Aria Skies
Aria Skies is a 2.5D non-traditional fighting where players take flight to battle their friends by creating tag teams of their favorite characters. This game is the largest and longest solo project I have worked on so far. It features 6 characters, 5 stages and plenty of game modes to enjoy.
I set out to create a game that would test and showcase my skill in the whole game development process. The game was formed over a long period of iteration and testing. I commissioned musician Gab to create original music for the game, which was a collaborative process.
Set to release on Steam as a Free-To-Play game in 2025. I have learned a lot about too many things to list here working on this project, from animating and helpful coding tricks to even a bit of marketing and publishing.
Aria Skies is coming out on Steam soon!
Engine:
Unity
Genre:
2.5D Fighting Game
Time:
01-2023 – 02-2025
Main Deliverables:
Technical Design, Combat Design, Graphics, Code
Team Size:
1
Highlights
Charging causes a lot of downtime.
The game’s appeal changed over iterations.
Iterative Process
The game went through many cycles of testing and iterating which changed the dynamics of the gameplay.
One notable example of this the “Charge” feature, which allowed players to gain Meter by holding the button. Through testing I found this led to players charging next to each other at the start of a match, not attacking until they both had full meter. This did not align with the more aggressive player experience I wanted for the game. I removed the Charge and replaced it with other methods of gaining Meter that were more aggressive and active with the rest of the game.
Other aspects of the game, such as character balance, visuals or gameplay and menu UI also saw significant changes over development through playtesting.