Grid5

Grid5 — Minimalist Mechanics and Core Game Loop Prototype Grid5 is a polished minimalist resource-collection game developed as a study in core gameplay loops, tight scope control, and structured user experience. The project restricts the playable area to a 5x5 grid to focus strictly on balancing core mechanics and refining game feel. Gameplay Overview: The player spawns directly in the center of a 5x5 grid environment. The player starts with 2 Action Points. Every move to an adjacent tile or action to break an environmental object like trees or stones consumes 1 Action Point. Breaking resource objects awards additional points to the player's score. To achieve victory, the player must strategically navigate the grid and collect or break every single resource item on the board before running out of actions. Technical Implementation: Input handling was implemented using the modern Unity Input System, handling events via Keyboard.current, which ensures forward-compatible and scalable input architecture. Designed a custom pause system utilizing Time.timeScale to smoothly freeze gameplay, physical systems, and update loops upon menu invocation. Handled structured scene progression including main menu, game loop, pause states, and seamless level reloading using the UnityEngine.SceneManagement API. Structured using optimized Prefabs to allow modular environment design and efficient material updates integrated with Boxophobic's Extended Skybox systems. Scope Control and Post-Mortem: A major focus of this project was Scope Management or Feature Cutting. To avoid overcomplication and guarantee a high level of polish for a solo project, secondary features such as an in-game shop and additional dimensions were intentionally cut during development. This allowed for absolute focus on fixing architectural issues, UI responsiveness, and delivering a clean, bug-free gameplay loop. Developed as a portfolio piece for Game Development and IT Programs.

Source Code on GitHub: https://github.com/kloun228228/Grid5.git