Daniel Ibironke | Unreal Engine Games Designer
Terminal Recall
Software Used (By Me): Unreal 5, GitHub, Microsoft Word, Piskel, Photoshop
Genre: Turn Based Strategy
Itch.io Link
Trailer
Overview
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Turn-based strategy game with chess-inspired combat.
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Player controls a mouse engineer stranded on a deserted wasteland planet.
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Core objective: collect mecha parts to escape and reunite with the crew.
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Each part grants a distinct ability, with its own movement and attack pattern
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Developed over two months as part of the Junior/Senior Collaborative Game Development module.
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My primary role was Game Designer, with additional support on UI design and Blueprint functionality.
My Role
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Designed gameplay systems, encounter layouts, and level diagrams.
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Created supporting documentation for level design and encounter planning.
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Used GitHub for version control, including branch management and rebasing.
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Assisted with UI implementation through Blueprint scripting.
Design Contributions
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Contributed to the overworld path layout during early planning.
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Designed grid-based combat encounters using enemies, interactables, and traps.
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Created 8 of the 11 final encounters, including the tutorial level.
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Designed encounters around agreed level sizes, mainly 10x10 and 15x15 grids.
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Maintained close communication with the Producer to keep designs aligned with the project vision.
UI Contributions
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Created placeholder ability icons in Photoshop during early development.
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Implemented functionality for multiple UI widgets in Unreal Engine.
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Added controls for switching between movement and attack modes.
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Added keyboard ability selection using QWERT inputs.
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Helped implement the player’s overworld health bar.
Reflection
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The project successfully delivered a solid turn-based gameplay loop with strong visual presentation.
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Scope creep limited the number of mechanics that reached the final build.
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Some enemy status effects were cut before release, including poison and intimidation.
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The original combat-puzzle hybrid concept was reduced to focus fully on combat.
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In hindsight, narrowing the design direction earlier would have helped the game feel more focused.
