Overview
Prop am Berg was developed during the Semester Games Jam in the winter semester. The jam theme was Freeze, which led our team to reinterpret the game Ochs am Berg through an asymmetrical multiplayer concept inspired by Prop Hunt. In the final prototype, one player controls a drone while up to four other players take the role of gnomes. The gnomes can transform into different props distributed throughout the environment, while the drone has to identify which objects are persistent and which are player-controlled.
As the most experienced programmer in a six-person team, I contributed across several core systems. My work included the input and control systems, parts of the rendering setup, and the full prop interaction system, including prop selection and spawning. The project was designed for local play on a single machine using two monitors, which added an additional technical constraint to the implementation.
The core concept worked, but the prototype would have benefited from more time for tuning and stability improvements. In particular, input handling and gameplay polish had a strong impact on how clearly the idea translated to players, making playtesting and refinement one of the main lessons from the project.
Impressions
Conclusion
This project was a useful exercise in local multiplayer design, input system implementation, and rapid prototyping under game jam constraints. It also highlighted how strongly usability, tuning, and stability affect the success of an otherwise strong core idea.
The final prototype is available for download below. It requires two screens and at least one controller to play. Due to a known input-related issue, the game needs to be restarted after each round. The full project is also available on GitHub.
