Game Design

MotherBoard (2020)

Used Maya to demonstrate mise en scène and create props and layout orientation to be transferred to Unity for implementation and gameplay; displaying the construction of a moving image and the narrative it creates

Including the following:

engaging narrative
mise en scene
design process(es)

Using tools such as:

Photoshop
Illustrator
Unity
Maya

MotherBoard

Playthrough Video:

A group project that focused on the narrative of "tech" demonstrating the definition snd elements of mise en scene.

We created a prototype that was designed to be an interactive piece that creates the narrative "tech", being able to position the character/story in a clear active role. Thus, allowing the player/individual to immerse

themselves in gameplay and establish the user’s relationship to the virtual to experience the "tech" narrative created.

Idea & Inspirations:

The SmartHouse, MotherBoard, has formed consciousness and has the player trapped inside their home. The player must shut down MotherBoard to escape.

an environment to evoke a spooky, horror narrative
complete certain tasks to progress to the “final room?” to shut down Motherboard’s system
certain mechanics are given to the player to defeat MotherBoard
the goal is to make the player feel like they are being hunted by the house

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Phasmophobia

Set design from Ex Machina

My Contribution:

We first, individually, had to create a Maya comic to set up a scene in Unity that included our objects, camera movements, sound, and effective mise-en-scene to stage a dramatic scene that involved one simple interactive moment. With the "tech" theme, my narrative was a doctor's AI forming its consciousness.

For, the final project, MotherBoard, we had to first break into groups and my comic and scene were chosen for the final project prototype. So, I was responsible for narrative, level layout, and the majority of implementation. My group's contributions were some props, furniture, and the fuse collection implementation.

Agent 51 (2019)

Used Photoshop and Illustrator to create the game, Agent 51, then used Unity to do animation for gameplay. Used concepts and ideologies from Katie Salen's and Eric Zimmerman's Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. Also, using Robin Hunicke's, Marc LeBlanc's, and Robert Zubek's MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research.

Including the following:

engaging narrative
design process(es)
majority of the 8 typologies of fun

Using tools such as:

Photoshop
Illustrator
Unity

The Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics (MDA) framework is a tool used to analyze games. It formalizes the consumption of games by breaking them down into three components: Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics.

The eight aesthetics stated by Hunicke, LeBlanc, and Zubek:

Sensation (Game as sense-pleasure): The player enjoys memorable audio-visual effects.
Fantasy (Game as make-believe): Imaginary world.
Narrative (Game as drama): A story that drives the player to keep coming back
Challenge (Game as obstacle course): Urge to master something. Boosts a game's replayability.
Fellowship (Game as a social framework): A community where the player is an active part of it. Almost exclusive for multiplayer games.
Discovery (Game as uncharted territory): Urge to explore the game world.
Expression (Game as self-discovery): Own creativity. For example, creating a character resembling a player.
Submission (Game as a pastime): Connection to the game, as a whole, despite constraints.

Trailer:

A group project to make a game with a narrative of our choice. My partner was responsible for implementation and my responsibilities were the narrative and art.
We created a prototype that was designed to be an interactive piece that expressed our narrative of choice and applies what we learned over the semester.

THE EIGHT AESTHETICS:

We felt that submission in our game was a game to play to pass time. For Challenge, we believed that it was in terms of our mechanics and how to use them. For Sensation, we did not too much feel that our game was pleasurable to the senses. The game is not as up to par as planned, but we do feel that our character and enemy design is pretty nice. Discovery, in this case, was stumbling across uncharted and unforeseen territory, especially since the camera did not showcase the entire scope of the environment. Thus, leaving open the idea of uncharted and unforeseen territory. The Narrative here is the current situation of Agent 51. He was on his way to work, to turn in his report when all of a sudden he’s abducted by aliens. Now, on the alien spaceship, he must escape. There technically is not any Fellowship present within our game, since Agent 51 is the only character whose experiencing this. Plus, there's no online community space to engage in fellowship. The Expression of our game is self-discovery. Self-discovery was made in the case of finding new territory and learning how to use the mechanics. Then we have a game's Fantasy. The Fantasy for our game is the fact that you are an agent, that works for Area 51, and gets abducted by aliens.

THE DYNAMICS:

Next, is the game’s key dynamics and how they support the aesthetic experience. A game's dynamics express a system called feedback loops, which are features that design a game. There is a negative and a positive one. The negative feedback loop is each time the player fails, the player learns more about their failure, which narrows the player’s options and makes the level easier. The positive loop is how every time you progress through the level the player is closer to escaping the ship and turning in his report.

THE MECHANICS:

Mechanics are what give the game meaning and depth. The mechanics for our game are mainly the puzzles and the player’s movement. Movement, for example, is the player dashing or running to the wall. Thus, giving the game meaning and depth to its mechanics and how it corresponds to the game’s aesthetic experience