E for Everyone is a retro-style FPS with an over-the-top blend of "dark" themes and campy ridiculousness.  Meant to harken back to our beloved progenitors of the FPS genre, this game combines 3D level geometry with Doom-esque spritework and an emphasis on fast, simple run 'n gun gameplay. 

​My objective when building the levels of this game was to evoke emotions in the player that capture the main themes of the experience - empowerment, thrilling intensity and idiotic humor.

This game was built in Unity in 4 months by a team of 9 students.
Picture
Large, open spaces and blocky geometry sells the retro theme while providing the player with room to express their movement mechanics.
Picture
Gameplay is facilitated through deliberate color usage. Themes and patterns are established early on to earn player trust and guide them around the level.
Picture
I use an emotions-first approach to designing levels to evoke a response in the player, then think of the gameplay dynamics that'll get them there.

My Role:  LEAD DESIGNER

  • Built three large, detailed levels using an iterative design process involving paper graphs, whitebox prototyping and Probuilder's in-engine geometry suite

  • Scripted events and used custom dev tools to create encounters and other gameplay beats
 
  • Oversaw testing feedback implementation and provided builds and documentation of development progress regularly
 
  • Communicated individually with every member of the team to help coalesce the best possible execution for our game's vision
​
  • Developed visual narrative to give context to the player's actions

WHAT I'VE LEARNED

Developing this game provided a number of interesting challenges.  I've always dreamed of working on a big team, and this was my opportunity to get some experience with a game a little larger in scope than the two- or three-person projects that I'd been used to.

While the large team size offered some unique benefits - almost every skill required to pull off the project was familiar to at least someone - there were points of friction, as well.

Group coordination was an odd beast.  Given Unity's built-in version control and some engine limitations, having multiple people working in the editor at once was problematic and not everyone felt comfortable stepping up for fear of breaking someone else's work.  The stereotype "Fix one bug, two more take its place" holds up.

Despite the lopsided in-engine workload responsibility, I had an awfully fun time taking others' ideas and assets and collaborating to execute their vision.  Some of my best work in E for Everyone  shines because I took the time to develop an idea with someone else's unique perspective.
Picture
The MDA approach of game design (mechanics, dynamics, aesthetics) is the toolkit I use to deconstruct others' work and learn from in order to deliberately create my own experiences.
Picture
Like this level, I'm ready to walk through hell to see a project to completion.