Mobile Game - Grapple-Go
Week 5 - 11/2/25
Game Description:
Grapple-Go is an infinite side scroller game where the player has to use their grapple hook to dodge and maneuver their way around obstacles and enemies.
This sprint I worked on our rewards Chest and the puzzle piece which will be inside it. This sprint was my slowest and least productive one yet due to recovering from a cold and then immediately getting food poisoning which only left me 1-2 days to get anything done for all my classes.
Chest Reference:
Chest (Closed): The chest is a rewards chest you will get at the end of your run which will contain a puzzle piece used to unlock power-ups so collecting it feels rewarding. I found a chest reference and adjusted it for our steampunk theme. I reused the pipe models I revamped last sprint and used them to act as a lock that keeps the chest shut.
Chest (Opened): I made a 2nd variant of the chest, but opened for rigging later. I hope for the animation, the chest opens upwards and the pipes connecting the middle section become undone to indicate it unlocking and opening.
My Chest Reflection: I probably made more work than I needed by modeling 2 separate chests where instead I could have just modeled the original hollowed, with the top and bottom being separate objects
Puzzle Piece: I made 1 puzzle piece but originally wanted to make multiple variants but ended up with only 1. At first glance at the puzzle piece I assumed it would be easy since it's originally a cube and some extrusions for indents and bevels for smoothness. I added edge loops and bevels but the polycount quickly became too much for a low poly. The extrusion part of the piece was the easiest compared to the indented part although I'm not sure why.
Chest Textures: I wanted to stay true to the reference of a aged/dirty wood for the main chest and dusty/aged metal for the pipes. I also applied a similar metal which I used for the pipes onto the corners and applied normal stamps onto them to imply screws. For the opened variant, the only change in texture was the interior. I applied a velvet fuzzy texture where the treasured puzzle piece will stay.
Pipe Textures: I originally tried to apply the textures of last sprints pipes onto this model but because I scaled them down, the textures wouldn't apply correctly. I ended up retexturing them similar to the reference with a silver and rough look.
For the overall 'aged' look, I added some generators to wrap dirt into the cracks and a variant of the dirt to imply dust
Puzzle Piece Texture: I wasn't sure how I wanted to texture the puzzle piece. I experimented with a spray painted and plastic look similar to normal puzzle pieces material. The paint and plastic look didn't apply how I envisioned it so I tried to apply the same wood as the chest, onto the puzzle piece which fit well. I tried to apply some color on top of the wood but maybe I applied it oddly, but didn't come out well so I ended up scrapping it, leaving the final product as just a polished wood texture.
As we come near the deadline, I am gonna really try to push myself to get the most work done next sprint compared to my previous efforts. Because I didn't get to start modeling our magic related models for the second part of the game last sprint, we'll probably end up scrapping that idea which voids majority of my cards. I will probably be working on our game poster and UI next sprint and anything else my producer adds to replace the cards we'll be scrapping for me.
Mobile Game - Grapple-Go
Week 4 - 10/20/25
Game Description:
Grapple-Go is an infinite side scroller game where the player has to use their grapple hook to dodge and maneuver their way around obstacles and enemies.
This sprint, I worked on the roaming ground enemy and pipes. This included some remodeling of the player model that I converted into this enemy type, UVing, texturing, and prefabbing within Unity. Although I already made pipes during the first sprint, I lowered the polycount, UVed, textured, and prefabbed within Unity.
Although I was sick this sprint, I still tried my best with what I could do. Although the work I have done this sprint is the lowest so far, I believe I still put out quality, detailed work.
Pipes: Basing the original modular pipes I did during week 1 and 2, I was told they looked amazing but probably had too many tris and since pipes need to be connected multiple times, duplications with too many tris will add up.
For example, the image to the left is one of the original pipes I did. Although it
looks good, the total Tris were 1280, compared to the right that I lowered into 228 Tris. The image below refers to a comparison of my 'high' poly version on the top and my 'low' poly.
Pipe Textures: I textured the pipes according to how I originally wanted them when I was doing to do it 2D pixel art, and sticking to the original pallet. I wanted the pipes to work with the background which I wanted to be a range of greens and cyans and the pipes would blend in as a darker outline. But because now my pipes are 3D, it won't blend into the background as well but it worked out because rust can also be greenish so I based it similar to that. This worked well to contrast the player which is mostly dark browns and reds which would contrast the copper orange and green.
Roaming Ground Enemy: I was given freedom to decide on the ground enemy and went for a human based one. I referenced the player for the model and experimented with accessories to imply the theme onto them including a dress, hair, and goggles.
Mobile Game - Grapple-Go
Week 3 - 10/12/25
Game Description:
Grapple-Go is an infinite side scroller game where the player has to use their grapple hook to dodge and maneuver their way around obstacles and enemies.
This sprint, I finished modeling and UVing the grapple hook leftover from last sprint. For texturing, I textured models from week 1 and 2 including the grapple gun, player, and hook. And to wrap up, I imported everything into Unity and applied materials onto them along with created prefabs.
Player Model: As mentioned from the last sprint, I ran into some issues with the player model. This time when remaking the models, instead of connecting the arms with the body, I modeled them as separate parts allowing me to adjust their angles for arm movements. This might help me later on if I do end up animating or adjusting in Unity when the player clicks at a certain height, the arm angle will change with it.
