Keep Charging

Context : Game Jam, team of 4

Engine : Unreal Engine 5

Keep Charging is a First Person Shooter where the player faces waves of increasingly powerful enemies in an evolving environment. The objective: survive as long as possible, unlock new areas of the map, and push back the threats.

My contribution to the project:

Designed the 3Cs (Character, Controls, Camera) to ensure smooth gameplay and quick pick-up-and-play.
Created Enemy AIs (movement, player detection, attacks) to deliver a progressively challenging experience.
Developed a Wave System with increasing difficulty, featuring randomized enemy spawn points.

Design Process

The initial idea was to design a fast-paced futuristic FPS, with a strong focus on responsive and accessible gameplay.

We built the core gameplay loop around three Pillars:

Combat,
Level progression,
Fast player mobility.

From the early stages, we wrote a Game Design Document (GDD) to align our shared vision for the project. The team then divided tasks based on each member’s strengths, and we implemented a weekly tracking system via Trello to ensure steady progress and effective coordination. With these foundations in place, we began production on the prototype.

The 3Cs

For the camera, a First Person view was chosen to fully immerse the player in the heart of the action. The camera is directly tied to both aiming and movement, ensuring a smooth and precise sense of control.

To support fast-paced and fluid Gameplay, we designed a control system focused on mobility and responsiveness. The player has several movement options:

Jump to clear obstacles or quickly reposition,
Sprint for temporary bursts of speed,
Dash to dodge or create space during combat.

These mechanics were designed to give the player a high degree of freedom, allowing them to react quickly depending on the situation—whether it’s taking initiative, escaping, repositioning, or dodging.

Ultimate : Powerful projectiles that deal heavy damage.

This mechanic is meant to enhance the sense of power and provide a decisive tool to overcome critical situations. The ability is time-limited, which adds a strategic layer to its use.

Even without a visible character mesh, the design focused on the player's feel, with clear visual and audio Feedback to reinforce the impact of their actions.

Enemy AI

The enemy system is based on two distinct types of AI:

a fast, aggressive melee enemy,
and a ranged enemy that keeps its distance while harassing the player with projectiles.

Type Melee HP 150 Damage 15 by hit Speed 300 ms Behavior Charges at the player to per

This choice was made to offer varied combat encounters, requiring the player to adapt their positioning and prioritize targets differently depending on the situation.

Enemies are not just obstacles—they are also an integral part of the game's economic loop. Once defeated, they :

Drop Ammo to keep the player’s weapons supplied

Give Points used to unlock new areas of the map

This system was designed to encourage players to actively engage in combat, making enemies a strategic resource rather than just a threat to avoid. It enhances both the game’s pacing and the overall sense of progression.

Wave System

The wave system is the core game mode and one of the key aspects of the project.

Its design was intended to create a paced and evolving experience, structured around the following Gameplay Loop

Enemy spawners are strategically placed throughout the level and only activate once the player unlocked their designated area, ensuring dynamic and localized combat encounters.

Gates are used to control player progression and add challenge. They can be unlocked to reveal new areas and expand exploration.

Each wave introduces increasingly numerous and powerful enemies, aiming to create a steady build-up of intensity.

The goal was to maintain growing intensity on the player, while still offering short recovery phases to explore and unlock new areas.

The spawn system relies on a dynamic manager that selects spawn points based on the player’s position and predefined zones.

Closing Words

Keep Charging represents my first large-scale project as a Game Designer. It was a formative experience on many levels—both technically and personally.

I learned how to work efficiently in a team, maintain well-structured Game Design Documentation, and communicate regularly to ensure cohesion throughout the development process. I also came to understand the importance of questioning my own ideas in order to reach the best possible version of the game, while integrating feedback from both the team and players.

Regular playtesting proved to be an essential tool—both for improving the user experience and fine-tuning Gameplay Mechanics. This project also allowed me to master the fundamentals of building a complete game system, from designing Gameplay Loops to managing progressive difficulty.

Despite these obstacles, I’m extremely proud of this project. I gave it my all, and the result is a playable, engaging game that offers immediate fun. It marks an important step in my journey as a Game Designer and serves as a solid foundation for my continued growth.

Thank you for taking the time to read!