Deadline
Dungeon

Deadline Dungeon is a top-down roguelite set in a school dungeon. You fight through thirty rooms toward a giant spider boss, choosing upgrades as the encounters become harder.

Attacking requires standing still. You move to avoid danger, then find a moment to stop and fight. The Ruler Wielder is tougher and sends out mouse-aimed slashes; the quicker, more fragile Eraser Thrower attacks nearby enemies automatically while stationary.

Combat rooms close around you until every wave is defeated. Fallen enemies leave experience gems on the floor, which sweep toward you when the room is cleared. Levelling offers three upgrade choices, with four rarity tiers. Credits also fund permanent improvements between runs.

I made this as my final university project in a three-person team, using Unity and C#. We spent eight weeks on planning and prototyping, followed by ten weeks of production. I was the main programmer and art director, and came up with enemy types, power-up types and game systems.

I was the main programmer and art director, and designed enemy types, power-up types and game systems. Four of the designs I enjoyed working on most were the multiplier enemy, laser enemy, projectile multiplier and Beast Mode.

The multiplier enemy starts as one large enemy. It splits into two, and each of those splits into two again. A single enemy can turn into four smaller threats, changing how much of the room the player has to deal with.

The laser enemy has a targeting line that follows the player's movement before it fires. That visible line shows where the attack is being aimed while the player decides when to move.

The projectile multiplier increases the number of projectiles fired in an attack. Picking it up repeatedly can turn a single shot into two or three projectiles, letting the player build on the upgrade over a run.

Beast Mode is a randomly appearing power-up that gives the player a temporary rage effect. It offers a short burst of power during combat rather than a permanent upgrade.

Planning and prototyping — 8 weeks. The first phase covered developing the idea and working through prototypes before production.

Production — 10 weeks. We then moved into building the final game. Across both phases, this was an eighteen-week project with a three-person team.

Use WASD to move and the mouse to aim and use menus. Stop moving to attack. Press Escape to pause.