Dennisse Pagan - Portfolio

Area-of-Effect (AoE) Attack: Implemented a special ability acquired through a power-up, combining timed visual effects and animations with code-driven collider detection. The effect is precisely synchronized so enemies are destroyed at the moment of visual impact, reinforcing clarity and satisfying visual feedback through explosion effects.

Homing Projectile Power-Up: Implemented a homing projectile system that identifies the closest target using distance calculations based on the Pythagorean theorem, then applies vector cross-product logic to steer the projectile smoothly toward its target.

Multi-Phase Boss Encounter (Phase 1): Implemented a boss system with a dynamic HP bar that drives state-based behavior changes. As health decreases, the boss transitions between attack patterns, including a mild bullet-hell phase implemented using object pooling for performance and consistency.

Final Boss Phase: As the boss takes damage, smoke visual effects dynamically appear to communicate its deteriorating state. In the final phase, attack intensity escalates with more aggressive bullet-hell patterns and the introduction of a laser-based attack, reinforcing both visual feedback and gameplay tension

Aggressive Enemy Type: This enemy detects the player within a set range and charges to engage, providing immediate visual feedback by flickering red when the player is in range to telegraph its attack.

Dynamic Shields: Both players and enemies can deploy shields — players via power-ups, and enemies as a variant ability. Shields visually indicate their remaining strength by gradually changing color as they take damage, providing clear feedback to the player.