Source

Source Code can be found here.

Overview/Elevator Pitch

One of the gaming markets underserved is a competitive game without the need for expensive consoles or computers. Punks:UnLTD created a video game leveraging AirConsole and Unity to create “Epoch”, an engaging real time strategy where the only thing required is a working computer and a smartphone.

Players compete for limited resources and block off other player’s access. Players are then ranked according to how many resources they acquire. Epoch’s gameplay combines elements of the game snake and simulations.

Issues Faced

We faced two major issues in development of Epoch.

One

the lack of easily consumable datasets. We initially attempted to use the GLOBE dataset which is a vegetation index reported by local schools. However, there were gaps in the information. We overcame this challenge by using satellite imagery showing vegetative health and parsing it with a python script that analyzed the image’s pixel data and mapping it to a grid.

Two

Network settings prevented certain necessary scripts to communicate between a smartphone and the local machine that hosts the game.

Unity Gameplay Elements

There are two elements that we think sets Epoch apart. One—AirConsole allows people with just a smartphone and an internet connection to play, removing the need for costly gaming equipment.

The second is a fully customizable, working map creator, allowing developers to cater the experience from states to even other countries.

The Future

The future of Epoch lies in integrating even more data sets; vegetation, water resources, population, even pollution. Further expansion would include increasing maximum player size from four to eight.