Way of Sound – Puzzle Game in Unreal Engine 5
A Godot 4 tower-defense prototype focused on crisp readability and meaningful upgrades, grid placement, spline-path enemies, and status-driven combat that rewards smart positioning.
My role in this project
Architect and Game Developer
A fast, readable 2D tower defense prototype built with Godot 4, focused on tight placement, clear telegraphing, and meaningful upgrade choices. Enemies traverse spline-based paths while towers react with distinct damage types and status effects, balancing short-range burst, sustained DPS, and control utility.
Grid-based placement with collision/validity hints and sell/relocate options
Wave system (composition, intervals, miniboss logic, scaling curves)
Three tower families: Burst (crit/armor shred), Beam (ramp-up DPS), Control (slow/stun/DoT)
Damage types & resistances + status effects (Slow, Burn, Armor Break)
Economy: interest tick, combo bounties, and cost-based refund rules
Readable telegraphs: spawn warnings, path arrows, tower ranges, proc icons
Developer’s Note
Hi, I’m Denis Schlusche, game developer and designer passionate about creating systems that feel seamless in motion and code.
- Audio: attenuation curves + dynamic LP/HP filtering to improve localizability.
- Materials: emissive ramps & modest hue shifts that track distance parameters.
- Interaction: approach/align/confirm cycles; optional resets to teach timing.
Tech Stack
Engine: Godot 4.x
Language: GDScript (prototype), optional C# hooks later
Core Nodes: Path2D, PathFollow2D, Area2D, Timer, NavigationAgent2D, Tween
Tools: autoloaded GameState, WaveDirector, ObjectPool, curve resources for scaling
Design Goals
Clarity over clutter – every effect is legible at a glance.
Anticipation, not surprise – early warnings for spawns and speed bursts.
Meaningful choices – distinct build paths, no strictly dominant tower.
Short rounds – quick fail/iterate loop for tuning and learning.
Challenges
DPS legibility: added damage numbers throttling and icon batching to avoid spam.
Path intersection: lane overlaps needed z-index rules + outline contrast for units.
Snowball control: interest cap + sell penalty to keep mid-game decisions relevant.
Status stacking: normalized effect potency/duration to prevent degenerate slow-locks.
Let’s Build Something
Leave me a short message explaining what you need. A partner for a Game Dev Jam, a partner in your team or access to a shown asset?
Denis Schlusche
Passionate Game Developer and Game Designer, creating joyful and immersive experiences, where gameplay and storytelling come together.