
JRPG
The final team project of my advanced game design course had the entire class collaborating for just one week on a single game, targeted at representing the entire second half of Jason and the Golden Fleece by chronicling the character development of Jason and Medea.

The result was The Jason RPG, or JRPG as we liked to call it. As the name would imply, we styled it after a stereotypical Japanese role-playing game, symbolizing character development through party levels, stats, and spells.

We took advantage of several Unity technologies to complete the game. As the battle system developer, I implemented nine encounters using the Okashi RPG Kit. I was also in charge of creating the first of the four levels.
Sweet Dreams Are Made of This
The first level takes place in Medea's dream. Prophetic in nature, the player controls both Jason and Medea to overcome several abstract enemies. These adversaries include a shadowy bull and Medea's father, the Colchian King Aietes. This sequence of events foreshadows future challenges and marks the start of Medea's decision to aid Jason in his quest. The last battle epitomizes this idea, where Medea must either support Jason or Aietes. This also establishes the concept of Medea as a "support" character, an idea that changes over the course of the game (as it does in the text).

From a gameplay perspective, the level is designed to simply introduce the player to the mechanics of the game. The first encounter teaches the battle system, including the menu and basic attacks. The second fight introduces magic and MP consumption. The final enemy requires both Jason and Medea to defeat, introducing the party system.
– Role: Programmer
– Seven team members
– Four Levels and an Overworld





The overarching narrative takes place across an overworld that connects all of the levels together.


Blazing Saddles
As in the story, the second level has Jason completing a set of challenges issued by Aietes. First, the player must yoke a pair of flaming bulls, previously hinted at in Medea's dream. The bulls would normally kill Jason through their high-damage fire spells, but Medea can cast a fire protection spell using her mystical drugs. (Once again, Medea cannot directly attack and can only support Jason so that he might claim victory.)

Afterwards, Jason has to defeat an army of men grown from the earth. The only way to beat them without dying is to throw a rock at them and send them into disarray, attacking one another. Again, this is a story element taken straight from the narrative.

Killing Me Softly With Her Words
After the Argonauts (with Medea in tow) acquire the Golden Fleece, they are pursued by a fleet of Colchian ships. Apsyrtos, Medea's brother, commands a number of these vessels and manages to corner Jason and his crew on a small island. It's here that Medea's character begins to change, and, taking the lead, she formulates a plan to assassinate Apsyrtos.
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To do so, the player must distract him at a false meeting, using a "battle of words" to keep him occupied while Jason sneaks closer. Battle commands including "interrupt an insult" and "tell an interesting lie". Eventually, Jason gets close enough to land a fatal blow, sending the Colchians scurrying away.

Just as the Argonauts are about to return home, they encounter Talos, the Bronze Giant. Hurling enormous boulders at the Argo, Talos threatens to end the Argonauts' journey.

At this point, Medea's character completes its transformation. While Jason remains mostly static throughout the game, Medea grows in levels, stats, and abilities. Here, she has the long range spells that are capable of devastating Talos and winning the day. Jason, on the other hand, retains the same melee functionality he's had the entire game, and is thus unable to attack Talos from the edge of the boat.
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No longer in a supporting role, Medea becomes the dominant hero while Jason must sit on the sidelines. This gameplay encapsulates one of the major ideas of Jason and the Golden Fleece, the development of the characters of Jason and Medea.
Going for Gold (Err, Bronze...)

