Wild Rescue
Game Development
About the Project
In a corner of the world, there is a quiet and mysterious wild field. It is home to many rare animals, the most awe-inspiring of which is the snow leopard. Snow leopards are regarded by locals as the incarnation of gods, guarding this vast land. However, with the increase of human greed and poaching, the living environment of snow leopards is seriously threatened.
The protagonist of the story is an animal protection worker named Allen. He was a wildlife researcher and has a deep affection and understanding for snow leopards. During a research expedition, Allen discovered an amazing secret: he can copy the special abilities of animals. This discovery made him a unique guardian. Allen's mission is to track down and destroy a criminal group composed of cruel poachers who illegally hunt and sell snow leopards for high profits. In order to protect these rare animals, Allen decided to use his special abilities to launch a rescue operation full of dangers and challenges.
Key Features
Animal Possession
In Wild Rescue, players will play an animal conservationist with the ability to copy animals, dedicated to rescuing rare snow leopards captured by poachers.
Puzzle
There is a puzzle-solving mechanism in the game after possessing an animal, and players can proceed to the next step by solving the puzzle.
Map Design
The map is divided into forest and ice-land. Players need to pass through the forest terrain and then complete the puzzle to go to the snow.
Enemy Mechanism
Enemies in the game will appear in the Ice-Land terrain. Enemies will lock onto players on the towers and attack those who enter the attack range.
Inspiration
The inspiration comes from the fact that poaching and habitat destruction are the main reasons for the extinction of many wild animals in the real world.
Gallery
Technical Details
Play the Game
Development Process
In Wild Rescue, the development process was driven by a strong conservationist message, focusing on creating an engaging adventure that connects players with the challenges of wildlife protection. The game blends exploration, puzzle-solving, and a unique ability-copying mechanic to deliver its core theme.
1. Inspiration & Concept
The project's foundation is rooted in the real-world threats faced by wildlife, specifically the endangered snow leopard. The primary goal was to create an innovative way to educate players and inspire environmental awareness through interactive gameplay.
- Core Narrative: The story follows Allen, an animal conservationist with a deep understanding of snow leopards, who discovers he has a special ability.
- Player Mission: Allen's mission is to use his unique powers to track down a cruel group of poachers, rescue illegally captured snow leopards, and return them to their natural habitat.
- Central Ability: The key mechanic is the protagonist's ability to copy the skills of other animals, using them to overcome obstacles and navigate the world.
2. Core Mechanics & Puzzle Design
Gameplay is structured around a series of puzzles that require the player to find and utilize different animal abilities to progress. The player's journey takes them through a forest and then to an ice-land.
- Introductory Mechanic (Rabbit): Upon starting the game, players first experience the core transformation gameplay by copying a rabbit.
- Mechanical Puzzles (Goat): The goat's ramming ability is used to interact with mechanical puzzles, such as hitting and rotating pillars. One such puzzle requires the player to rotate pillars to move drifting ice and form a bridge.
- Navigation Puzzles (Wolf): To navigate a complex forest maze, the player must find a wolf and use its ability to identify the correct path via highlighted signposts.
- Destruction Puzzles (Bear): The bear's ability allows the player to break special objects, such as ice blocks, to obtain frozen puzzle parts.
- Enemy Encounters: Enemies are located on towers in the ice-land and can be defeated by pushing large snowballs into them, which destroys the towers.
4. Technical Implementation
The game was developed using the Unity engine. Several key scripts and systems were created to bring the design to life.
- Transformation System: The ability to change into animals was implemented by using prefabs to replace the character model during gameplay.
- Character Controller: Cinemachine's virtual camera was used to track the character, with custom code written to allow the view to rotate with the mouse.
- Puzzle Scripting: A mechanism rotation script was developed to control the movement of floating ice on the river by rotating the pillars.