Game Engine: Unreal Tournament 3 (UE3)

Development Time: 18 weeks

Team Size: 17 developers (2 programmers, 10 level designers, 5 artists)

Development Role: Level Designer/Scripter - Working closely with other designers on our team, I contributed to several parts of the Leviathan development process. I designed several of the the modular buildings used as pre-fabs to populate the city. I white-boxed large portions of the interior and exterior areas for our prototype and vertical slice levels which were incorporated into the final game. I also worked with Unreal's Matinee editor to rough-in exterior scenes and generate environmental effects to better describe the game environment to players (LOD buildings, explosions, other Leviathans in the "pod", more explosions, lazer beams, smoke and fires, even more explosions). Lastly, I worked with our game producer, Matt Wilkinson, and appropriate leads to update and track our playtest feedback for development purposes.

• Design Concept/Whitebox (1 level): 10%  
• LOD Exterior (3 levels): 15%
• Matinee Exterior (3 levels): 30%
• Scripted Events (3 levels): 30%
• Playtest Feedback: 15% 

Description:  Leviathan is a single player Unreal Tournament 3 mod in which the player assumes the role of a symbiotic airborne flyer that must protect their alien space travelling “Leviathan” mother ship from the defenders of the planet the Leviathan’s have invaded. Players have the ability to “tag” enemies and buildings for the Leviathan mother ship to destroy, players can “pick up” items left by destroyed enemies and buildings to improve the health of their mother ship, and players can also kamikazi (self destruct) in order to protect the Leviathan as it carves a path of destruction across the enemy city. Players have an infinite number of respawns - protecting their Leviathan mother ship from harm is their primary goal. As the Leviathan pod converges on the government centers of the city, the player must utilize their flying, tagging, collection and kamikazi skills to insure survival of their individual Leviathan mothership.

Download: Leviathan Installer

Game Engine: Unreal Tournament 3 (UE3)

Development Time: 12 weeks

Team Size: 9 developers (3 programmers, 3 artists, 3 level designers)

Development Role: Working closely with another level designer, Allen Tucker, I created and oversaw thematic design for the city landscape and architectural placement of static meshes. Together, Allen and I insured thematic continuity throughout the level with oversight by the art team. I also worked with the team to do preliminary passes on scripted lights at strategic gameplay locations throughout the final level. Lastly, I updated Level Design documentation at appropriate milestones.

• Design Concept: 10%
• Static Mesh Placement: 50%
• Lighting/Sound Placement: 20%
• Gameplay Testing: 15%
• Documentation: 5%

Description:  Librum Vitalis is a cooperative multiplayer strategy mod that utilizes the 3rd person perspective in the Unreal Tournament 3 engine. Players assist other players in casting spells and summoning guardians to protect an “Arcane Library” from destruction by seemingly never-ending hordes of enemy soldiers. A real-time map in the HUD lets players know the location of approaching enemies, and a countdown timer warns of future waves of enemies. Working together to summon elemental guardians in the form of Golems, Snakes, Dragons and Mechanical Automata, players create defenses along critical paths throughout a medieval city to prevent enemy soldiers from reaching the “Arcane Library”.

Download: Librum Vitalis Installer

Game:  Original “Lite” Role Play Game

Development Time: 4 weeks

Team Size: 6 developers (2 artists, 3 designers, 1 programmer)

Development Role: Designer - Working with teammate Gustavo Samour, I helped design and implement the "Modular World Table" to help new game masters create a game world for players. This modular world table included different quest variations, scenarios, and suggestions for future gameplay, and was intended for use as a demonstration of how diverse and dynamic game design can be within The Great Hunt game world. Working with our team Leader Hans Larsen, I also helped to compile and proof-read the various drafts of our game design document.

• Design/Concept: 30%
• Content Design: 30%
• Gameplay Testing/Balancing: 30%
• Documentation: 10%

Description:  The Great Hunt is a light Role Play Game (RPG) designed for children age 7 to 12 years with an adult Game Leader (GL) who helps the children play the game. The Great Hunt incorporates elements of “let’s pretend” with the gameplay of a “scavenger hunt” while also using the available talent, interests, and facilities of the real-world environment where the game is being played. Using a simple character creation chart, the GL helps the children assume their identities as heroes on The Great Hunt. These heroes solve mysteries and do good deeds for the people around them. Using a make-believe Fort or Castle as a base of operations, the players of the game take cues from the GL and follow a path of directed storytelling to progress through a game towards an end goal. Using teamwork and combined “powers”, the players must overcome gameplay obstacles by working together and pooling their resources to solve problems the GL presents to them.

Download: The Great Hunt

Game: Torque X engine

Development Time: 8 weeks (joined team during week 4)

Team Size: 5 developers (3 designers, 2 artists)

Development Role: Worked closely with art lead to create simple thematic art pieces for implementation within the level (signs, pipes, etc). I also designed and implemented "Level 3" of the game. I also worked with the team to streamline our SCRUM, update documentation, and complete optional extra credit assignments using Microsoft Project.

• Art Creation: 30%
• Level Design: 50%
• Documentation: 20%

Description:  Lil’ Squirt is a single player 2D side scrolling game created in the TorqueX environment. Players assume the role of Joey, a little boy from the future who must use fantastical toys to defeat evil robots who have kidnapped his parents and are plotting world domination. Using his “hover” heelies, sprint ability, and a “lazor” chainsaw, Joey must defeat a series of robot enemy encounters, overcome numerous moving puzzles, avoid lava traps, and successfully rescue his parents from the heart of a robot factory.