I participated in the 2018 Global Game Jam with a couple of my colleagues. I’ll be going over the specifics of the design work and Unity implementation I did on the project. We came up with Carrier, a four player split-screen PVP game where the players are birds. The players could choose between being the predator (a Hawk) or the prey (a Carrier Pigeon). Hawks had to kill all pigeons in order to win. For the pigeons, only one had to deliver the message to the goal to win.Our team of five consisted of one 3D Artist, one VFX Artist, two Programmers and myself. My role on the team was Unity Generalist and Game Designer.
Playing Controls
Initial build
This was our progress after 12 hours.
For the design of Carriers - since it was a game jam game with the intent of it being fun but simple - there are only two aspects of design: Player Controls/Abilities and Level Design. I had amazing teammates that were focused on creating a complete game loop (playable with Win/Lost conditions). This allowed me to start testing and tuning the game early on.
Flight Controls
This was the build after adding in flight controls, an updated city, and a bird model.
Since it was a flying game, I really wanted to incorporate barrel rolls and loop-the-loops into the controls because I felt it would add depth and fun to the game. Our team decided that those aspects were too complex for casual players and the timeline was too short for implementation. I was reluctant but felt it was a good call in terms of scope.
After I did some testing two things became apparent, aim and speed needed to be added.
The lack of aim or look controls meant the player could only see in the direction they were flying. In our game, the Hawks needed to look around for the pigeons. The pigeons needed to look for the goal. If the player could only see in the direction they were flying, they would have to pick a direction to travel before they could see if that was the correct direction.
The lack of speed was just as much of an issue as the lack of aim. Without the sense of speed, it did not feel like the player was flying. Also, the player couldn't control how fast or slow they were going. In a PVP flying game, the ability to speed up or slow down provided a crucial layer of strategy in combat.
Aim and Speed Boost
we implemented these controls: left stick for looking around, one button for speeding up, another for breaking.
For the speed mechanic, we refined it further with a boost meter that replenishes and had a cooldown if it was completely depleted. In the HUD, I implemented a circular gauge for the speed boost and a speedometer. This way the player could immediately read how much boost they were using and when they were speeding up or slowing down. Once we had these elements in the game player controls started to feel well-rounded!
Game Jam projects
I like to participate in a couple of game jams throughout the year: the Global Game Jam and a local game jam in Portland called Summer Slow Jams (hosted by Pigsquad). I work on the game jams with my colleagues. On these game jams I create the game design doc from an idea the group has picked, work with the programmers to establish the core game loop, then implement and iterate to refine the gameplay and finalize the art. Here are a few of the games created over the years.
Nimble and Brick - Global Game Jam 2022
My team was responsible for porting the Echo VR game to Oculus Quest. I worked with programmers to implement, test, and profile builds of the game. We looked at ways to optimize the game to maintain the Echo VR experience while keeping an optimal framerate and within specs on mobile. I also worked on designing the lobby to be cross-platform for Vibe and Quest players to exist in the same play space.
Sky Shepherd - Global Game Jam 2021
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Robot Pitcrew - Global Game Jam 2020
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Hiveland Security - Global Game Jam 2019
My team was responsible for porting the Echo VR game to Oculus Quest. I worked with programmers to implement, test, and profile builds of the game. We looked at ways to optimize the game to maintain the Echo VR experience while keeping an optimal framerate and within specs on mobile. I also worked on designing the lobby to be cross-platform for Vibe and Quest players to exist in the same play space.
Carrier - Global Game Jam 2018
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Brawl Crawl - Summer Slow Jam 2019
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.