My Games (Overview)
As a game designer, my specialty is creating educational games in Flash. I have experience in both programming and design, but I currently focus mostly on the latter. What follows are some of the games that I have designed.
If you don't have time to play and read about these games, watching the following demo reel will give you a quick overview. If you are having problems watching the YouTube video embedded below, you can download a copy of the reel in either WMV format (9.3 MB) or MPEG format (19.4 MB).
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Track for Success
An educational board game that encourages smart career and financial planning
Project Role: Designer
Project Responsibilities:
- Created game rules and mechanics by refining and implementing a small set of required game features and injecting unique ones
- Wrote instructions for players
- Designed basic board layout
- Wrote all game fiction and text, including all names and descriptions of spaces and cards
- Obtained and analyzed feedback from internal test groups and made gameplay revisions based on results
- Performed some game balancing (limited due to time constraints)
- Worked with subject matter expert to ensure educational value
Brief Summary:
Track for Success is a board game used to review the lessons learned in a high school Personal Finance course. It is inspired by Monopoly, The Game of Life, and the less-recognizable Careers and was created simultaneously in a "some assembly required" paper version and a digital Flash version. I was in charge of the physical game's design; the Flash version was mostly designed and entirely programmed by a co-worker. I have posted a copy of the digital version allow visitors to give the game a spin.
Play the Flash version of the game
Analysis, design documentation, and other assets
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Untitled Industrialism Platform Game
Platform game that reviews social studies concepts
Project Role: Programmer and Designer
Project Responsibilities:
- Worked as sole game programmer (ActionScript 2.0)
- Revised the original game concept from a Donkey Kong clone into a multi-screen game with a final boss battle
- Designed the interface
- Designed all levels
- Performed all game balancing
- Performed majority (~90%) of testing
- Worked with artists to create "retro game" look
- Worked with subject matter expert to ensure educational value
This arcade-style platform game uses characters introduced in an American History course to review a unit on Industrialism. Students take on the role of the course's protagonist, Heinz, in an attempt to infiltrate the lair of the evil Dr. Chro-No. Heinz must destroy the Bad-Bots and answer questions to unlock gates. Doing this opens doors that lead deeper into the lair and eventually leads to Heinz facing a giant, evil John D. Rockefeller.
Analysis, design documentation, and other assets
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Buy Now, Pay Later
A game about the opportunity costs of using credit cards
Project Role: Designer
Project Responsibilities:
- Took a pitched idea from a course developer and turned it into a fully-fledged game design
- Wrote text and designed interactive elements for a tutorial
- Created and organized flow of game events
- Created AI algorithms to control the actions of computer players
- Balanced certain game values to ensure the proper difficulty and outcomes
- Designed the interface layout
- Worked with artists to have them create new assets, reuse old ones, and create layout mockups
- Worked with subject matter expert to ensure educational value
The goal of Buy Now Pay Later is for students to see what happens to their purchasing power when they decide to use credit cards. Students go on shopping sprees where they are encouraged to spend recklessly. This attitude is provoked by a pair of simulated computer opponents who are trying to outspend the student. Between rounds, students are given statistics and graphs to track their spending. By the end of the game, the student should see how that credit card interest payments cut into the amount of items that can be purchased in the future.
Analysis, design documentation, and other assets
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