Steve Sparkes
This page features a shortlist of projects that were created with Unreal Engine.
Luna Abyss
Luna Abyss is Bonsai Collective's debut title. I've worked as programmer on the project since December 2020.
Compilation Showreel
Gameplay footage from Voltaic, Underbed and Solar System Music Visualiser
A compilation of footage including footage from Voltaic and Underbed. You can read more about those projects on their respective linked pages.
Also included is footage from Solar System, a music visualiser where the player terraforms planets to mix music and create dynamic effects.
Solar Sytem Music Visualiser (2018)
Terraform planets for visual feedback in sync with the music
Solar System features three tracks from music artist Slow Shudder.
Terraforming the planet mixes the different instruments of the tracks, so you can build up the depth of the music to your liking.
Raising mountains and filling the oceans affect different channels in the music, and each has a different visual effect when you enter supernovae mode - where the planet pulses with the music.
You can even add moons to orbit your planet, which will dance in time with the drums of the track.
The planet meshes are created procedurally, where the terraforming affects the shape of the mesh. The pulsing of the supernovae mode is driven by Unreal Engine's material system.
Dunkegg
Ludum Dare 46
(2020)
Let's Play of Dunkegg by YouTuber Ghetto Commentary
Dunkegg was created across three days for Ludum Dare's 46th game jam. You can play the game by following the above link.
I worked as programmer and sound designer, within a team of three others. There was one other programmer on the team, and we used blueprints to quickly create a quirky and oft-times frustrating qwop-like game designed around the theme "keep it alive".
Dunkegg enjoyed tens of thousands of views across several YouTube videos, along with an article by Alpha Beta Gamer, which kickstarted the popularity of the game jam entry.
Deck Cutters
Ludum Dare 41
(2018)
Playthrough of Deck Cutters - Hearth of the Cards
Deck Cutters was the first game entry that I created for the Ludum Dare compo, described as the "hard mode" of the LDJam. The game was created entirely by myself in 48 hours, with design, programming, sound and "art" having to be completed in that time.
The theme was "combine two incompatible genres", and I chose to explore the concept of a first person shooter crossed with an arena deck-building game.
The player quite literally fights in an arena - but they can't directly attack enemies. They instead have to summon monsters and traps to fight for them, and their deck of cards is built up with each round completed.
The mechanics of the two genres sometimes compliment each other, but often clash. For example, the player's health is tied to the number of cards left in their deck this round, so playing cards to increase your card drawing speed is going to need you to clear the round fast before you run out of health.
All Unreal Engine Projects
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Dunkegg (2020)
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Moo Moo Move (2019)
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Midi Plugin Test (2019)
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The Arcade Thief (2019) - GPS game
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Grappling Hook (2019)
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Attack of the Zomborgs (2018)
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Picturesque (2018)
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Entropy Shift (2018)
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MNTL BLCKS (2018)
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Rising Tide (2018)
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Deck Cutters (2018)
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Hustle Heroes (2018)
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RenegadeZ - (2018)
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Neighborhood Gourmet (2018)
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Solar System (2018)
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Snow Strikers (2017) - RPG football for a pub quiz round
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The Stumble Inn (2017)
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Underbed (2017)
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Voltaic (2017)
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Diaspora (2017)
Unreal Engine's fractured meshes and material system in Entropy Shift