Games by Roberto Canini

Treasure Hunters is a thrilling new 2D adventure game series that puts you in the shoes of Howard, a treasure hunter with a passion for uncovering the world's long-lost secrets. Together with Ellie, a brave and resourceful reporter, you'll travel to far-off lands, from ancient ruins to tropical jungles, in search of ancient treasures.

As you delve deeper into the mysteries of the past, you'll encounter all manner of obstacles and enemies who will stop at nothing to get their hands on the treasures before you. From treacherous terrain to mind-bending puzzles, every challenge you face will test your skills, knowledge, and determination.

But you won't be alone in your quest. Ellie will be by your side every step of the way, offering invaluable insights and support as you navigate the dangerous world of treasure hunting. Together, you'll uncover the secrets of lost civilizations, unearthing ancient artifacts and relics that will change the course of history.

The Engine

The game engine powering Treasure Hunters - Path of Dreki was built within the Godot Engine, using a unique XML-driven architecture. Every puzzle, object, combination, interaction, and dialogue is initially defined in a structured XML file, which serves as the foundational blueprint for the entire gameplay logic. From this XML, each scene dynamically comes to life: characters are placed, interactive zones are activated, and all elements behave according to the rules defined by the custom-built ADE (Adventures Dynamic Engine). Thanks to this system, the main character automatically knows what can be picked up, examined, combined, or spoken to, all based on the context described in the XML. While Godot handles rendering, animation, and core systems, the ADE framework allows for rapid content creation and iteration without modifying engine code, enabling a flexible and scalable adventure game development pipeline. A simple example of how the XML is used to define an object is shown below:

<Object Id="cold_water_cup">
    <Description>
        <Name>Cold Water Cup</Name>
    </Description>
    <Actions>
        <Inspect />
        <Use-With IdTarget="cleaning_lady">
            <Effects>
                <Activate Flag="cleaning_lady_microwave" OrderIdx="0" />
                <Speak Dialogue="cleaning_lady_microwave" OrderIdx="1" />
            </Effects>
        </Use-With>
        <Use-With IdTarget="microwave">
            <Condition>
                <Active Flag="microwave_open" />
            </Condition>
            <Effects>
                <Consume-Object OrderIdx="0" IdTarget="cold_water_cup" />
                <Create-Inventory-Object IdTarget="hot_water_cup" OrderIdx="1" />
                <Activate Flag="water_heated" OrderIdx="2" />
            </Effects>
        </Use-With>
    </Actions>
</Object>

References

The development approach for Treasure Hunters was inspired by the "A Documental approach to adventure game development" research paper, which emphasizes structured documentation and systematic design patterns. This methodology helped shape our XML-driven architecture, ensuring a clear separation between game content and logic while maintaining a robust and maintainable codebase.
Ref.: A documental approach to adventure game development Pablo Moreno-Gera,*, José Luis Sierraa , Iván Martínez-Ortizb , Baltasar Fernández-Manjóna a Dpto. Ingeniería del Software e Inteligencia Artificial. Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain b Centro de Estudios Superiores Felipe II, Aranjuez, Madrid, Spain.

My Contribution

I was the only programmer in the team. I've designed and implemented the entire project, from the initial concept to the prototype.