Fight or Flight

A 2.5D platformer built in 48 hours for the Pitt Games 4 Social Impact Game Jam 2025, on the theme of migration. You play as Peng, a penguin displaced from a melting iceberg — and unlike every other bird you meet, you cannot fly. You can only waddle, slide, and jump.

My Contributions

Dialogue system. I built a text display system for NPC conversations where each bird has a unique text speed and sound pitch, giving characters personality without voice acting. The variation in how different birds "speak" reinforces their characterization mechanically.

Art and assets. In an unusual shift from my typical programming-heavy role, I created environment assets including icebergs and boulders. The 2.5D perspective required careful attention to scale and placement to read correctly at all depths.

Git management. I served as the team's Git point person, handling merge conflicts and repository organization throughout the jam. This kept us moving fast without stepping on each other's work — critical when four people are pushing to the same codebase under time pressure.

Process

After last year's "First Penguin Award" (aim high, fail spectacularly), I came in with a plan. We started with tight player experience goals, which kept scope reasonable and focused. Core mechanics — movement, dialogue, levels — were solid by end of day one. Day two was integration and polish.

Outcome

Fight or Flight won the Technical Achievement Award. The game came together with relatively few major issues, and the structured approach I brought to the team made the difference.