Video Game
Design Experience
The 3 large independant projects I worked on were:
Super Ninja Go Jump
Super Ninja Go Jump was the first group video game project as well as the first one I led. The team was composed of Carnegie Mellon freshmen composed of mostly Computer Science majors save myself and 1 or 2 others who were all interested in gaming. At first this game was supposed to be a turn based ninjas vs pirates game with wacky weapons but we decided to go for something with a simpler system. As leader for this project I allowed everyone input into the final version of the game and allowed almost complete freedom to the artists and writers. Regrettably I did minimal editting to the script.
Click on any screenshot thumbnail to view larger version.
The sprites were pixelated on purpose. We were going for a retro-style platformer.
This game was written in C and requires DX9 to play.
This game has a system (unintentionally) much like the old NES game Kid Icarus. The game style is a simple verticle platformer where the main characters has a variety of ninja tricks to get past/defeat his pirate adversaries.
Try to spot all the internet memes in the game! :D
Controls
- Up - Jump
- Left/Right - Move
- S - Sword
- D - Shuriken
- Down - Ramen Box of Stealth
- During conversation scenes, hold D to skip text.
Game Play Video
Squirrel War (Squiwwel Waw)
Squirrel War is a turn based shooter where 2 players play as squirrels taking turns throwing acorns at each other. (The player gets to choose the angle and power used to throw the acorn.) The design is pretty simplistic, but the cartoony wind often ends the game in unpredictable ways.
This game is written in C# in XNA with Visual Studios 2007 with the game engine written by Yang Shan and the physics engine written by myself. The art was made by Yang and the sound effects/musics were arranged and coded into the game by me. The music and effects were added via XACT.
The physics engine was originally very realistic, but upon play testing, it was surprisingly unfit for the type of gameplay we wanted, so cartoony physics was added.
Controls
- Up/Down - Adjust power
- Left/Right - Adjust angle
- A/D - Move after firing
- Enter - Fire
- Space - Start Game
Gameplay Video
Xtreme Ironing
Xtreme Ironing was a response to the growing number of the "speed minigames" trend in 2008. (Most notably the popularity in Wario Ware and Rayman: Raving Rabbids) The basic concept was to iron clothes by following a crease line as fast as possible. Depending on how fast one can iron the clothes, the player can activate special abilities (Also depending on the character the player chooses to play as) that can be used to increase efficiency while ironing or hindering other players in multiplayer mode. Players earn score depending on how fast they can iron, but if they make mistakes (ie, iron off the crease) they will stock up fire points which will eventually engulf the shirt in flames, making it harder to iron.
This is a mockup for what I orinally envisioned the game to be like.
I participated as leader and programmer for this project. The rest of the team was composed of a few sophmores and mostly freshman. This game was created again in C# and XNA and I used XACT in tangent to XNA to program the sounds/music.
Due to our over ambition and schoolwork, by the end of thesemester, we were only able to get the basic game system down. Due to Game Creation Society rules, (This game was created by members of the society) we were only able to work on a game for a semester, so this game and all its potential was forciblydropped.A skeleton version of the game is up for download.
This project was mapped out via a design document with a clear schedule, but ultimately did not finish because of overconfidence. My teammates and I wanted to add features every time we met which led to too much work in too little time. The one lesson I learned from this project is to take things one at a time. Surely, the next time I work on a game project, I must insist that we finish the basic engine before we consider fancy add-ons.
Gameplay Video
Building Virtual Worlds
Building Virtual Worlds (BVW) is a class that requires me to flex my creative muscles and learn to work well with many different people of different backgrounds. In each round, a new game is designed with different interfaces and goals. In BVW, I have assumed the role of texture artist and share the role of game designer with the rest of the 4-person team. Some assets from each round can be seen below:
Not a group project. My first experience with 3DS Max and Panda 3D's .egg format. A complilcated spaceship is unwrapped and textured.
Goal: Create a game using the PlayMotion interface
Round 2 : Wormhole Workout - Featured in BVW Show-
Goal: Create a game using the Heads Up Display interface that is entertaining and can be played by a naiive user with only a single verbal instruction.
Verbal Instruction: Ride the bicycle to the end.
Goal: Create a game in 7 days
This game is played with a wii-mote and is a semi-competitive semi-collaborative dodgeball game where players scramble for coins.
Goal: Tell a story
This game tells a simple story of a boat on an adventure. My first cell-shading game. The interaction is done via video input by standing up, sitting down, and leaning left and right to control the actions in the game.
Goal: Make a game that impresses people
This is a full-body dancing game. Developed as a nominee for the BVW show, half of the game is theatrics while the other half is real-time dancing. Players use body parts to hit buttons on the screen. The button placement and timing is made to compel the player to actually dance. According to playtesters, this game is very fun because of its pacing.