LucyDity (Final Year Student Project)
Game Designer
LucyDity is a 3D, story-driven action puzzle game that follows Lucy's journey to wake up from a dream world after entering a coma caused by a car crash. As the sole game designer in a multidisciplinary team of programmers and a freelance artist, I took on a diverse set of responsibilities.
Here are some key highlights:
In Summary
Key Contributions:
- Developed a narrative-driven environmental puzzle game with branching paths on a custom engine.
- Contributed to the development of a custom game engine by driving the design vision and guiding the team with what we need to develop the game.
- Utilized modular tools and ingredients to streamline the level creation and iteration process; gradually introducing complex gameplay elements as players progress.
Game Design & Development • Additional Contributions
Game Design & Development
Key Contributions:
- Defined core game mechanics and designed engaging levels that balanced pacing and challenge.
- Collaborated with programmers to develop custom tools for efficient level creation and editing, including an Editor Mode and JSON file manipulation.
- Spearheaded the development of a text parser to seamlessly integrate screenplay dialogue as in-game subtitles.
- Tweaked and polished game mechanics to align with creative and gameplay objectives.
Additional Contributions:
Art & Creative Direction:
- Directed limited art resources by focusing the freelance artist on technically demanding tasks such as skybox creation.
- Personally handled 3D modeling, texturing, and lighting to maintain consistent art direction.
Production & Communication:
- Acted as the bridge between programming and art, ensuring alignment with game direction.
- Communicated progress, facilitated rescoping when necessary, and assisted in project management to maintain production flow.
Narrative & Writing:
- Wrote the game’s screenplay, incorporating branching storylines to create a narrative-driven experience with multiple endings, a rare feature for student games.
This project allowed me to develop a well-rounded skill set in game design, creative direction, and project management, while navigating the complexities of running on a custom engine with a small team.
LucyDity is a 3D story driven action puzzle. The game follows Lucy on her journey to wake up from a dream world after entering a coma induced by a car crash.