Luck Of The Draw

Game Engine: Unreal Engine

Team Size: 3

Role: Gameplay Design

Overview

I’ve always been fascinated by how randomness can heighten tension, especially when it forces players to improvise. The idea for Luck of the Draw came from asking a simple question:

“What if, every time you start a new stage, you have no idea which abilities—or hazards—you’ll face?”

A casino theme felt like suits the game idea the best. Cards, roulettes, and dice all signal unpredictability. From there, I set out to design a fast-paced 3D platformer where players must adapt on the fly to survive.

Randomness dictates each stage layout and power-ups. Instead of static levels, we use a ‘modular prefab + random assembly’ approach: small chunks of level geometry get shuffled and puzzled together under certain constraints. This ensures every stage is winnable while still feeling unknown.

At the same time, players only receive two random abilities each run, like a short dash, a super jump, or the ability to spawn a platform. Each ability has its own cooldown, preventing overuse and encouraging better using decision. If you die, you get another random pair. In other words, you can’t rely on a single combo forever.

Design Goals

Unpredictable But Fair

• Balancing randomness meant creating rules to avoid “unwinnable” layouts. Each prefab chunk has guaranteed safe landings and clear routes—if you play well enough.

Short, High-Stakes Sessions

• We wanted each run to last just a few minutes before you either progress or lose your lives. Failing quickly pushes you right back into the action with a fresh setup.

Challenges

Overwhelming Randomness

Early tests showed players felt helpless when faced with too many useless abilities. Testers often blamed bad luck for repeated failures, and over time, frustration overshadowed fun.

• I came up with a “Luck Band” system. After a string of unfortunate draws, the system nudges probabilities so players are slightly more likely to get a more favorable ability next. This keeps the game from feeling spiteful, without removing the core tension of randomness. We also toned down the chances of getting two super-powerful movement skills at once. It keeps the run interesting and challenging without making it feel totally unfair or RNG.

Each ability is rated from 1 to 3.

Each draw gives you 2 abilities.

Most combos fall between 3 ~ 6 total score.

If you keep getting combos ≤ 4...

Next draw is boosted, guaranteed to be 5 or 6.

Then the system resets.

Managing Hazard Interactions

Some hazard combinations could create “death traps” or lead to trivial shortcuts. We wanted interesting overlaps but had to avoid truly unwinnable combinations.

• We tagged hazards with synergy flags—“Safe Pair,” “Risky Pair,” “Avoid Pair”—and our generator ensures you rarely see unstoppable overlaps. However, “risky” combos do appear in higher difficulty tiers for advanced players seeking bigger thrills.

Ideas I Didn't Get to Implement

Like many student projects, scope was my biggest enemy. There were quite a few mechanics I was excited about, but didn’t have time to bring to life in this version of Luck of the Draw:

• Dealer Boss: I originally wanted to design a floating casino dealer who could randomly interfere players, throwing giant cards, flipping gravity, or shuffling platforms during the game. I built out the event logic in early tests, but full integration would've needed more animation.

• More Abilities: Ideas but can’t be implemented due to technically diffculity.

  • Wall-Run: A mobility ability allowing players to run along walls for a few seconds before dropping off. This would've enabled creative shortcuts, but added too many edge cases in level design.

  • Slow-Time: A temporary slow-motion bubble affecting everything within range. Too difficult to balance around short levels and cooldown pacing.

  • Platform Rewind: Let players rewind a previously spawned platform back to its last position. It created issues with overlapping prefab logic and memory tracking.

  • Grapple Hook: A long-range mobility skill that pulls the player toward a targeted anchor point. This one was super fun in early prototypes, but it is way too overpowered in parkour game.

  • Clone: Spawns a fake version of the player that can absorb one hazard or distract moving traps. It was a cool idea , but didn’t synergize with the rest of the movement-based kit.