Malcolm Anderson

Sneaksters

About This Project

Every successful heist needs a good team! In Sneaksters, each member of your squad takes one of two jobs and works together to execute a mission.

A screenshot of the Sneaksters game. The player has an option to choose between "Thief" (with a gemstone icon underneath it) and "Hacker" (with a laptop icon underneath it).

A screenshot of the Sneaksters game. The player, named "Meorge", is sitting in a waiting room. They have a gemstone next to their icon, and they are labeled "Leader". An orange button at the bottom of the screen says "Move Out!".

The Thieves are in the thick of the action. Their job is to navigate through a labyrinth, grab treasures, and escape without being caught. However, their toolset is very limited. They can't see anything beyond what's in front of them, and they have no way to slow down guards or even open doors.

A screenshot of the Sneaksters game. A gemstone is floating in the middle of the screen.

A screenshot of the Sneaksters game. A guard is running towards the player. Along the top and bottom of the screen are glowing yellow banners that read "DANGER!".

The Hackers watch over everything from a bird's-eye view. They can see where the guards and treasures are, but don't have any way to extract them themselves. They can interact with certain elements, such as opening and closing doors, but ultimately have no direct control over the Thieves' success.

A screenshot of the Sneaksters game. The player is viewing the level from a top-down "cyber" view, tinted blue. They can see icons representing doors, gemstones, and guards.

Communication is vital for a successful mission. The Hackers must guide the Thieves to the treasures and keep them safe from guards, and the Thieves must give the Hackers information not visible from their computer screen.

What I Learned From This Project

Sneaksters is, without a doubt, the most ambitious project I've worked on. While it didn't make it all the way to a "finished" product, I still learned a lot about development along the way. Some skills I practiced with this endeavor included:

Writing Unity C# code for user interfaces, networking through Photon PUN, and gameplay
Writing Unity shaders to create a unique visual style
Creating basic 3D models, textures, and animations
Designing and animating the user interface
Managing and coordinating a team for audio assets
Managing a public community for the game's open pre-alpha, including using the GitHub issue tracker to keep track of bugs