Battletoads Tech Talk - The Challenge of 11 Game Modes - Unite Now 2020

Discover how Dlala Studios tackled the challenges of developing Battletoads, a game featuring multiple gameplay genres, in this 24-minute tech talk from Unite Now 2020. Learn about mitigating potential problems early in development and handling issues that arose later. Explore topics such as depth of field, camera setup, render textures, command buffers, culling group API implementation, visual effect systems, and editor tools for debugging. Gain insights into the anatomy of visual effects, one-shot effects, and emitter examples. Understand the lessons learned from creating 11 distinct game modes and how the team managed the complexity of diverse gameplay elements.

Intro
Agenda
What is Battletoads?
Depth of Field
Depth buffer
Setting up the cameras
Setting up the Render Texture
Adding and removing the command buffer
Composition in action
Summary
How can we make the Culling Group API work for us?
Culling system design
ICullable interface
Example ICullable implementation
Creating the Group
Notifying the ICullable instances
Some examples
Culling: What did we end up with?
Visual effect system
Referencing a VFX
Populating the required pools
Visual effects management
Editor tools and debugging
Shmup impact effects
Anatomy of a visual effect
One-shot effects
Simple example: Emitter
Simple example: Effect
What does this mean?
Lessons from 11 game modes