Commercial Projects

Digital, Released

• Tempo

A speed platforming game but instead of staying on the beat… you play at your own beat!

Digital, In-Development

• Tochi

Be the ninja that saves your home village from evil, any ways necessary...

Digital, Playable Demo

• Wheel Steal

Take flight into space as astronauts who must collect and spell words to repair their rocket ship and head home!

Personal Projects

Digital, Playable Demo

• Little Elementals

A cute demo involving little elementals exploring UI/UX design as well as combining gameplay and theme

LoL Character Concept

• Howzer

A custom League of Legends character that focuses on a unique gauge system. I also used this project for the propose of an exhibition

Digital, Playable Demo

• Okon

A playable Level Design based on a HacknSlash Survival game concept I created

Analog, Released

• Final Stand

Inspired by the excitment and spirit of the DnD Tabletop game, Final Stand is a dice and card game built around chance and decision-making skills for 5 players.

Gameplay trailer ft. done by Aestronauts Team

Tempo

I worked in design and art from the core gameplay loop to environment-level concept designs and UX experience. I co-designed the core gameplay loop revolving around tapping the arrow keys to traverse levels as fast as possible. I worked heavily in-engine (Unity) doing visual effects, asset implementation, UI, and level design set dressing. Tempo was a 1-week incubator program challenge where afterwards we continued development for a couple of months till release. Our challenge was to design a speed run-themed experience with a focus on replayability. The basis of the game was traditional rhythm game design but remixed to be appealing to the speedrunning community with the addition of competition between players via timed leaderboards and player's ability to skip ahead in maps.The game was released on Steam and reached the top 5 in Steam's free-to-play titles.

+ Brainstormed, co-developed, and iterated on core gameplay loop and play incentives for players
+ Implemented UI in-game and menus in-engine
+ Concepted and Co-implemented assets for level environments, including asset creation and set dressing
+ Created VFX, Character Concept, and Promotional assets for Steam and other mediums

• Play for Free on Steam
• Read More

Sample concept art done by me

Tochi

Tochi is a game concept (that is currently under development) that explores using a simple mechanic that is executed in a visually and playably satisfying way. The game revolves around the player dashing around different maps avoiding the gazes of enemies that defile hidden ninja temples using powerups like wind shurikans or teleporting back to confuse your enemy. Indulging my love of all things glowly the game is set on a neon-themed geometric landscape. The game design document below also functioned as a pitch to my team to start the development.

+ Successfully pitched game concept to my team
+ Level concepting
+ Mechanic / Ability Design
+ Being a ninja is cool if you disagree you're wrong

• Game Design Doc
• Read More

Early trailer done by another intern at Knucklebones

Wheel Steal

For my internship at Knucklebones, our job was to convert an original IP “Wheel Steal” into a playable digital format. I was responsible for dictating and designing the theming, core gameplay loop, mechanics, as well as UI for a younger audience (~5 to 14). I led all design interns, organising design meetings, assignments, documentation, and managed the scope of the project. The main goal I had was to make sure that the game was both fun and engaging as not only a single-player experience (also making sure that It was safe for the kids online) but also in a classroom setting as a fun educational game similar to things like Kahoot or Quizlet. I also worked heavily on the visual side with asset creation and implementation.

+ Brainstormed, iterated and narrowed down the core gameplay loop, general theming, and development roadmap
+ Worked in engine creating VFX and UI assets for PC and Mobile
+ Brainstormed and developed Astronaut abilities
+ Co-created and integrated on the level design playground set as well as asset creation + set dressing
+ Oversaw the design team and coordinated development with the other interdisciplinary teams
+ Collaborated with the narrative team to set the story of the game as well as worldbuilding with the Knucklebones universe

• Read More

Little Elementals

Little Elementals is a demo where the visuals inform the gameplay. Worldbuilding through the environment assets and using UI to convey intent were important themes for this game as well. The main keywords I was using were Cute, Simple, and Magical referencing games like Little Alchemists where mixing was the core gameplay loop while also adapting it to fit the theme of “Cosy witch that fuses and creates new elementals with bubbly personalities”. This game was created almost exclusively by me in Unity (I did get some programming help from a friend).

