Plunder Panic is an arcade style action platformer for up to twelve players. With four ways to win, your team of plundering pirates must work together to kill the enemy captain, fire the cannon, row the rowboat and gather gold.

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Plunder Panic has been in development by the GEL Lab since 2017. It began as a fun project within the GEL and quickly took off as one of MSU's staple games. In 2017 Plunder Panic attended IndieCade and won the audience choice award. Development on the game continued with a large graphics overhaul and the aim to add AI bots as well as port the game to the Nintendo Switch. At IndieCade 2019 Plunder Panic was asked to be part of the IndieCade esports showcase. The game is planned to release in 2020.

Interactive Character Select Menu

I began work on Plunder Panic in May of 2019. I was brought onto the team to develop AI bots and rework some existing gameplay features and systems, including the following.

• Implemented new menu system featuring updated art.
• Designed and created new character select scene with variations for both Arcade and Nintendo Switch versions of the game
• Implemented new game startup loop and pause functionality
• Reworked functionality of the heavy gold chest item to prevent imbalanced gameplay

• Designed and created a dual-utility AI for decision making among bots
• Created a node based movement system and used a modified A* algorithm for pathing
• Designed and created an interchangable action system for developing bot behavior
• Utilized virtual controller to create bot behavior and allow for easier networking implementation down the line
• Implemented a universal data tracking system to help track and balance victories

5 AI vs 5 AI Game