Game Design
Gunslingers
I wanted to create a card game for the final individual class project as it is one of the few types of non-digital games I had not created in Jesse Schell’s Game Design Class (I already created dice, a boardgame, and adventure game). I was also tasked with creating a one-page marketing sheet for the game that mimics marketing sheets that are often given to prospective publishers. I ended up creating Gunsligners: a Wild West Showdown Card Game for Two Players age eight and up, and I consider it the most polished non-digital game I have ever created.
Gameplay-Driven Storytelling in MMOs
The following essay was written for Jesse Schell’s Game Design class during Spring 2009 at Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center.
I wrote this essay in response to a lecture Chris Klug gave at the ETC regarding the Stargate MMO he was helping to design. The MMO has since been canceled due to lack of funding.
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Gameplay – a Forgotten Storytelling Device
The following essay was written for Jesse Schell’s Game Design class during Spring 2009 at Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center.
This essay is primarily focused on extolling the virtues of gameplay-driven storytelling through a brief discussion on why it is important, what videogames utilize this technique effectively, and how we could potentially make the story-telling mechanics they use, even more effective.
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Should We Always Build Games for the Players?
The following essay was written for Jesse Schell’s Game Design class during Spring 2009 at Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center.
This essay is primarily focused on exploring the question of whether we should always build games for players in mind and it was inspired by a semi-famou,humorous essay written by Ernest Adams.
The Fight for Peace
I created and led a three player, tabletop roleplaying campaign called The Fight for Peace in Spring 2009 for Jesse Schell’s Game Design course at Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center. The game focused on creating an exciting and engaging experience that lasted for two hours and it marked the first time I was a DM for a D&D game. It was a great experience where I learned a ton about storytelling, creating riddles, and reacting to player expectations.
The Zombie Babe Epidemic: End Game
The Zombie Babe Epidemic: End Game is a dice/board game that embraces both cooperative and competitive gameplay and features a fusion of RPG and board game mechanics. I created this game for the dice game assignment in Jesse Schell’s Game Design class.
Balloon Man – Inaugural IGDA Global Game Jam Submission
Balloon Man is an art-house game I helped create in 48 hours with four other individuals during the first IDGA Global Game Jam (Spring 2009). My main responsibilities included design, animation, and creating the obstacles, balloons, and Balloon Man himself. I had a great time working on this game with the rest of my team and we are all really proud of what we were able to achieve in 48 hours. The constraints, which were announced at the beginning of the jam, are some of the best game design constraints I have ever worked under. I love art-house games and I think we were able to create a meaningful art-house game of our own in under 48 hours.
Game Design Toolbox
I have created my own Game Design Toolbox as part of Jesse Schell’s Game Design class at Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center. The main purpose of the toolbox is to record every single game I have ever played, the year it was released, the platform I used, how old I was when I played it, and a statement concerning both an impression I got from the game (can be any memory really) and a specific game mechanic it used in an interesting manner.
Hopscore
Hopscore is a Hopscotch-inspired game I created for Jesse Schell’s Game Design class at Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center. The assignment involved improving the game of Hopscotch through research, brainstorming, and most importantly, iteration. I wanted to make a game that appealed to young adults, could be played anywhere with minimal amount of materials (much like Hopscotch), and focused on a risk/reward mechanic to keep players engaged and competitive.
Warcraft 3 Custom Map – Agathel’s Grave
This is the first multiplayer Warcraft 3 map, Agathel’s Grave, I have created. It was a really fun experience playing around in the world editor and I look forward to continue building maps in the future. I wanted to create a small, themed multiplayer map that would create a tense, quick atmosphere for the participants. It is a 2v2 or FFA multiplayer map set in the Icecrown Glacier territories.
Wild Pockets Game Jam Submission – Electropocalypse – People’s Choice!
Electropocalypse, the game I helped develop for the Wild Pockets Game Jam, has won the People’s Choice award! You can read the notice about our win online. My main roles involved game design and creating the models and textures used in the world.
It was pretty darn difficult working with Wild Pockets when it was in early beta phase, but it was a lot of fun participating in my first 24 hour game jam.
BVW Round 5 – Grumpy Gus
Grumpy Gus is the fifth world I helped create for the Building Virtual Worlds class at Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center. It was created over a three week span of time in a group of four individuals. We presented the world at the annual BVW show that is held on campus to a crowd of over 500 people it was fortunate enough to be selected for the entire show’s finale.
BVW Round 3 – Pixel Battalion
Pixel Battalion was the third virtual world I created for the Building Virtual Worlds course at Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center. I was the producer, designer, writer, and the modeler, animator, and texture artist for the intro and ending movie clip. I helped create this world with a team of four in one week.
The game allows 18 people to participate and gives each player control over one picture element in “puzzle scramble” inspired game.
BVW Round 2 – Paperboy
Paperboy was the second virtual world I helped create for the Building Virtual Worlds course at Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center. I was a texture artist, modeler/animator, writer, and designer for this project. I worked in a group of four to create this world in two weeks.
We wanted to make a simple experience that utilized the Playmotion to its full capacity and we felt that a first-person Paperboy game met this goal nicely. Overall, people really enjoyed playing the game and told us the mechanics and using the bike were fun and intuitive.
BVW Round 1 – Android Experience
Android Experience was the first world I helped develop in Carnegie Mellon Entertainment Technology Center’s Building Virtual Worlds class. My main tasks for this world included producer, writer, modeler/design (environment), texture artist, and animator (robot head). We created a two-player cooperative experience that required both players to help each other navigate a virtual world relying on the other’s senses. I helped create this virtual world in two weeks working in a team of four.
Streets of Rage 2 – 3D
Streets of Rage 2 – 3D was the semester long project I helped developed for Real Time Rendering (CS446) at the University of Virginia. I worked in a group of four and we coded this singleplayer remake from the ground up using C++, OpenGL, and Nvidea’s cg tookit.
Although the game is not visually impressive, I am happy that we were able to produce a working game, that is actually pretty fun to play, throughout one semester in a small, inexperienced team of four.
Defender
I helped code this remake of Defender with my good friend Kim Dylla as our final project for Intro to Computer Graphics at the University of Virginia. We programmed the game in openGL and C++. I was the primary coder for the game (AI, UI, environment wrapping, animation, hit detection, ship controls, menus, scoring, etc.) whereas Kim created all of the art and incorporated sound into the game.
This was a fun one week project and we are both quite proud of what we were able to create.
Game Design Test – Question 5
I interviewed with a game developer a couple years ago and part of their hiring process involved answering five different game design questions within a six hour time limit. I feel that some of my answers to these questions help demonstrate my thoughts on game design, creativity, and my ability to create meaningful content in a short amount of time. Since I am posting my response as it was submitted for the test, it contains some spelling and grammatical errors.
The question involves creating a long RPG campaign for a single-player game that focuses on developing innovative and non-reoccurring missions throughout the experience.
Game Design Test – Question 1
I interviewed with a game developer a couple years ago and, as part of their hiring process, I answered five different game design questions within a six hour time limit. I feel that some of my answers to these questions help demonstrate my thoughts on game design, creativity, and my ability to create meaningful content in a short amount of time. Since I am posting my response as it was submitted for the test, it contains some spelling and grammatical errors.
This post contains the first question and answer for the the test which focused on designing a boss fight for an 1920’s crime RPG MMO game that uses guns and vehicles.
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