Pew pew pew!

The Game

Official Description:

With gameplay inspired from the classic Asteroids, and movement inspired by Descent II and Freelancer, Quarternion is a freeform spaceship shooter allowing six degrees of freedom in 3D space. It also features an ever-increasing number of power-ups and enemy ship types.

Development:

The alpha release of the game was developed in seven weeks by Sherica Grande and Brian Chuchua, from scratch, using XNA and C#. They used pair-programming: both took turns at the keyboard in order to implement the basic movement functionality (roll, pitch, yaw, vertical and horizontal thrusts) along with core gameplay mechanics. (Shooting, enemy AI, power-ups, level progression.)

Core Gameplay Mechanics:

  • Freeform space combat versus a variety of enemy types with power-ups.
  • Level-by-level progression with increased difficulty.

Core Game Features:

  • Five enemy ships with varied movement and combat behavioral AI.
  • Four power-ups with varied beneficial effects.
  • Tutorial and gradual ramping of the difficulty.
  • Challenging final levels.
  • Three camera modes.
  • XBox 360 Controller compatible.

Special Thanks To:

  • TurboSquid.com for free models.
  • CGTextures.com for free textures.
  • StackOverflow.com for assistance with XNA’s quirks.
  • Wood Harter for the wonderful class experience.
  • Vincent Morrison for valuable feedback.
  • Dr. Erik Linstead for contributing to our programming background.
  • Michael Sodaro for extensive playtesting.