Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Checkout: Journey to Employee of the Month

I'm quite slow to update, but I've been quite busy - I like to work update when I have something to update.

This is Checkout: Journey to Employee of the Month.


Checkout is a Twitch/Puzzle game designed to push the players memory and dexterity. As customers stream down the isle, it's your job to ring them as quickly as possible. Damaged goods and  taking too long to bag results in a strike. Too many strikes and your shift is over! If you manage to impress all month long, you'll earn the title of Employee of the Month! 

Checkout features Multiplayer, character creation and support for player created content, as well as freeplay alongside the game's story mode. Checkout was originally designed as a mobile, but I lacked the means to publish it, so I pushed for desktops. Checkout was made in Unity 3D.

For most projects, I'm usually working in groups and I never get to show what I'm capable of as an individual, and being a full time student didn't help. I decided to test the waters a bit and I wanted to give myself a week to finish a project. It quickly grew bigger and bigger, and turned into a 3 month long project and I'm quite happy with the results.

This project has taught me a lot, and I'm excited to move onto the next.

Checkout is anticipated to release before 2015. Anticipated.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Game - Epic University - Sprites

Epic University is the game I'm currently working on, set to be released in 2014. I can't give out any information about the project as of yet, but what I can show you is a few of the minor assets I've been working on.

Some have been reworked and enlarged and some are simply upsaled.

 


 


 

 

 

Game - Misc. Tomb Raider Level Editor Screenshots

I work on a lot of projects at one time. It keeps my busy, which is both good and bad. I'm always working, but projects take a while to finish (for those that do get finished).

Here are various screenshots of works I've done over the past year or so. Despite the rigid block-like nature of the editor, I think I'd made interesting things.

Normally, I'd give a full list of credits, but the list would be entirely too long for this particular post, but any outside resources that are not mine personally, I do not claim them as my own. However, the overall designs and compositions of my the spaces, as well as gameplay, is my own work.

Silent Echoes
Silent Echoes
Silent Echoes
Beyond
Beyond
Beyond
Collapsed Mine Shaft
Bamboo Forest
Bamboo Forest
Color Theory
Color Theory
Color Theory
Color Theory
Color Theory
Research and Development
Research and Development
Back to Basic Competition - Northern Legends

Game - Murder at Willow Creek (2013)

I think 2013 was a good year for me, in games. I got to do a lot and experiment a little, and I'm proud of that. It's insane working on three games at one time (and modding projects on the side, as well as smaller games before that within the same year). One of the games I got to do was a board game, Murder at Willow Creek.

It was for a class. Some of us were asked to create games for the class to make. I'd wanted to make a horror game for a while (the games I'd worked on before were a drinking game and a game about working and shopping in a mall). The premise of the game is themed after a group of campers traveling to an abandoned camp ground to get evidence of the murders that'd taken place years ago. A few of the students resonated with my project and we began production.

I wanted the game to be presented from a planning perspective, and having the board looks like a blueprint, with colored pieces placed on top, moving within the boxes.

Players with different advantages and disadvantages take turns traveling to different buildings, collecting evidence, and taking the evidence to a boat house, avoiding the murderer along the way. Everyone alive must leave together. Players can hide in bushes (Xs on the board), and hide inside of buildings to avoid being killed.

Players are required to take turns, plan out moves ahead of time, and work within the group in order to assure success.

I was in charge of rules and the boards creation, below. I really wanted to strike a book balance between blueprint and game board. Sadly, players were still a little confused and my presentation needed to be clearer. I'm still pleased with the boards creation and I put a lot of time into it.


Game - Untitled Game (2011)

This is just a few things made in a group setting a few years back, in a club. I don't know whatever happened to the game, but I still have the worked I've done for the game. The process of the game's creation was pretty shaky, but I'm happy I've got something to show for it.


Game - Doomsday (2011)

I don't know why I didn't add the game to my blog earlier.

Doomsday was a group project that I was put in charge of for a class the fall of 2011. I was in change of scripting, in Game Maker. While art wasn't my job, I still did some. Most of the art I did was effects (like scrolling heat, mist, dust, rain and snow), some background art. On top of art and scripting, I was the gameplay designer and story writer.

Our prototype was finished early - this was because the gameplay itself was simple. This allowed us to pool all of out effort and into making the game more than just a simple shooter. We could add a campaign with a story, freeplay level, cheats, unlockables, upgrades, multiple enemy types and even a few options and mini-games.

The story of the game was a playful mix of key events in earths history, like the extinction of the dinosaurs, the ice age and even Roswell, blended along with some light religion, science and alien motifs; it's as historical as it is silly. As the campaign progresses, the background remains the same, but the effect color palettes change. Realistically, the stars would not change position all that much, but for differentiation, colors and effects alternate and change.

This was a lot to focus on at one time, bouncing back and forth between technical and art, but we're given the title of best game in class, so our collaborative efforts paid off. Given the opportunity, I'd actually restart the project and start refining the project. If not a complete recreation, a sequel. This project taught me a lot, from group manage to pipeline work flow and it's one of the best and most fun I've ever worked on, even with the games oversimplified gameplay.

Doomsday was finished late fall of 2011. It is currently released here/here (scroll down) to the public, finished and completely playable, though a little buggy.

Below is a selection of screens of things I've worked on. Mostly backgrounds, unless stated otherwise.

Main Menu
Collaborative effort between Lorren Merritt and myself.
Text art and sprites done by Darius Ray.

Freeplay - Aurora
Sprites done by Darius Ray.
I was just playing with the scrolling effect and I thought
the effect was nice. Light usage of blues, purples and oranges,
as well as falling dust - creates a magical effect.

Freeplay - Home
Home is a level that plays with sound, timing and atmosphere.
Home is one of the few levels inspired by Earth, and there's
rain and heavy fog. The music track is straight rain and
thunder, so I was forced to sync the lighting effect to the music.

Freeplay - Abstract
Background art done by Lorren Merritt.
Abstract is an altered version of the game in freeplay mode.
The goal is to change the colors of the white spheres to score
point. Change it too much, and you don't get any points.

Freeplay - Level Select Hub
I had trouble figuring out what to do with the Level Select hub.
I wanted to display what the levels looked like before playing,
contrary to the campaign, where there's meant to be more intrigue
and mystery.

Campaign - Level Select Hub
Sprite work by Darius Ray and myself.
Each of the colors spheres represents a different level that
hasn't been unlocked. As you unlock more, the planets
are filled in. I did all the planets and spheres.
Additional Credits:
-Matthew Hurley - Background Art (not shown), Sprites
-Joshua Wozniak - Theme music
-Additional sounds from various internet sources
Tools used (Myself):
Game Maker
Gimp
Photoshop
Google

Game - Time: The Mystic Trials - Tile Sheets (2013)

It's been a long time since my last post. A very long time. I'm not much a blogger...

Usually, I prefer to play a much more active role in my projects, but for this particular group project, I decided to (and at times, had no choice) to take a smaller, but important role within the group. My task was to create background art. I didn't have the means, time or overall skill to create 4 backgrounds in pixel art within the span of 3 months, as well as maintaining classes. However, what I did was create tile sheets and I turned those into backgrounds.

The only set that wasn't created by entirely was the last, which required some editing.

Time was completed the Spring of 2013.




Tools used:
MS Paint
Gimp