ambushes from the other side of the map and even use teleporters as shields!

Make a good use of teleporters that play important role for both the story and the gameplay. They add new tactical options – transporting troops around the battlefield, shifting fired rounds or thrown grenades and can be used as cover.

Hot-seat and online multiplayer

Play against a friend or a challenging AI opponent in online multiplayer or the touchingly nostalgic hot-seat mode. In the Domination mode you need to control 2 out of 3 control points for two turns in a row. In the Devastator mode you need to destroy 5 enemy generators before losing your own. Of course, eliminating all your enemy’s units is always a good choice. Reach the top of the rankings using your skills and strategy.

Diverse AI behaviors

Fight against clever and diverse enemies powered by Grail – an AI engine developed in-house. Different enemy types think in unique ways. Animals behave predictably, always rushing at you with all they have, while humanoid opponents actively avoid your traps and set their own. Stay on your toes and devise your own strategies to defeat each opponent.

Multitude of destruction tools

There are over 30 weapons divided into 7 different classes. Every weapon manufacturer has a unique quirk that allows for interesting ways to enhance your tactical gameplay experience. There are also 7 gadget types at your disposal. Study the briefing, choose your equipment and outsmart your enemies.

Pyk

Published2019
ClientHobby project
PlatformsWindows
Tech StackGodot, Krita, Inkscape, Audacity

My roles: 

  • Concept (story, worldbuilding);
  • Game and level design;
  • Graphic design;
  • Development in Godot;
  • Sounds.
The game
Story and gameplay
Project history

Quick abstract arcade game that requires good reflex and dexterity but sometimes patience and precision.  You control round being that has to avoid Bad Red Shapes. Those enemies will try to cut, smash, shoot, explode, crush, wreck, burn or shatter you – so be quick and careful. Collect all keys to unlock blockades and find teleport to next level.

  • Fast gameplay (for 1 or 2 players on one screen)
  • Top down 2D view
  • Short levels – you’ll die a lot (48 campaign levels and 40 multiplayer maps)
  • Lots of enemies with different behaviors
  • Simple controls (keyboard + gamepad support)

Abstraverse (home to peaceful round beings) has been attacked by Bad Red Shapes. Good Circles have to crush Red Leader – the brain of all Bad Red Shapes to save their world. Yeah, that’s it.

In singleplayer campaign you have to get through all levels. Every scenery has 12 levels and a big boss at the end. The campaign comprises 48 levels.

You can play all campaign levels together with a friend in coop. All levels are unaltered (enemy number in each level) but will it be easier? You both have to survive and get to the level teleporter.

2 players  (blue & green) playing on one screen in challenging survival race. Your goal is to survive last or collect 5 stars. After every match the next level is picked up by random.

Pyk is an outcome of couple my game ideas made in past years.

First project with this idea was KnaK. This is one of those banal games made quickly, which, however, entertained me and my friends for the longest time. KnaK was created in 2006, during 2-hour classes at the university and refined on the same day in the evening – additional levels and saving the best result for each level. The game served us during the exercises at the university as a “time filler”. It allowed one to four players to play simultaneously on one computer.

The full title of this game is KnaK (“Kulki na Kwadraty” – “Balls on Squares” in polish). It takes place in an enclosed space where players escape squares from the balls. These balls are constantly appearing, so it gets harder over time. The player who survives the longest wins.

20 regular levels and 5 races are available to players. On the racing maps, in addition to standard squares, balls and walls, there is a bomb. The player who first reaches her and activates her – destroys all opponents.

In 2010 I modified this idea onto onlie challenge project – Avoider. It was an online Flash game available on nonexisting yet Mochimedia platform. It was a dynamic arcade game that required good reflexes. Your goal was to avoid red opponents and collect green circles. You could run training levles, then play CHALLENGE and compete with players from around the world, thanks to the online Mochimedia scoreboard. There were bonuses appearing every third ball (temporary cover, shocking and destructive current, armor regeneration).

There were 5 types of opponents behaving differently – some move in a random direction, others follow a set route, and others try to reach the player. In the final level, bosses appear every ten seconds (3 different kinds).

In 2015 I decided to develop this idea into sinfleplayer experience – Avoid’em. It was an online HTML5 game where players aim is to collect all orbs in the level in order to proceed to the next one. 

