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Mal Wars: Queen's Lair

As a team, we were able to make the first tower defense game on Core.

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The player is initially brought to the Hub, where players can browse the levels, the shop, and leaderboards. The first level is set within the Queen's Lair, where the player must defend the network hub from malicious malware.

 

Grant Dunford (Team Lead), Mike McCoy (Producer), Blaine Bailey (Engineering Lead), Dylan Rose (Art Lead), Sydney Fonderie (Design Lead), Alex Dougless (Writing Lead), Drake Rose (Engineer), Alex Benton (Engineer), Anthony Sandoval (Artist), Asante Azevdeo (Engineer), Avery Craig (Artist), Garrett Rodriguez (Artist), Jay Krauss (Artist), Jonpaul Gee (Engineer), Kent Essex, Sidney Cook (Artist), Terrance Usher (Engineer), David Skulina (Artist), Rebecca Rossini (Artist), Yesenia Paquette (Artist), Trevor Null (Artist), Alec Chou (Artist), Austin Bautista (Engineer), Dylan Tollefson (Design), Genie Tu (Engineer), and Victoria L (Writer).

 

Core, 2021.

Mal Wars: Worm Hole

The player is initially brought to the Hub, where players can browse the levels, the shop, and leaderboards.

 

I was assistant art lead of the second level. I specifically worked with Dylan Rose, David Skulina, and Jay Krauss to make the environment and design the level. I came up with the initial design and wanted to focus on one of the enemies David Skulina made: the worm.

 

Grant Dunford (Team Lead), Mike McCoy (Producer), Blaine Bailey (Engineering Lead), Dylan Rose (Art Lead), Sydney Fonderie (Design Lead), Alex Dougless (Writing Lead), Drake Rose (Engineer), Alex Benton (Engineer), Anthony Sandoval (Artist), Asante Azevdeo (Engineer), Avery Craig (Artist), Garrett Rodriguez (Artist), Jay Krauss (Artist), Jonpaul Gee (Engineer), Kent Essex, Sidney Cook (Artist), Terrance Usher (Engineer), David Skulina (Artist), Rebecca Rossini (Artist), Yesenia Paquette (Artist), Trevor Null (Artist), Alec Chou (Artist), Austin Bautista (Engineer), Dylan Tollefson (Design), Genie Tu (Engineer), and Victoria L (Writer).

 

Core, 2021.

Hot Dog Tycoon- Final Playthrough

This video shows the final stages of the game and how much we were able to progress. 

 

Unfortunately, due to an automatic update with Core's engine that was just days before our final, a few mechanics of the game stopped working such as being able to earn income when the player clicks on an incoming NPC. Manticore was going to look into why this happened and make sure it wouldn't happen in future games. 

 

Core, 2020.

Hot Dog Tycoon Playtest- Halloween

Along with my teammates, (Blaine Bailey - engineer/team lead, Kaitlin Bowman - artist, Daniel Eldred - engineer, Danny Liang - engineer, David Skulina- artist, and myself - artist/art lead) we made an idle clicker for Manticore Games using their Core engine, which is in it's alpha stages. You can't import assets into Core so everything must be made with what is already within Core. We artists had to be pretty creative in how we were to make assets.

 

The goal of the game is clicking on incoming NPC's to throw hot dogs at them in order to earn money. Earning money allows the player to buy different hot dogs from the store so they earn more money per customer. Once the player reaches $10,000 they are able to ascend by pressing "T". This gives the player 5 gems of ascension currency and changes the level to a different themed environment. With the gems, the player can upgrade their hot dog cart in the ascension menu. Progress is also saved over time so if the player leaves the game, they can come back to where they left.

 

David came up with the original idea for the game, which drastically changed with each playtest and what was allowed within the client. Each of us contributed to the design of the game and what exactly would be included. Within 2 months, we were proud of the amount of work we were able to get done.

 

This is a short video showing off the Halloween environment and what we were able to get working within a months time. The video also shows parts of the Core engine and it's preview mode. We set the currency and ascension currency to a specific number at this time for playtest purposes.

 

Core, 2020.

Futuristic Map Playthrough

A walkthrough of the map made for a FPS with two teams, distinguished between differed colors on either side of the map. Blues and greens for Team B, reds and oranges for Team A. With premade programming for the game itself, I was allowed to focus on the models, layout, and design of the map. The pipes, door and window frames, trash cans, and street lamps were modeled in Maya. The chests and trees were imported from online (we were allowed to pull assets from packs or websites to let us focus on the design of the map within the time allotted). This was my first time using Unreal and I wanted to create a futuristic and colorful map for players to enjoy.

 

Made in Unreal Engine, 2019.

Mal-Wars Bridge Pieces

Mal-Wars Bridge Pieces

I designed the bridge pieces for both levels. Dylan Rose later used the design to make the octagon and beveled paths to include more diversity within the level. Click here for game link. Core, 2021.

Mal-Wars Network Hub

Mal-Wars Network Hub

I designed the Network Hub, the network that is bein defended by the player. This is also highlighted in the Hub where the player initially spawns in and looks around the menu. Core, 2021.

Worm Level Initial Ideas

Worm Level Initial Ideas

I came up with the design for the second level and came up with the color scheme. I wanted to focus on the worm enemy and wanted to create something that was a worm den but still matched with the theme of the game.

Worm Level Progress

Worm Level Progress

A slightly more progressed idea of the level.

