Main Projects:
IONIZE (Professional Project)
- Team size: 2
- Constraints: None
- Engine: Construct 3
- Objective: Design 5 levels for a 2D puzzle-platformer with progressive difficulty.
- Timeframe: August 2024-Present (In development)
- Goals: Transition from simple platforming to speedy and precise platforming through intentional and strong design.
Learn More
IONIZE is a 2D puzzle-platformer. Currently being developed with Construct 3, I collaborate in a small indie team creating polished game levels. There are 5 levels being planned for the game, and each of them are initially created in Figjam. The levels are created with player experience in mind, and get progressively more difficult and complex as more game mechanics are introduced. This game is designed around old Flash games seen on websites such as ArmorGames and CoolMathGames, with short experiences taking only a few minutes to complete on any given playthrough. This project is also designed for young children, and is not a difficult game by design. The player has to navigate the level with simple moving and jumping mechanics to grab a key, before taking the key to a computer in a future part of the level. When the computer receives the key, the game shifts from platforming to escaping the reactor the game takes place in. A timer will show how long the player has to escape, and the puzzle element is removed, being replaced with rapid and precise platforming.
Each level starts with an initial draft in Figjam, with weekly check-ins to discuss the design’s intent and flow, making sure it fits the overall theme of the game. When completed it is translated to Construct 3, using thorough testing to ensure a proper and complete experience. I use a pre-defined tilemap to paint the layout from Figjam, leading to a consumer ready product. The levels start out easy, with few mechanics being shown at the beginning, but eventually get more difficult and complex. Mechanics are introduced in a simplified manner one at a time, and are combined together.
This project was my first time using Construct 3 and Figjam to draft out level designs, and while it is still in development, I am learning a lot of useful skills I can apply in future projects. I learned more about the level design process, and how to communicate my design with a stakeholder to verify my design and make sure it meets the intent of the game. I also learned more about what makes a product “consumer ready”, and the point of development needed to release. This project is going to be shipped on Newgrounds when completed.
Remember Wonder (Capstone Project)
- Team size: 6 (4 internally, 2 externally)
- Constraints: None
- Engine: Unity
- Objective: Develop a game with intent and a clear rationale behind every decision.
- Timeframe: August 2022-May 2023 (9 months)
- Goals: Create a well crafted experience to object feelings of wonder and nostalgia into our players, while also gearing said experience towards people of all ages.
Learn More
Remember Wonder is a 3D collectathon platformer where you play as a puckish, palm-sized elephant plushie in a suburban home. Throughout the game the player collects motes of memory to relive memories of its former owner by moving toys and furniture around its owner’s room; arranging them into paths that can guide the player to each memory. Our team was inspired by Chibi-Robo!, Super Mario 64 and A Hat in Time. The player’s simple but versatile moveset will allow young and old players alike to see mundane life from a new adventurous perspective; older players can drop the mask of adulthood and try on some childlike wonder for a moment, and younger players can see that reality can be just as whimsical as fiction sometimes. We achieved this through our use of Unity and implementation of assets themed around a young child, to make our game look like a real place with some magic in it, rather than a fantasy with some real-world things in it.
My role in this project was level design. I iterated and crafted the game’s tutorial and its single main level. Everything in the game required me to think critically about what features can appeal to people of all ages, which meant I had to consider children as part of that ordeal. A big part of the game’s theme is nostalgia and wonder, and I incorporated that in spades into the tutorial. We chose a cardboard box for the tutorial due to children commonly using it in pretend-play, and I pumped it with lots of sketches in many different colors to set the mood. As for the level itself, I mainly placed the memory motes around the room, but I had to make sure that there were multiple ways to get them, as well as verify that they are not too difficult for people who may have never held a video game controller before.
This was my first project that I had an entire year to work on, and I learned a lot during development. I learned how to prioritize the goals that we needed to complete. This was also my first time iterating on a level to this scale, so I learned how much goes into level design as a whole, along with some good practices to follow, like researching other games for inspiration as well as how to turn those possible ideas into a good way to benefit our game in a similar way. This project was also the first time I got to create a tutorial for a game. Finally, I learned how important having a good team process is; as it is needed for us to create a good product. In the end, we were able to create a refined game that meets the exact goals we set out.
Other Projects: