Drone Shooter (Development Overview)

Devlog — Drone Shooter (Development Overview)

The goal of this project was to create a compact but intense first-person shooter where the player must destroy all enemy drones within a limited time. The core gameplay loop is built around pressure, precision, and resource management — you have one gun, a ticking clock, and waves of drones determined to overwhelm you. If time runs out or your health drops to zero, the mission fails.

I began by developing the player controller and weapon system, focusing on smooth movement and responsive aiming. Since the game features only one weapon, it was important to make shooting feel satisfying. I implemented hitscan shooting for instant bullet response, added recoil, and tuned camera feedback for immersion. To make resource management part of the challenge, I scattered ammo pickups across the map, forcing players to move constantly instead of camping in one location. Balancing this system was tricky — at first, players would frequently run out of bullets mid-fight. I solved this by adjusting the pickup respawn timer and increasing the default ammo capacity slightly, which maintained tension without making the game frustrating.

The drone AI was the most challenging part of development. My initial prototypes used simple movement patterns, but the drones often behaved unpredictably — sometimes getting stuck in corners or moving too erratically to hit. To fix this, I introduced a basic state machine with patrol, chase, and attack states. When the player entered a drone’s detection range, it would switch to chase mode, using line-of-sight checks and simple obstacle avoidance to navigate around geometry. I also tweaked their acceleration and movement speed until combat felt fast-paced but fair. This iterative balancing process was critical to making the drones feel both intelligent and fun to fight.

To reinforce the tension, I implemented a countdown timer displayed prominently on the HUD. The player must eliminate all drones before the timer reaches zero, adding urgency to every encounter. Health packs were placed throughout the map to provide brief moments of recovery, but I limited their number and positioned them in exposed areas to encourage risk-taking. This balance between danger and reward made every decision meaningful — whether to chase a health pickup or keep pressure on the remaining drones.

During testing, I encountered several performance and gameplay issues. Having too many active drones at once caused frame rate drops, so I introduced a wave-based spawn system, where new drones only appear once the previous wave is cleared. This not only stabilized performance but also gave players small breaks between combat bursts. Another issue was the visual clarity of projectiles and damage feedback; sometimes players weren’t sure if they were hitting their targets. I fixed this by adding impact sparks, hit markers, and sound cues for successful hits. These small additions drastically improved the feel of combat.

For presentation and atmosphere, I kept the visuals minimalistic but clear. Drones emit distinct light patterns and sounds so players can locate them even when they’re not in direct view. As the timer gets close to zero, a warning alarm and flashing UI elements heighten the sense of urgency. I also fine-tuned the lighting to ensure that all important pickups and enemies remained visible under different conditions.

In the final stages of development, I focused on polishing and balancing. I adjusted drone health, spawn counts, and timer durations based on multiple playtests. The goal was to maintain a smooth difficulty curve that rewards accuracy, movement, and awareness. I also refined the HUD to display only essential information — health, ammo, remaining drones, and time left — to avoid clutter and keep players immersed in the action.

This project was an excellent learning experience in AI design, gameplay pacing, and player feedback systems. I learned how small gameplay elements, such as pickup placement and timer length, can drastically impact the player’s emotional experience. Developing the drone shooter helped me strengthen my understanding of balancing challenge with fairness, optimizing AI behavior, and designing under clear gameplay constraints. While the game currently includes only one weapon, expanding it with more drone types, new arenas, and a scoring system are the next steps I plan to take.

Overall, I’m proud of how the project turned out. It delivers a focused, high-pressure FPS experience where every second counts — a simple idea that evolved into a well-rounded, replayable challenge built through constant iteration and problem-solving.