HardDriverZ
HardDriverz is an arcade racing game where players can customize their karts to compete through fun, twisty, futuristic tracks that defy gravity. Pick different cool, unique power-ups that will help you get ahead of other racers as you compete to be the fastest racer.
HardDriverZ was developed by a medium-sized team of 50 members using Unreal Engine 5. Major contributions to the project included technical architecture design for the pickup system, implementation of five out of six pickup mechanics, and collaborative iteration with level designers on environmental obstacle refinement and balancing.
Roles
Pick Up Technical Designer
A pickup management system was architected to facilitate item acquisition, utilization, and replacement. Each pickup object contained an enumerated type variable designating its pickup classification. Upon collision with the player, the pickup transmitted its type value to the player's pickup manager component. Item utilization invoked the corresponding function associated with the player's currently held pickup type, enabling a scalable and extensible pickup framework.
Status Technical Designer
A reusable status effect actor component framework was developed, featuring customizable attachment, detachment, and tick callback functions. The component autonomously managed its lifecycle, invoking all registered functions and self-detaching upon duration expiration. The versatility of this framework facilitated its adoption across a diverse range of gameplay effects, spanning from simple movement speed modifications to advanced smoke screen implementations that applied post-processing effects to the player's viewport.
Pick Up Programmer
Six total pickup items were implemented, with five developed from conception through completion or substantially redesigned and finalized. Implemented pickups included: a speed boost modifier, a stun trap mechanism, an oil trail that induces vehicle slip and loss of control, a smoke screen applying viewport post-processing blur effects, and a protective shield mitigating damage from hostile pickups and environmental hazards. Additionally, experimental pickup prototypes were developed during iteration, including invisibility mechanics and a kleptomaniac pickup enabling item theft from opposing players, which were ultimately excluded from the final release.
