Galaxy Swarm
Galaxy Swarm is a top-down aerial shooter built in Unity where players defend human cities from alien invasions across multiple environments. The project focused on responsive ship movement, scalable enemy wave systems, and a simple upgrade framework that allows players to customize their ship across levels.
Problem
Wave-based shooters rely on responsive controls and clear progression to stay engaging. The project required building a gameplay framework that could support multiple ship types, enemy waves, and upgrade mechanics while remaining performant on mobile devices.
Constraints
- Solo Unity development based on a predefined design document
- Gameplay needed to remain smooth during high enemy counts on mobile hardware
- Multiple player ships with different stats had to share the same gameplay framework
- Wave systems needed to scale difficulty across levels without requiring manual scripting for each encounter
Approach
Ship Movement and Combat Systems
Implemented responsive ship movement and shooting mechanics designed for mobile controls, ensuring players could maneuver and fire accurately during fast-paced dogfights.
Wave-Based Enemy System
Built a flexible enemy wave system capable of spawning different enemy types and scaling difficulty across levels without hardcoding individual encounters.
Ship Customization and Upgrades
Implemented a progression system allowing players to upgrade ship attributes such as damage, armor, and autotracking, enabling different play styles.
Environment Variations
Created support for multiple environments and level configurations to keep gameplay visually varied while reusing core gameplay systems.
Implementation Highlights
Reusable Enemy Wave Framework
Designed a configurable wave system that controls enemy spawn timing, types, and scaling difficulty, allowing new levels to be built without rewriting gameplay logic.
Ship Stat Upgrade System
Implemented a lightweight upgrade framework where ship attributes such as damage, armor, and autotrack can be modified through progression.
Multiple Playable Ships
Built a shared gameplay architecture supporting five ships with different stats while maintaining consistent controls and combat behavior.
Screens
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Results
5
Playable Ships
Implemented multiple ships with unique stat configurations using a shared gameplay system.
24
Levels
Delivered 24 levels across multiple environments with scaling enemy waves.
3 Core Stats
Upgrade Attributes
Players can customize ships through upgrades affecting damage, armor, and autotrack behavior.
Next Steps
Future improvements could include additional enemy types, new ship abilities, and leaderboard systems to increase replayability.