Techno Baron
About
Techno Baron is a rhythm-based rail shooter set in a surreal digital version of a child’s bedroom. Players ride through the environment and battle a unique boss as music and visuals react together in a fast-paced fight.
Project Info
Role(s): 2D & 3D Artist, Game Designer, QA Tester
Team Size: 6
Timeline: Mar 2020 - May 2020
Engine & Tools: Unity (C#), Autodesk 3DS Max
Tags: 3D, Action, Arcade, Combat, Score
Updated: Mar, 2026
Techno Baron was developed during the Video Game Design (CGP603) module of my Computer Games (Indie) degree at Southampton Solent University. Working in a team of six, we created a rhythm-based rail shooter vertical slice and published it to itch.io as our final submission.
The demo focuses on an early prototype of what would be one of the game’s final boss fights. Players control a small aeroplane that circles a toy chest boss, flying around the arena while shooting at it and avoiding incoming projectiles. The toy chest attacks by launching toys at the player, creating fast-paced patterns that must be dodged while continuing the attack.
The boss fight is divided into phases that become faster and more intense as the player damages the toy chest. Once the boss is defeated, the demo ends. The arena is surrounded by cubes that react to the music, moving up and down to the track’s BPM. This creates a visual rhythm that ties the environment to the soundtrack.
I really enjoyed working on this project because it allowed for iterative development. As a team, we were able to experiment with ideas for the flight mechanics and boss behaviour, test them, and refine them over time. The project also gave us regular opportunities to QA the game and present our progress to the rest of the class.
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For this project, I took on several roles, including 2D & 3D Artist, Game Designer, and QA Tester. As a 2D artist, I helped create UI elements for the game, including the crosshair and other interface components. I also developed a custom holographic shader in Unity to give the visuals a more futuristic look. As a 3D artist, I modelled the toy chest boss in 3ds Max, including UV unwrapping and texturing.
In my game design role, I helped design the boss attack mechanics, including the projectile patterns and how the speed and intensity increased as the player dealt more damage. As part of QA, I conducted regular testing throughout development, helping identify and resolve major bugs before the final submission.
Lastly, I produced concept documentation and a detailed post-mortem, providing insight into the project’s development process, and contributed to creating a press kit to support the game’s release.
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I was excited to work on this project because of its collaborative nature and because I had never worked on a rhythm-based shooter before. It pushed me into unfamiliar territory and gave me the chance to learn new skills, such as using Unity’s Shader Graph, while also improving my 3D modelling.
Working as a Team
As the project progressed, however, the collaborative aspect of the team began to fade. Some team members, including myself, became more focused on our individual contributions rather than working together as closely as we had at the start. Looking back, I think the project would have benefited from stronger communication and clearer coordination, as there were moments when team members unknowingly worked on the same tasks.
Despite this, Techno Baron became a strong portfolio piece and allowed us to create something unique during my final year at Southampton Solent University. The experience taught me a lot about collaboration, communication, and managing responsibilities within a team.