Mario Gsmers - virus.exe

A screenshot of gameplay with a few sample ads
The main OS

Inspiration

We were greatly inspired by more meta puzzle games such as Papers Please and Hypnospace Outlaw in our approach, and given the number of creative-minded people on our team we thought the number of ads and other artwork, such as the in-game OS, would give great opportunities for expression. The ads themselves were inspired by both retro popup ads and banner ads seen on websites throughout the internet.

What it does

The game presents users with the desktop of a virtual OS, and users can either click the in-game tutorial document to get some basic facts about the core gameplay, or launch the main game. Popup ads begin spawning and the user is to close them as fast as possible before 10 accumulate and automatically end the game. Challenge is introduced with the frequency of ad spawning increasing over time as well as various effects on the player's cursor and screen being introduced with special ad types. The special type available as of submission is the "frozen" ad type, which requires multiple clicks before it can be closed.

How we built it

We used Unity to create draggable windows that could not leave the main display view. Scripts were also used to regulate the spawn rate and frequency of spawning of the different windows types, which also used different effects on the user's cursor and window. The ads themselves were made using Adobe Photoshop with the main focus being on photo collages. Glitch effects were achieved using HxD Hex Editor to corrupt the code of images, which were then re-rendered to achieve a broken looking effect.

Challenges we ran into

Given that this was the majority of our group member's first time programming in Unity, gaining familiarity with this new software was the biggest hurdle to clear. The nature of our software also caused a great deal of Github merge conflicts over the course of development which were a big impedance.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The art of the game, in particular the OS and the variety of ads, was definitely gratifying to see come to life in the game, and the gameplay itself has an engaging stressfulness to it that is fun to replay.

What we learned

When approaching a new software like Unity, diligence early on with using broad tutorials can go a long way in establishing an early understanding. Also being communicative between team members when working on similar branches is essential in preventing merge conflicts.

What's next for virus.exe

We hope to flesh out the game more in the future with the potential for video ads, more special ad types (particularly a "slow" type which reduces cursor sensitivity and a "glitch" type which causes distracting distortion on the user's screen), a more animated "cracking" animation for the "frozen" window type, variable window sizes, a functional mute button, more sound effects for various actions, a more intuitive tutorial with visual and interactive components, window titles that correspond to the ads shown, a taskbar that shows how many ads are on screen, a reset and escape button on the game over screen, and even a story mode style of gameplay with the narrative being delivered through planned ad placements.

Built With

Submitted to

HackED 2022

Created by

I worked on creating the major window functionalities such as drag and drop, closing, border detection, progress bars and the special ice windows. This has been the most polished hackathon project I have been a part of, and it was super rewarding to see it come together!

Kate Vlaar
I worked on the graphical design of the popup ads, desktop icons, and tutorial document. It was a fun experience to experiment with a wide array of visual styles with both retro and modern internet aesthetics.

Zane Kordich
I worked on the window-spawning, game-flow control, and visual aspects of the project. I also worked on spriting and placing elements of the UI. This is my first time committing to making a game in Unity - so it was fun learning how to use the tools and navigate the documentation!

Lane McMartin
I worked on various aspects of the game, from the visual aspect of the progress bars to the music choice, and a few other features that are being considered for future implementation. It was the first time that I've worked on a game in Unity, and this was a great learning experience!

Gabriel Rojas
Richmond Naviza
Hudson Shykowski