Alabama Smith is a gravity-shifting puzzle-platformer built in Unity. Developed as part of a university Game Development (Spieleentwicklung) course, our team was granted complete creative freedom to take an original concept from initial brainstorming and prototyping to a finalized gameplay experience.
The Team:
- Damian: Programmer
- Benjamin (Hexomanya): Programmer
- Ann-Kristin: Artist
- Rafael: Artist
The structure of the course challenged us to operate like an independent indie studio:
- Concept & Ideation: We pitched an original game loop focused on a mechanically driven puzzle experience.
- Prototyping: Before entering full production, we built core prototypes to validate our gravity-shifting mechanics and ensure the physics-based puzzles felt intuitive.
- Implementation: We split into dedicated disciplines. The art team established a cohesive ancient temple aesthetic, while the programming team engineered the custom physics manipulation mechanics and level state managers.
In Alabama Smith, players step into the shoes of an adventurer exploring a perilous temple to salvage the long-lost treasure of an ancient civilization. To reach the deepest chambers, players must overcome intricate environmental obstacles using spatial awareness and gravity control.
- Gravity Manipulation: The central mechanic allows players to alter the gravitational pull of specific magical rocks. These interactive objects are identifiable by glowing blue outlines and directional particle systems that indicate their current trajectory.
- Environmental Interaction: Solve classic puzzle-platforming obstacles by lifting, carrying, and placing boxes to activate pressure plates.
- Visual Progression: The environment visually shifts from bright, floating islands to dark, complex temple ruins as the puzzles become more demanding.
- Movement:
WASD - Jump:
Spacebar - Sprint:
Left Shift - Interact / Pick Up:
F(lift and place objects) - Gravity Control:
Left Mouse Button (LMB)(target and influence the trajectory of magical rocks) - Reset:
R(return to the last checkpoint)
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Short Overview & Gameplay Explanation
A brief breakdown of the core premise (German audio with English subtitles). -
Full Playthrough
A complete, no-commentary run of the game.
- Engine: Unity
- Language: C#
- Key Development Highlights: Custom gravity and physics manipulation and level state management.