Aerosabre was a prototype developed for the University of Utah's Projects II class as a thesis project candidate over a period of 5 weeks using Unreal Engine 4. Aerosabre is a mixed-perspective flight combat game where players take control of a lone soldier in a post-apocalyptic world devastated by an event called "The Rising", where the only pockets of land are floating among the clouds. Players utilized parkour movement including wall-running and sliding to gain enough speed to spread their wings and fly. Rather than traditional shooter combat, players instead engaged enemies by cutting them down with their wings through close proximity flying in a fast-paced, movement heavy gameplay system. The original pitch is viewable below:
Aidan O'Keefe was the lead producer on Aerosabre, working with a small, five-person team to create a playable prototype and pitch deck in a 5 week period. He worked initially as an engineer, implementing the sliding and speed boost mechanics for the player character through C++ and Unreal Engine 4 Blueprints. He later transitioned into a pure production role, focusing on creating cinematics using UE4's Cinematic Sequencer and developing the overall pitch deck for the project. Aerosabre was ultimately not chosen as a thesis project and was shelved in October 2020.
Pictured above:
Top left: Concept art for the demo level, "The Monument to the Final Rising"
Top right, bottom left and right: Renders of the final demo level as shown in the Aerosabre pitch
