Shifty The Cat

Description:

Shifty The Cat is a puzzle-platformer demo project that revolves around looking at a 3D environment from different angles and “shifting“ to a 2D environment based on that perspective. From certain angles, ledges and platforms previously out of reach are simply a few steps away! As the project only features a single level, this is more of a proof-of-concept than a completed game.

The player controls a smug pink cat named Shifty who belongs to a genius inventor. After pulling an all-nighter working on his newest project, Shifty finds his owner asleep at his desk. To wake up his owner, Shifty must use the new device to enter the dreams of the inventor and help him find his way back to the waking world!

This project was developed in Unity Engine where I was primarily responsible for the “dimension-shifting“ mechanic. Using Unity’s Cinemachine components, I created a system where the camera can revolve around a 3D level and, when a button is pressed, snaps to the nearest node placed at the 4 cardinal directions. The system, when shifting to 2D mode, will also switch its ground collision system to be determined by a raycast from the camera’s direction rather than the 3D character collider box. This creates the effect seen in-game and is the crux of the game’s puzzle design.