+ Gameplay Design
+ All Asset Creation

• Play on Itch.io (full screen it)
• Read More

Sample gameplay

Okon level Design
& Game Concept

Taking place in a dilapidated church on the mountainside. This is a sketch of a level of the game Okon (design document linked below). Inspired by classic hack-and-slash games like Doom or Turbo Overkill, Okon has the player trying to survive for as long as possible against increasingly stronger waves of demons. The player has to utilize the terrain to their benefit (the risk of healing, getting cover, or possibly putting themselves in non-ideal situations).I started with a rough block out in Blender, before refining and then ultimately importing it into Unity. I wanted the level to feel enclosed but still have space for manoeuvrability and pacing for the many types of enemies that can spawn for the player. I did partial asset creation with modelling and texturing with some objects found in SketchFab’s free asset section. I also worked with Unity’s lighting and post-processing systems to showcase the mood of the game and the destruction of the level.

+ Created level design sketch for Okon game concept
+ Overall game mechanic of slashn' dash shooter against shadow demons
+ Concept art
+ Player and Enemy combat design

• Game Design Doc
• Read More

Final Stand

This project was a lot of fun as I had to wrap my head around what makes pen-and-paper games so addicting for players. Balancing was a major challenge for this project as the essence of the game is a 4 versus 1 where one plays a powerful Monster and the rest, Heroes, are sent to destroy it. It was important that the Monster felt powerful but not indestructible and the Heroes felt capable but not overbearing. I also put effort into the graphic design of the ruleset both for appeal and to experiment with player expectations turning into excitement for a game.I was intrigued by both the flavouring of games like Dnd and PF and also the adaptability of games like Uno. You can go in and change the rule sets to fit your individual tables but the default rule set is both fun and balanced to get in and get started.

+ Design goal was to make a fantasy combat simulation between one player versus the rest
+ Easily customisable ruleset that can be adapted from table to table

• Read More

Initial concept of Musa (the main character music note) made by meTwo of my favourite developments I made with our programmer were the radio that allowed players to upload their own music to vibe to, and the pink glowing synth that also vibed to the music :)

Tempo

We started with a brainstorming session following the 8 rules of design. Each member of our (8-man) team, after being given the prompt, sketched out their idea for the prototype that week. The sketches I made on the right focused on some type of movement using the keyboard as the medium. I liked the idea of doing something with a keyboard partially because of the time we had to do it (~ 1 week) but also because of references to popular music games like Dance Dance’s tapping mechanic, however with a twist.Players can speedrun levels as fast as possible by skipping tiles. These skipped tiles count towards the player's BPM (beats per minute) and allow them to progress faster than hitting them normally. To add difficulty to the game we added trap tiles that hindered your movement reducing your BPM so players had to watch where they were jumping to. We designed many different possible tile effects for the player to utilize like reverting position tiles, tile elimination laser hazards, and randomisation tiles. The purpose of this trap tile was to prevent people from mashing their arrow keys to completion, and ultimately we felt the game with the simplicity of basic stun trap tiles. Speedrunning was reinforced by the introduction of visible leaderboards at the end of levels encouraging players to be the speed kings.The main design challenge we had was the time frame we had for this project. We had to make design decisions early that did not have the luxury of being severely changed mid-week. We did originally test allowing the player to play to the beat of the music and continue speed running via skipping tiles (more akin to classic rhythm games). We found that players felt it was too unresponsive for their speed demon needs and was changed to how it currently is, Go Fast Sonic (but with some level of caution).One problem we encountered was the player feeling isolated from the levels. Originally the concept was pitching the music to the player's BPM, high BPM pitched the music higher and low BPM lowered it. This was quickly converted to changing the speed of the VFX after player testing. This allowed the player better feel connected to the levels since they corresponded to their gameplay without muddying or making the music sound annoying.The vibe of the sketches went well with my team and we decided on some type of Neon-DJ city as the landscape and a music note as the main character. These sketches would later become the first level of the game as well as the style in which the game and future levels are played, longboards with the outside being customised fit with match rotating rings.

