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Ballista

Ballista is a casual VR action-puzzle game developed for Oculus Quest. Players launch magical critters at a corrupted castle using a catapult to destroy its source of corruption—the Bane Stone.

Development Info.

  • Genre: VR Action Puzzle

  • Role: Technical Designer

  • Engine: Unreal 4

  • Project Year: 2017 - 2018

Highlights

  • Contributed to the game from early prototyping through release.

  • Designed and implemented all enemy units using a state machine system developed in C++.

  • Collaborated with artists and designers to bring the magical critters to life with unique gameplay functions.

  • Developed the VR catapult weapon, enabling players to pull and launch critters in immersive combat.

  • Implemented the Scout Phase, allowing players to survey the battlefield from a top-down VR view and select ammo from a rotating pedestal.

Game Trailer

Contributions

Catapult

The player’s main tool throughout gameplay, the catapult serves as both the offensive weapon and the player’s health proxy — taking damage in place of the player. Players load critters from the ammo pedestal onto the sling, pull back to aim, and launch them toward enemy structures.


Owned the design and implementation of this feature from prototype through release, ensuring it felt intuitive, responsive, and immersive in VR without obstructing core gameplay flow.

Enemies

Owned the design and development of all enemy units in the game, from behavior prototyping to final implementation. Each enemy was created to challenge the player’s accuracy, prioritization, and use of different critters in a VR environment.

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Gargoyle
Agile flying enemies that attacked the player’s catapult with ranged shots. While small and mobile, they followed predictable flight paths, making them a test of timing and precision.

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Warrior
Standard ground units that charged directly toward the catapult and dealt melee damage. Encouraged players to quickly recognize and eliminate close-range threats before they reached the frontline.

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Archer
Stationary ranged enemies positioned on castle walls. Fired arrows at the catapult, pressuring players to scan the environment and prioritize high-ground threats.

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Golem
Large, high-damage enemy that appeared in later levels. Could only be damaged by hitting a glowing weak point, exposed briefly during the wind-up of its boulder-throwing attack. If allowed to reach the catapult, it could destroy it in a single hit — making it a high-priority threat.

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Melvin the Dragon
The game’s final boss, appearing in the last level of each region. Melvin had a vulnerable weak point similar to the Golem and unique mechanics like temporarily consuming the Bane Stone to shield it. A dynamic flying enemy that attacked both mid-air and while perched, providing a climactic test of the player’s reflexes and accuracy.

Scout Phase

A pre-combat planning phase where players could assess the battlefield and customize their loadout before launching into the action. Presented in a tabletop-style bird’s-eye view, players could grab, rotate, and adjust the castle layout in full 3D space to analyze defenses and plan their attack route toward the Bane Stone.

Designed and implemented this phase, including the interaction system for manipulating the table, the rotating ammo cabinet, and the slot-based ammo selection system. Special care was taken to ensure all interactions felt intuitive, tactile, and satisfying in VR — from grabbing and inspecting the environment to selecting critters and loading out the table.

This phase gave players meaningful strategic choice while reinforcing the game’s playful, hands-on VR experience.

Critters (Ammo)

Contributed to the implementation and iteration of the game's various critter-based ammo types — each designed to offer unique tactical advantages and mid-air abilities. These critters could be activated in-flight, allowing players to adapt their strategy dynamically as the battle unfolded.

 

Examples include:

  • Animated Pumpkin – Summons a scarecrow decoy on activation, drawing fire from enemy ranged units and acting as a temporary distraction.

  • Rock Troll – Splits into multiple smaller projectiles when triggered, ideal for clearing clustered enemies or structures.

  • Fire Sprite – A fast, explosive critter that deals area-of-effect damage on impact.

  • Ice Dragon Egg – Hatches mid-air to release a baby dragon that can be redirected after launch, allowing players to hit targets hidden behind walls without destroying the structure first.

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