Player Texture: For the player textures, I based it off of my pixel art player from week 1. For texturing, I kept it low detailed but with bolder colors because for a mobile game, the lower the graphics the easier it'll run. I took a bit of artistic freedom by drawing on details for the character like the hair and face. And lastly, I sent it into Unity and created a prefab.
Player Design: I did end up scrapping my initial idea for having the character be female, because I originally wanted long hair, but without model of the hair, it was hard to draw on and look intentional. Additionally, I tried to draw on a corsets, but looks off without an undershirt, which I ended up experimenting a lot with the brush tool and layering to get it right. I also made 2 separate prefabs of the player, one with the grapple gun in hand and one without just in case.
Grapple Gun: After modeling the grapple gun last sprint, I textured it this sprint. I made the overall texture of the gun an almost black color to stand out on the screen, contrast to the player. I also went with a greenish gold complimentary color, keeping the green as a oxidized copper on the gears, and an emerald gold as the gem in the center. And to keep it classy and or stay on a steampunk color scheme added a dirtied gold lines around the handle. I also transferred the gun into Unity and created a prefab for it.
Grapple Hook: And with a Grapple Gun, you needs a hook. I modeled, UVed, textured, and prefabbed it so later on, it can be attached to a string that will connect the gun to the hook. I had some issues with modeling the hook because the references relied on shading to imply a 4 hook hook, which doesn't show well, so I had to tweak the scaling and distance to imply 4 hooks without it looking like a pickaxe.
Mobile Game - Grapple-Go
Week 2 - 9/28/25
Game Description:
Grapple-Go is an infinite side scroller game where the player has to use their grapple hook to dodge and maneuver their way around obstacles and enemies.
This sprint, I worked on the player model, the grapple gun, a flying enemy, and started the grapple hook for the gun. Along with UVing everything I worked on this sprint, I also finished up UVinig the pipes from last sprint.
Completed: I did run into some issues this sprint. Firstly, I noticed my player model in maya somehow deleted itself. The group I had it in was there and had its sub folders, but when I opened the model wasn't there. At the beginning of next sprint after I finish the grapple hook, I plan on remodeling the player and UVing it.
Issues: Another 'problem' or issue I had this sprint was communication about modeling. We are going for a side scroller, so the back of the model won't be seen. After consulting my team about this, we never came to a solid answer, so I would model the back of something but didn't apply the same details or extrusions I would compared to the front; ex: the grapple gun.
Flying Enemy: My idea around the flying enemy was inspired by the show Arcane which is also a steam punk kind of industrial vibe. I designed my model around a flying security camera eye ball with a gear surrounding it. I had to do some tweaking because if I left how it was, there would be Z fighting after texturing. Game mechanic wise, I would probably want it to shoot a laser of the sort out of the center of the eye while it hovers.
For sprint 3, I plan on finishing and UVing the grapple hook, texturing the models I have done, and importing everything into Unity and lastly pre-fab them all.
Mobile Game - Grapple-Go
Week 1 - 9/14/25
Game Description:
Grapple-Go is an infinite side scroller game where the player has to use their grapple hook to dodge and maneuver their way around obstacles and enemies.
This sprint I did a lot of work, but half were scrapped due to my assumption we could do 2D art which in fact we were supposed to do 3D. This lead to majority of this sprint being pixel art which may end up being scrapped. I hope later on I can still reincorporate it whether its within UI, App icon, or 3D textures.
Addressing the pixel art:
- Grapple Gun
- Grapple Hook
- Modular Pipes
- Gears
- Character
Character Art: Although the list is small, what I did to complete the pixel art translated to sketching character models I liked and experimented on poses. Because it was pixel art I had to adjust a lot of minor pixels and research our steampunk theme. After that outline, I searched for a color pallet and incorporated a design that conveyed the theme and then applying the colors. And lastly was to shade and texture it.
Gun/Grapple Art: Same process was addressed for everything else done in pixel art. I referenced and sketched different designs for the grapple gun I created. Researching items that go into the steampunk theme, which I ended up deciding on adding a gear and electric/shiny gem into the gun. Fitting the color scheme into this gun, when I think steampunk I think mechanical copper/rust and metal, so when applying textures/colors, I played a lot with opacity with oranges, grays, blacks, and reds.
Pipes/Gears: Originally, my idea for the pipes would be more fit for the background, since my group producer and game designer couldn't give me a solid answer on what they exactly wanted if they didn't want it as a background or if they wanted 2 types. I created the pipes to be modular since pipes always connect to each other. Wrapping back to my idea of them being in the background, I wanted the background to follow a green pallet I found and it also worked since rusty pipes, specifically copper, turns a greenish blue eventually which worked well when shading and giving it depth. 3D Modeling: I did manage to translate a couple of the pixel art designs into 3D models in Maya like the modular pipes and a couple gears. I ended up redoing the pipes a few times to lower poly count since the ones I originally made felt too too high for a mobile game.
And lastly, this sprint I also did a lot of concept design work which didn't count for points but will help later on when creating additional props, items, background items and just general objects.