• Back

Initial concepts of the game. The first concept was developed during our brainstorming session. It was where the music influence came from. The second one came soon after that being a racing against time game jumping to the arrow keys to avoid falling off the edge, however, it was later simplified to the bottom one of just jumping to types with no death state.

One visual element of the game is the alternating colour schemes across levels. The dark can become light and vice versa making for visually interesting level designs
despite the simple geometric themes

Tochi

• Game Design Doc

The birth of this game was the interest in creating a stealth game with simplistic graphics, mechanically simple, and that could be played not only across every platform but with room for differing player play styles.Like all designs, it started very simple. You were an orb that had to get from point A to point B without getting caught. The story elements came later when you were a ninja which informed a lot of the later design decisions I made.I really wanted Tochi to be playable on virtually anything. This resulted in me limiting the controls to the basic (dash, ability one, ability two). These main buttons can be touch-screened, or buttons for mobile or console / pc. This also functions as a design challenge for the game moving forward, making sure that all future content (mainly abilities in this case) fits within this 3 ability block. The differing play styles come from these ability blocks that the player has access to throughout the game. Utilizing Rogue-Lite aspects they drop randomly through levels where the player dashes through them to equip, replacing the previous ability.The main goal of the player is simple, get to the end. The method of that can change from player to play, blitz through in the fastest time possible, be a little slower and do a zero detection run, or harness your inner ninja and assassinate all who come to your towers. The different abilities reflect this as well. From ones who inflict statues and effects on enemies to others that make you one with the shadows. I did not want the player to reliably get the same options via something like skill selection but rather think of their feet with the random generation.

• Back

In engine particle systems test for end pointsThis was some part of the initial concept pitch done for Aestronauts. It detailed some of my design goals for the game

These were WIPs for the level design of the game. We had planned for only one main level and so I created a day/night post processing effect (with help with the programmers) that randomly picks between morning/evening/night.The second screen shot is VFX for the ability pick up using a parallax galaxy shader.

Wheel Steal

There were several challenges and expectations for this project
+ Adapting from the real-life version of Wheel Steal to a digital version that was recognisable
+ Use the benefits that being on a digital platform permits in that conversion
+ Be easily picked up for younger children but remain fun and competitive for a slightly older audience as well.
+ It was safe for kids to play both in classrooms and their own homes and computersOne of the main challenges for this project was this game needed to be both fun and educational for the players. The real-life version was about collecting objects from around a playspace (usually a playground) and returning them to a team’s home base to score points. We figured we could spice things up a bit and this was flavoured into the players, who were teams of Astronauts, having to race against each other to find and place letters found through the map in the correct spot in their engineering bay. They did this to build their spaceship home based on a word on top of their screen. This was done through the strong thematic association kids have with Astronauts, especially in younger audiences prompting reactions of joy, wonder, and excitement about being space aliens. Also because Astronauts rock. Other themes we explored were explorer lounge themes, and different plants (like a lava-themed planet, jungle-themed) but due to scope and time constraints we felt that Earth being invaded by alien Astronauts was a good balance.Safety was also important because this game dealt with younger kids. This was a focus at its core and was a factor in every design decision. This meant making sure we were granting appropriate images and not promoting unsafe habits. This also showed in the UX design I did for the project. Kids were able to pick their name (with a pretty hefty filter of words) but they were also granted cute random names like Fluffy Dragon or Green Dot. There was no chatting in the game with the only planned method of communication being character emotes.One of the design elements I was especially responsible for was the addition of abilities and of which kind. This served also to add another element of the game not possible in real life that made kids eager to play. I chose to make these side objectives the player could find at random throughout the map as well (the !/? on the screenshot on the left acting as ability pick-ups and fitting the spelling theme). There were 3 upon the conclusion of my internship that sought to aid players who found and used them correctly but not overly frustrated those who were used against (since kids are especially fickle beings). One was a grapple ability that lets players grab letters from a distance, a jetpack that lets players move faster, and a radar to help them scout for letters close to them.I also aided in the level design helping to design this cute bubbly park/playground area that had many nooks and areas for players to use to find and spell.

