WILL KIMBER
Games Design portfolio
The goal for this project was to work in a group setting and create a game around the theme "You Are The Power source". During this assignment I primarily took on the role of designer, whilst also contributing to prototyping mechanics and creating artwork for the game.
Original Plans for the level
To support my role as designer, the first task I undertook with the other designer for this project was the design documentation. As a group we held calls to makes sure everyone was clear and happy with the vision for the game. Once this step had been completed we created a GDD as well as a simple layout for level and a list of puzzles we wanted to have in the game.
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The overview for the game is that we wanted to achieve an immersive puzzle game experience where the player takes on the role of an action figure to escape a child’s bedroom. The player will solve unique puzzles by powering toys, based on your surroundings, to assist your escape.
GDD
Level Design
constructing the level, and screenshot of the final level in unreal engine
The next step in the design process was creating the level. Using the other designers block out as a foundation, I used blender to create a Whitebox version that helped us in early iterations of the project to test the flow of the level and scale of the various assets. following this, we worked on an asset list that outlined the initial set of assets requires for the alpha version of the game. Once the artists had created the first lot of 3d models, I worked on integrating them into the level to replace my models.
Testing
Around this time, we also prepared the presentation, I created my individual parts for the design section. Following the presentation, I developed a questionnaire to collect necessary feedback on the areas we were working on, and getting opinions on other additions and improvements people thought we could add into the game. I then compiled all the relevant data into a document for the team to reference Which gave everyone a clear guide on overall opinions of the game and what we should be working on.
Reflection
Mechanics
The next thing I worked on for this game was to create prototypes for how the puzzles/UI would work to help convey to the programmer how the order of operations should work. I did this in a separate file to help test out experimental code without breaking the main project file.
<These are some examples of prototypes I created using blueprints to show to the rest of the group how things should function before the programmer created the finalised version.
The next task I tackled was designing the game's UI, inspired by feedback from the alpha tests.. I began by creating a basic prototype in Figma, which I then shared with the team to gather their input before making a finalised version. The primary goal of the UI was to clearly indicate which items could be interacted with , display the required batteries, and provide and inventory system to show the player the batteries they had collected so far.
![FinMenu].webp](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/167a12_dbb0a5bbafe043ac9820041e8414565b~mv2.webp/v1/fill/w_323,h_230,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/FinMenu%5D.webp)
My final bits of contribution to this game involved designing and implementing a main menu, A cutscene, as well as creating the NPC's, which were a very popular suggestion from feedback gathered during both rounds of testing. I began by creating a prototype in Figma and shared it with the group. Everyone liked the concept and suggested a few minor changes which I integrated into the second version and then implemented it in the final game.
For the NPC characters I began by testing their code in blueprints within a different project so that I could experiment with the logic and get rid of all bugs by the final version. In addition to creating the code for this this I also made all the art for the NPC's, This included 3d modelling and texturing, As well as creating all the dialogue for the characters. They were inspired by little figures that the child who owns the room had drawn faces on. The point of the NPC's was to provide some extra narrative to the game and provide backstory to the player whilst making the environment feel less empty.
