Julia M Wayne

Unity RPG

Emphasis on combat, health, enemy and player animations and attacks, dialogue, level design, and game lore.

Overview

A third-person RPG built entirely solo, with a sustained 5-month development cycle averaging four or more hours daily, focusing on mastering Unity, C#, and implementing advanced features through self-directed learning, including hundreds of hours of instructional content. With the exception of prefabs and a dialogue editor, every system, from player movement and combat to the magic system and level ambiance, was designed and programmed from scratch. This project challenged my problem-solving skills and creativity, particularly in developing responsive mechanics and immersive environments. I’m proud of the time, effort, and growth that went into bringing this vision to life.

Technical Highlights

Designed third-person movement and camera controls, including an archery mechanic with particle-based projectile physics and aim assistance.

Built a modular enemy and NPC AI system using state machines, allowing varied behavior across different enemy types without duplicated logic.

Integrated cinematic sequences using Unity Timeline, and built a complete start menu and scene transition system.

Constructed immersive level environments using ProBuilder.

Used Git for version control and continuous backups throughout development.

Incorporated Mixamo for character animation and Unity Asset Store resources where appropriate, to focus development time on custom systems rather than reinventing standard assets.

Notable Project Features

Level Design

From detailed bookcases to glowing crystals, the prefabs, atmospheric lighting, ambient music, and spatial layout all contribute to a cohesive and immersive magical school environment.

Menu

A custom-designed 2D menu interface that initiates the starting scene transition.

NPCs

Every NPC is built as a distinct prefab, featuring custom idle animations and tailored dialogue interactions.

Particle Effects

A custom particle-based effect designed to function as the player’s ranged spell attack.

Player Design

The player utilizes two distinct animation graphs to support different gameplay modes. In the school environment, the focus is on exploration and dialogue, featuring animations tailored for walking and interacting with classmates. In contrast, the outdoor action scene emphasizes mobility and combat, incorporating animations for running, jumping, and casting magic. This separation enhances gameplay variety and allows players to engage with different mechanics and skill sets in each environment.

Enemy Design

The enemy dragon is driven by a state machine that controls its behavior and animation logic. Each state, such as idle, attack, or chase, is linked to specific animations that blend seamlessly, allowing the dragon to transition fluidly between behaviors based on real-time conditions.