• Back

These were various UI concepts done for the game above for the accounts page, mobile (iPad in this case) and sketches for the end results page.
Below is a video of the implemented starter screen and a hotkey tutorial that played at the start of games in a kids drawing style.

Screenshots of the Church level (staring floating pistol)

Okon

• Game Design Doc

The goal for this project was to make something fast-paced where players moment to moment-to-moment thinking was valued. To add to the hard core themeing of the game by instead of benefiting the player for things, detrementing them. Combat is a major element of this project aswell as players need something to do while they are moving around, however its simplified emulating the style of older hack and slash games.The game elements revolved around movement, combat, and defense trying to give the player enough tools to survive using their skills. Working with the major design goal of keeping the player moving. There are two major concepts aimed an enforcing this.+ The enemies and the way they spawn. Spawns are counter to player movement patterns. Players who staying melee range close to enemies when they kill them then Snipers, who spawn farther and more spaced out, are meant to get them to venture to farther points to kill enemies. Players who tend to say farther away from enemies are encountered with Slashers who spawn closer and have the mobility to keep up with enemies.+ The enemy attack patterns also enforce this design goal, especially with the ranged enemies. Strong hits that are slightly delayed mean that standing still will most likely lead to you getting shot. Movement is key.

Level Design

Overworld elements set the stage for the game and I created a sample level to help showcase sample gameplay (would be like as well as the "vibe" of the game in general). This level was a quick sketch so it is not a fleshed out as perfect example, but is meant to showcase a close space battle arena.Things I learned while making this was a better understanding of movement vs space. Its easier to make maps "feel" bigger by reducing movement speed and vice versa. This can be used to tweak room spaced without having to change the map itself. Another major element I would work on is adding a smaller 3rd level underneath (similar to the initial-concept I had behind)

• Back

Concept Art for the shadow demon enemies of different classes. From left to right Sniper, Slasher, Jumper.Below is a sample flowchart of the game state for the player which helps dictate what they will be fighting against,

In-game screenshots

Little Elementals

I am very pleased with how this project turned out. The initial sketch is to the left. A big goal for the game was to have a cosy feeling visual style. I used a lot of references for that both in my home and in fantasy media which to me meant a good amount of plants, warmth, and clutter. For the cute aspect of the game, I chose pixel art (created by me in Asprite) and kept to a simple style with flat colours and dithering gradients with saturated colour. For the magic feeling of the game, you are playing as a witch creating new elementals. The trinkets and dodats on the desk and the magic alter that combines your babies into new babies. This aspect also bleeds into the UI of the game as well, the scroll book for the new elemental holding place, black crystal UI buttons, as well as the combination VFX.Since this was a demo I did a limited amount of combinations of the elements. 4 original elementals of Fire, Water, Earth, and Air and then a combination of each with a different order in the sockets on the altar. (Fire + Water was different from Water + Fire). Each elemental had a personality which helped to prompt the player to find out about the other little elements that were yet to be discovered. I chose not to allow mixing between the new elements and the 4 originals mainly due to the scope of the demo. In the future, I would like to work on the cute aspect of the game more. 3D models of the elementals are far superior to the sprites I made for them, although they would have their place in cataloguing the many elements that can be made.For the UX of the game, I wanted it to try and be as easy to understand at first glance as possible. The Altar and the 4 elementals are the only things not being affected by parallax, and the glowing sockets (which are suspiciously elemental button-shaped) to players do not even need to ask what to do (although a small quick start was available if needed). The alter has 2 variations of VFX when the player commits an action, a new combination makes a full magic circle that bursts, forcing up the scroll case and revealing a new elemental. The secondary animation is much quicker and fails part way due to a previously created elemental already existing.

