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Game Development

Ballelujah

A 3D local 1v1 pinball-tower-defence hybrid where two players build tower loadouts on separate boards and battle for the highest score before time runs out — set in a mythological Realm of the Gods.

UnityC#PhysicsLocal MultiplayerGame DesignFMOD

At a glance

Unity

Engine

C#

Language

8

Team size

Year 4

Year

Game screenshot

Ballelujah — split pinball board top-down view during gameplay
In-game top-down view — split board with both player zones, flippers, and scoring UI active

Poster

Ballelujah official poster

Concept

Ballelujah was developed at Brock University under the studio name Round Robin Games. The concept merges two distinct genres — classic pinball and tower defence — into a local competitive experience where both players are active simultaneously on split boards.

The setting is the Realm of the Gods: a floating Asgard/Olympus-inspired arena where elemental Nomad characters (Fire, Water, Earth, Air) use powers to summon towers and abilities. High-energy and mythological, built for casual competitive play.

Audio was implemented using FMOD Studio with dedicated sound banks for ball physics, BGM, tower interactions, Nomad abilities, and UI.

Board design

Annotated board design diagram showing score, timer, portal, essence, flippers and netzone
Board layout — Score, Timer, Portal, Essence, Character Pedestal, Flippers, and Net Zone
Ballelujah character select screen showing 4 coloured Nomad pawns
Character selection — Choose your Nomad before the match

Gameplay footage

Live gameplay — both boards active

Nomad characters

Character designs by the Round Robin Games art team — not Phillip's work. Phillip implemented gameplay systems for each character's in-game behaviour.

Fire Nomad character sheet
Fire Nomad
Air Nomad character sheet
Air Nomad
Earth Nomad character sheet
Earth Nomad
Water Nomad character sheet
Water Nomad

Choose your Nomad

Character selection screen — pick your Nomad before the match

Gameplay loop

  1. 01

    Build Phase (15s)

    Players spend Essence to place starting towers in predetermined Build Spaces before pinballs are active.

  2. 02

    Play Phase (5 min)

    Pinballs drop onto both boards. Players use flippers to keep balls out of their Netzone while continuing to place and upgrade towers.

  3. 03

    Score & Portal

    Towers score points on pinball interactions. The Portal at the top of each board transfers balls to the opponent's side — offence and defence are the same action.

  4. 04

    Nomad Abilities

    Each of the 4 Nomad characters has unique active abilities that can swing match momentum.

  5. 05

    Game End

    Timer expires. Highest score wins. Maximum 15 pinballs active per side at any time.

How to play

In-game how-to-play screen

Controls

Ballelujah controller controls screen
In-game controls screen — controller layout for both players

Tower types

Bumper Tower

Deflection

Bounces pinballs at unpredictable angles, creating chaos on the opponent's board and scoring on each hit.

Cannon Tower

Directional

Fires the pinball at a controlled trajectory toward the Portal, maximising cross-board transfer opportunities.

Wind Tower

Area control

Emits a push force that slows or redirects incoming pinballs, buying the player more time on flippers.

Portal Tower

Transfer

Creates a secondary portal entry on the board, increasing the frequency of cross-board pinball transfers.

My contributions

Implemented tower placement, upgrade, and interaction systems in C#

Physics programming — flipper controls, ball behaviour, netzone collision and penalty logic

Portal transfer system — ball crosses to opponent's board via the top portal

Contributed to GDD sections: gameplay loop, screen flow, UI layout, and balance documentation

Nomad character ability system — 4 characters with distinct powers that modify match tempo

FMOD audio integration — sound banks for ball, BGM, towers, nomad abilities, and UI

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