Overview / Usage

BeatBreakrz is a vertical slice of a breakdancing robot rhythm game created in Unreal Engine. You play as H0P-R, an underdog robot dancer who wants to take down the crooked crew that hoards the city’s power supply. 80-55, the crew’s leader and infamous break dancer, uses the stolen electricity to power exclusive dance parties and keep control over the energy starved populace.

Methodology / Approach

We began this project by gathering research and creating visual guides for the style and mood that we wanted in our game. Then we built out a basic block-out of the level while at the same time working on the prototype for the rhythm game mechanics. Over the course of four months, we polished the mechanics and environments.

For the mechanics, we had multiple playtests where we could gauge what worked and what didn’t in our game. For example, we initially had the player and NPC battle-dancing at the same time, with the rhythm game constantly throwing button presses at the player. After multiple iterations, we decided to remove some of the button prompts so the player and NPC take turns dancing, with the button prompts only appearing during the player's turn. This added to the competition feel of the game and made the gameplay fit more in line with the story playing out on the screen.

The way we made the rhythm game work was to set all the songs and their arranged buttons in a secret box that floats in the sky. A camera floats over these buttons inside the box and relays that visual back to the beat board, making the buttons feel like they are moving, but it is actually the camera that moves. This spared us the hassle of having 600+ animated button actors instead of one camera actor.

We checked in with faculty during milestones that determined what visuals should be established. After the basic block-out, we began developing the larger shapes. We moved inwards from there, detailing out medium shapes, then small, and smallest. We devoted much time to adding ground clutter and decals that would tell the story of a city alley. Our graffiti system had over 40 unique decals that added a much needed pop to our thumping city. We iterated and iterated on each building, prop and character several times over through the process, playing with style, shape and color all throughout.

Finally we wanted our story to feel cinematic. We referenced films for cinematic camera movements and dynamic shots. We felt it added drama and authenticity to the story. Our game is not only a rhythm game, but there is tension between characters and real stakes. This makes beating a bad robot in a rhythm game dance off much more rewarding. Our influences didn’t stop at film though. We were inspired by comics, Hip Hop, and colorful video games. From those sources, we hope we made a game that is unique, entertaining, and fun to play.

Technologies Used

• Unreal Engine 4
• Maya
• ZBrush
• Substance Painter
• Substance Designer
• Photoshop
• Perforce
• Mixamo
• Adobe Audition

Developed on machines with Intel processors.

Documents and Presentations

Collaborators