Mal-Wars - Topdown View of Worm Hole

Mal-Wars - Topdown View of Worm Hole

An overall view of the finished level and environment. Jay Krauss came up with the pathway layout and I implemented it. Dylan Rose and Jay Krauss worked on the walls. David Skulina worked on the worm holes and the floor. I came up with the design for the holes in the walls and helped David with the floor plan. Click here for game link. Core, 2021.

Mal-Wars - Down Below

Mal-Wars - Down Below

I made eggs that are scattered around the bottom of the map. Some are more transparent than others and you can see worms inside. Core, 2021.

Hot Dog Tycoon Map - Whiteboxing

Hot Dog Tycoon Map - Whiteboxing

This is the second stage of our map for Hot Dog Tycoon as we downsized everything since we changed the fact that the player will no longer be allowed to move around. Core, 2020.

Hot Dog Tycoon - Whiteboxing Topdown

Hot Dog Tycoon - Whiteboxing Topdown

Here, we began to replace something the cubes with buildings we found from Core's community content. Core, 2020.

Hot Dog Tycoon - Starting to Implement Assets

Hot Dog Tycoon - Starting to Implement Assets

Assets have begun to be placed within the map. Core, 2020.

Hot Dog Tycoon - Setting Up

Hot Dog Tycoon - Setting Up

Setting up the scene that players would see in game. Core, 2020.

Initial Hot Dog Cart

Initial Hot Dog Cart

This is the cart I made that the player starts out with and decorated it with assets that David Skulina made. Core, 2020.

Regular Map - Hot Dog Tycoon

Regular Map - Hot Dog Tycoon

I designed the map and implemented the assets my other artists, Kaitlin Bowman and David Skulina, and I made to populate the environment. Core, 2020.

Western City - Hot Dog Tycoon

Western City - Hot Dog Tycoon

One of the themed environments I made with assets made by David Skulina to create a western town vibe in the city. Each environment was made as a mask over the original so there would be less work for our engineers. Core, 2020.

Music City - Hot Dog Tycoon

Music City - Hot Dog Tycoon

A music themed city with assets made by Kaitlin Bowman. Core, 2020.

Sci-fi City - Hot Dog Tycoon

Sci-fi City - Hot Dog Tycoon

A sci-fi themed city with assets from Core and robots made by myself. Core, 2020.

Abandoned City - Hot Dog Tycoon

Abandoned City - Hot Dog Tycoon

This themed environment was made using Core's assets. Core, 2020.

Ice City - Hot Dog Tycoon

Ice City - Hot Dog Tycoon

An Ice City environment made with some assets made by David Skulina. Core, 2020.

Christmas - Hot Dog Tycoon

Christmas - Hot Dog Tycoon

A Christmas themed environment with assets from community content and garland made by myself. Core, 2020.

Underwater City - Hot Dog Tycoon

Underwater City - Hot Dog Tycoon

This themed environment was made to pay homage to the other team in our class who were making a game about fish. I made a few fish and others from cmmunity content to add the effect. Unfortunately, we weren't able to implement this into our game due to an issue with the water post processing effect. Core, 2020.

New Year's - Hot Dog Tycoon

New Year's - Hot Dog Tycoon

A simplistic environment made for New Year's Day with a sign I made to celebrate the new year. Unfortunately, this is an environment were not able to implement due to time restrictions. Core, 2020.

Easter - Hot Dog Tycoon

Easter - Hot Dog Tycoon

An environment made for Easter using a bunny made by myself and eggs, a basket, and candy made by David Skulina. An environment were not able to implement due to time restrictions. Core, 2020.

Pirate Day - Hot Dog Tycoon

Pirate Day - Hot Dog Tycoon

A made up holiday to add to the fun of the game made with assets from community content. There was an amazing pirate ship and wanted to highlight it in the environment. An environment were not able to implement due to time restrictions. Core, 2020.

Pride Day - Hot Dog Tycoon

Pride Day - Hot Dog Tycoon

We wanted to celebrate Pride Day so everyone can be celebrated. I found a flag in Core's community content but wanted to add some movement to the flag so I made some adjustments. An environment were not able to implement due to time restrictions. Core, 2020.

4th of July - Hot Dog Tycoon

4th of July - Hot Dog Tycoon

Using the same flag pole as Pride Day, I created an American Flag to celebrate the 4th of July. An environment were not able to implement due to time restrictions. Core, 2020.

Halloween - Hot Dog Tycoon

Halloween - Hot Dog Tycoon

I had a lot of fun making the Halloween environment. I made a jack-o-lantern, a cauldron, and ghost to add to the theme and used David Skulina's Halloween candy to decorate. I found an amazing web in Core's community content and knew I had to add it to our game. An environment were not able to implement due to time restrictions. Core, 2020.

Thanksgiving - Hot Dog Tycoon

Thanksgiving - Hot Dog Tycoon

Thanksgiving was another fun environment to make. It took some effort to create a cornucopia from Core's shapes but I thought it turned out great at the end of the day. I made pumpkins, apples, grapes, corn, and tomatoes to include inside. I also implemented Kaitlin Bowman's pilgrim hat and turkey. An environment were not able to implement due to time restrictions. Core, 2020.

Outside- Sci-fi City

Outside- Sci-fi City

A look at the map in different perspectives. Unreal, 2019.

Between the Buildings - Sci-fi City

Between the Buildings - Sci-fi City

A look at the map in different perspectives. Unreal, 2019.

Inside on Team Red - Sci-fi City

Inside on Team Red - Sci-fi City

A look at the map in different perspectives. Unreal, 2019.

Upstairs In Unreal - Sci-fi City

Upstairs In Unreal - Sci-fi City

A look at the map in different perspectives (in progress). Unreal, 2019.

© 2023 by Rebecca Rossini

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