Özgür Sarıgöz | Final Hour

Final Hour is a 2D endless runner game that we created in 48 hours for ATUJAM 2024 as a team of four. Later, I took over the project as a solo-dev, polished and published it in Google Play. Whimp, the main character of the game, has stolen the magical hourglass of Death and is now being chased. The game utilizes 'time' as a resource. Players must avoid obstacles while also monitoring their remaining time. By harnessing the powers of the hourglass, players can change the game's speed to manage their dwindling resource and evade capture by Death. Additionally, they can expend time to activate special skills to overcome obstacles.

Type: Endless Runner

Date: March 2024 (Game Jam) / November 2024 (Store Release)

Role: Game Developer

Tools: Unity, C#, StrangeIoC, DOTween, GitHub Desktop

Link: Play Store Page

Final Hour

Gameplay Video

Game Scene

Central Game Scene uses layered backgrounds for a parallax effect and 2D physics for collision handling. The enemy spawn at a fixed distance from the player, reacting to speed, while invisible barriers limit enemy, missile, and obstacle movement. These barriers rely on layer-based collision checks to control movement and object despawning.

Bullets and obstacles utilize an object pool for optimized performance, reducing frequent instantiation and destruction. Screen resolution consistency for distance-dependent values, like enemy spawn point, was achieved through manual position adjustments at launch.

I implemented the parallax effect, responsiveness, UI, particle effects and the tutorial. I also engineered the time manipulation mechanic, resource system, enemy movement, game speed and time gain. Another developer initiated the object pool, PC control scheme, and collision system, which I refined and completed.

Mobile Controls

Final Hour was originally developed as a PC game for a game jam and later adapted for mobile by me. I created an entirely new control scheme tailored for mobile platforms, integrating on-screen buttons for Jump, Duck, Fire, and Dash actions, while assigning speed controls to the phone's tilt functionality. I also designed and implemented a new HUD specifically to complement the mobile control layout.

Animation Manager

Final Hour uses Unity's animation manager to seamlessly switch the player character between different states, such as jumping and crouching. The animation frames were created by the team's 2D artist using AI tools. The animation manager system was collaboratively developed with another developer on the team. Later, I expanded the animations by adding additional sequences for the character, objects, and enemy creatures, utilizing the DOTween animation package.

Responsive UI

Final Hour doesn't feature an extensive UI, but due to its availability on both PC and mobile, ensuring responsiveness was crucial. The UI elements and the overall structure of the game HUD were designed and created by the team's UI Designer (who also served as the 2D artist for this project) with the help of AI tools for asset creation. However, the specific panel showcased in the video (how-to-play panel) was entirely designed by me in Figma and later implemented by me as well, alongside all other UI components. The UI displayed in the video is not a single image but a collection of individual components, carefully structured to remain organized and functional across all resolutions.