VECT0R
Overview
VECT0R is a high-speed 2v2 arena shooter built in Unity. It takes the Source-engine movement lineage of air-strafing, surfing, and bunny-hopping and rebuilds those tricks as core features.
Each round opens with a shop of randomized cards that mutate your loadout, so every match plays differently from the one before it.
Contributions
- Card-based loadout system to customize weapons and gadgets mid-match.
- Weapons and movement gadgets: grappling hook, dash, minigun, rocket launcher.
- Arena level design, environment, and lighting.
- Player movement system with responsive, high-speed core locomotion.
Core Loop
Game loop (top) · Mechanics chart (bottom)
Systems at a glance
The round loop drives everything: prep, shop, fight, reset. Each phase feeds the next: cards bought in prep shape the fight, fight outcomes shape the next shop. A tight economy with room for long tactics.
Card-based Loadout
Every match, a new deck
Every match feels fresh thanks to randomized card options and evolving loadouts. Cards are the core strategy layer, an array of weapons, buffs, and gadgets.
In the prep phase a shop surfaces a randomized hand; each round forces new tactics.
Loadout in play, mid-match mutation
Mid-match mutation
The loadout is never locked. Players pivot between rounds as the shop's randomized offerings rewrite the meta on the fly. A support build becomes aggressive; a sniper becomes a mobility specialist.
Weapons & Gadgets
Grappling hook (top) · Dash device (bottom)
Movement gadgets
Gadgets extend the locomotion system. Each one is a verb players combine with air-strafing, surfing, and bunny-hops. The grapple rewards long sightlines; the dash punishes hesitation.
Shotgun (top) · Minigun (bottom)
Weapon feel
Each weapon carries unique recoil that alters trajectory. Shotguns rocket-jump, miniguns brake your slide, rockets fling you upward. Weapons are movement.
Rocket launcher, the skill ceiling
Rocket jump
The rocket launcher is the high-skill anchor: vertical mobility, splash damage, and a heavy cost-per-shot. Mastering it unlocks traversal routes that no other weapon offers.
Level Design
Arena overview, brutalist beta
Initial guidelines
Ample vertical spaces give multiple ways to move up. No sharp corners accommodates high movement speeds. Symmetrical maps ensure balanced, competitive play. Falling off the map means knockback and jumps can punish.
Step 01 · First blockout · 01 / 2025
Step 01 · First blockout
It exceeded optimal size. The map was too large for the 2v2 cadence and delayed enemy encounters. Players spent more time traveling than fighting.
Step 02 · Second blockout · 02 / 2025
Step 02 · Second blockout
I reduced scale, but players gravitated to the center, leaving flanks unused. A smaller map alone didn't fix the encounter problem.
Step 03 · Rework · 03 / 2025
Step 03 · Rework
Introduced blockout metrics to refine scale. Jump arcs, dash distances, and rocket-jump heights mapped to grid units. Every wall height became a decision.
Step 04 · Alpha · 04 / 2025
Step 04 · Alpha
Refined the layout for better spatial flow. Tested with players, measured time-to-first-contact, adjusted vertical routes based on heatmaps.
Step 05 · Final · Beta
Step 05 · Beta · Final
Adopted a brutalist concrete style, a stark atmosphere matching the abstract, movement-first levels. The aesthetic reinforces the metric grid underneath.
Blue zone (top) · Orange zone (bottom)
Color-coded zones
The beta arena splits into four color zones (blue, orange, red, white), each with a distinct role in competitive play. Call-outs become intuitive; team coordination gets faster.
Red zone (top) · White zone (bottom)
Zone character
Each zone tunes cover density, verticality, and sightlines. Red rewards aggression, white rewards patience. The zones force rotation over camping.
Vertical play with rocket jumps and grapple routes
Verticality
The map's vertical stack pays off the movement system. Every level of the arena is reachable through at least two gadget routes, and most through three.
Movement System
Movement config · Source lineage, Unity spin
Exploits as features
VECT0R's movement takes its lineage from the Source Engine, turning traditional exploits like air-strafing, surfing, and bunny-hopping into core features. I rebuilt them in Unity with their own spin: sliding, auto-bhop, rocket jumps.
I also built movement gadgets: jump pads, dashes, double jumps. Each weapon carries unique recoil that alters trajectory, layering skill and strategy into combat.