BTanx

PublishedWIP
ClientHobby project
PlatformsWindows
Tech StackUnity, Krita, Inkscape

My roles: 

  • Concept;
  • Game and level design;
  • Graphic design;
  • Development in Unity;
  • Sounds.
The game
Gameplay
Project history

A game inspired by classics such as Battle City, Robbo, Battlebull and Alien Breed. It is a 2D top-down mix of shooter and puzzle game set in the mining base on a moon. 

Player drives a tank equipped with special types of bullets that bounces off the walls to take out enemies from the corners. Tank can additionally push mobile boxes to crush enemies.

Game has singleplayer campaign and multiplayer 1 on 1 mode. 

In this game, players control the BTank and their objective is to destroy enemy robot generators on each map. However, there are obstacles like mines, homing cannons, and other robots to hinder their progress. The generator is protected by a force field that requires neutralizing by destroying all power nodes on the map.

Defeated enemies drop spare parts that can be used to upgrade the tank. Upgrades include better armor, a larger cargo hold for more ammunition, increased power for BBullets, and a nanobot system for self-repair during missions.

The BTank has four weapon options: BBullet (bounces off walls), grenade, and a special mine.

The maps feature crates that can be destroyed (some containing spare parts), exploding barrels for deadly chain reactions, buttons opening doors, checkpoints for respawning after destruction, energy transmitters destroying everything in their path, holes, secret passages, and metal boxes to crush enemies.

First version of the game was made in Game Maker back in 2004. It was skirmish 1 on 1 battle game  with split screen. I wrote simple AI bot that utilized FSM and quite handy level editor.

In 2010 I’ve recreated the game in Contruct (DirextX, Windows only) and added more effects and explosions. Level editor supported 3 gamemodes.

In 2012 i took core gameplay mechanics (bouncing bullets and bushing blocks) and created singleplayer version of the game in Construct 2 (HTML5).

Later in 2020 I made BTanx Nano. This singleplayer variation was done specially for the GBJAM 8

Game is specially made to imitate Game Boy’s limitations: 160 x 144 px resolution (upscaled to 640 x 576 px) and 4 color palette.

 

Player is controlling small tank that has to reach control point, protect the generator or destroy all enemy’s units. You can destroy enemies by shooting them (with bullets that bounce from walls) or pushing block on them.

There are 4 enemy types and 26 levels with hidden passages. Every 5 levels you’ll get a password.

Game was made in 2 weekends using Godot, GIMP, Bfxr and Audacity.

Game is available on itch.io: https://rafalkowalski.itch.io/btanx-nano 

Now I’m working on Unity version of BTanx. I’m planning to implement features that I liked the most in different versions so far:

  • Multiplayer – 1 on 1 skirmish battles with level editor
  • Singleplayer mini-campaigns with different focus each: action, puzzle, arcade.

Happy Fox

Published2019
ClientHobby project
PlatformsWindows
Tech StackGodot, Krita, Inkscape, Audacity

My roles: 

  • Concept (story, worldbuilding);
  • Game and level design;
  • Development in Godot;
  • Sounds.

Simple platform game for kids aged 5 to 10. Due to its very low difficulty level it can be the first platform game where kids can learn how to play such games. Player controls cute fox that runs, jumps and shoots balloons. In each level he has to find door to the next one. 

This game is a result of my first contact with Godot game engine (godotengine.org). Made in one month while learning the engine (movement, collisions, tilemaps, enemy behaviours, GUI, Audio etc.). Game uses graphics from Kenneys graphics library (kenney.nl).

Educational games for McGrawHill

Finished2016
ClientLinkIt / McGraw Hill
PlatformsBrowser, iPad
Tech StackConstruct 2, Inkscape

My roles: 

  • placeholder graphics
  • development in Construct 2

Series of 15 educational games for McGrawHill Education and LinkIt.

Children will have the opportunity to learn and sharpen their skills in key areas such as addition, multiplication, calculating fractions, and map coordinates.

Advert Games

Finished2014
ClientOne 2 Tribe
PlatformsBrowser, iPad
Tech StackConstruct 2

My roles: 

  • development in Construct 2

5 advert games for external client.

Nano Platformer (working title)

PublishedWIP
ClientHobby project
PlatformsWindows
Tech StackUnity

My roles: 

  • Concept;
  • Game and level design;
  • Development in Unity;
  • Sounds.

Fast-paced 1 on 1 couch skirmisher game that will keep you on the edge of your seat 🙂

Players go head-to-head, battling it out to shoot down their opponents and claim victory. Players have access to an versatile arsenal of weapons. Whether you prefer the rapid fire of SMGs, the precision of rifles, or the devastating power of shotguns, there’s a weapon to suit every play style.