• Play on Itch.io (full screen it)

• Back

Initial Concept

First version (white and yellow) of the game followed by the most recent. Graphic design was my passion...

Final Stand

One of the challenges I had apart from the balance for this project was choice for the players. The fear I had was that if given too much choice it would be too easy to trap down either the Hero or Monster inversely that no choice essentially made it so that one person could play all the roles. I settled with the middle ground of a rhythm for both sets of players. The Monster primarily chose between higher single-target effects versus weaker multi-target effects. The heroes get a bit more having to worry about their decks as well as their lives and the Monsters. Do some players choose to focus down the Monster quicker versus supporting their allies for one last round?The alternate win condition was added for a few reasons. Normally its somewhat difficult to obtain, but not impossible, becoming an "oh shit" moment for heroes, in addition to restricting the Monster for each game.I intended for this game to be short in length (no more than 10 minutes) to allow for multiple people to play different roles and allow plenty of opportunity for different events to happen in a play session.The way the game is set up it is very easy to change out different actions for ones that please the players. Similarly, players feel comfortable playing this in any setting that fits their playstyle.

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The pages used in the installation piece. They are a journal made by Howzer in-world and describe things like his old lab space, his augmented arm and leg, aswell as abilities.

Howzer

I chose League of Legends for its well-cataloged design foundation as well as the mountain of existing case studies that helped to inform Howzer's design. I wanted Howzer to try and fit a niche in the support play pattern I felt was missing, a difficult enchanter.One design philosophy I thought about when creating Howzer was that most enchanters lack interaction with their teams (in this case especially their ADC). While his kit has elements that are akin to standard enchanters (he can still shield his allies and inhibit his enemies), he can be elevated with coordination from his team to achieve more impressive effects like applying a portion of his ally’s effects to an AOE, sticking enemies together, and consistent shielding. It was important though that not all his abilities needed to have this interaction to get value making Howzer completely reliant on his team with little agency of his own. This would also have adverse effects on his playability, being difficult to pilot in lower coordination games like in most standard non-premade draft games.I struggled a lot with his kit. In his original conception, he was very simple except for the gauge system. He could do one thing with each ability and with more gauges that effect was a bit better (ie, his Q did the damage with one gauge, did more damage with 2, and did a small knockback and more damage with 3 gauges). But I had two issues with the kit. The abilities felt very disconnected and failed the theme as an alchemist. When I think of alchemists in the game I think of having many different types of brews and potions at their disposal and the ability to concoct new elixirs by mixing and matching what goes in the brew. Howzer however, apart from him using gauges, felt like any standard mage.Another major conflict I had was that his kit felt too overbearing with not enough weaknesses. One issue I have with some Riot champion designs is that they do not have enough weaknesses and are good in various areas of the game. I wanted to make it clear that he strives best in lockdown environments where he can continuously apply his reactions and priming effects. Another major balancing point with him is that he is not a good reactionary champion with a large aspect being it takes seconds for his effects to fully apply from charging his abilities ( 1 seconds delay before the 3rd ability process) as well as the time it takes to mix, prime, and detonate the reactions.Balance is always tricky with projects like this because I, for one cannot test out his numbers game, instead relying on estimations based on current League of Legends champions.

• Character Doc

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The actual instillation photographed above. The idea was that you were walking into his head reading his journal haha. It would have helped the immersion if I doubled or even tripled the number of pages (2-3 of each page) haha

The first two concepts for his ability. The first being the generic variant that I felt was too simple. The second major concept being a bit closer to his final state but still missing the alchemist nature I wanted to differentiate him from Ziggs, Heimer, and Singed