Games

No-Pact / Mobile prototype / 2022

Thieves.io

A competitive arena prototype connecting base preparation with stealing, carrying, and securing gold.

Team prototype

Overview

Thieves.io was developed at No-Pact as a top-down Unity arena prototype. I developed the original concept and worked with a programmer as it grew from a first playable into a working game with multiple internal builds.

Each round connected two kinds of play. The player first arranged defenses and obstacles around a base, then entered an arena against AI rivals to collect or steal gold and carry it home. A larger stack represented more progress, but it also made every collision, trap, and risky route more consequential.

Context
No-Pact team prototype
Period
May-August 2022
Built with
Unity, top-down joystick control, and AI rivals
Status
Prototype developed through multiple internal builds and reviews

Round structure

Game

  1. 01Prepare the base

    Place a small set of defenses or obstacles such as rotating arms, turrets, blocks, and launching platforms.

  2. 02Enter the arena

    Move through the level with joystick control while one to three AI rivals pursue the same gold target.

  3. 03Steal and carry gold

    Collect loose gold or take it from rival bases. The carried stack stays visible and can be scattered through collisions and hazards.

  4. 04Secure progress

    Return gold to the base before a rival reaches the target, while using routes, defenses, and physical interactions to interfere with opponents.

My contribution

Work

Concept and game design

The two-phase premise, gold-stealing loop, base preparation, interaction rules, first-playable scope, and questions about how preparation should affect arena play.

Arena and level design

Base visibility, encounter frequency, routes, hazards, trap placement, one-versus-one and multi-rival layouts, and situations that could create deliberate risk or tactical play.

Visual and Unity work

Color coding, materials, gold and environment treatment, 3D props, turret and launcher readability, firing and impact effects, and direct work in the prototype scenes.

Tuning and review

Movement and collision values, gold scatter, turret force, camera and screen-ratio checks, repeated build testing, bug reproduction, fix priorities, and structured feedback questions.

Builds v0.1.100-v0.1.107

Iteration

First playable

Four bases, simple AI thieves, gold carrying, preparation and arena phases, turrets, rotating obstacles, launchers, collisions, and several win or fail conditions.

Rules and recovery

Friendly-fire behavior, restart persistence, win conditions, gold loss, pathfinding, aspect-ratio-aware cameras, and safer introductory levels were revised after early reviews.

Control and balance

Adjustable AI and respawn behavior, collision rules, a joystick-tuning menu, wider arenas, and one-versus-one tests were used to make outcomes more readable and less arbitrary.

First-time experience

Later reviews separated gold collection, rivals, defenses, hazards, launching platforms, and additional opponents into a more deliberate teaching order.

Android release archive

Material

Gameplay screenshot Thieves.io opening arena with blue and red thieves, gold stacks, crates, barrels, and visible base health.
An early arena with two competing thieves, gold stacks, and prepared bases.
Gameplay screenshot Thieves.io arena with four color-coded thieves, bases, gold stacks, obstacles, and launchers.
A four-rival layout showing the route between the player's base and the shared arena.
Gameplay screenshot Thieves.io gameplay with a blue thief carrying gold through an arena with cannons, crates, barrels, and rival bases.
Gold-carrying play among cannons, launchers, crates, and rival routes.

Cotex / Kalbim Duracak