Monotone Heights
Released: January 23, 2011 | Platforms: PC
Project Description
Game design community Mapcore held a level design contest in which entrants were tasked with building playable levels out of just 20 brushes. This was my entry, built as a Half-Life 2 Deathmatch level, set atop a monolithic, single-textured skyscraper/monument type structure. I took 1st place overall in the contest, as well as placing 2nd in visuals, 2nd in gameplay, and 1st in brushwork (efficient/creative use of the 20 brushes). There were 19 levels entered into the contest.
My Role
I designed, built, lit, placed weapons and spawns, and everything else normally involved in building a deathmatch level. The skybox was made by Hipshot, and the single texture used throughout the level is a stock HL2 asset. As a small project for such a restrictive competition, the level probably took about 10 hours from conception to completion.
Space Police on Super Highway 9
Released: November 21, 2010 | Platforms: Xbox 360
Project Description
An Xbox LIVE Indie title developed over a 2 month period by Haiku Interactive . Space Police on Super Highway 9 is a top-down vertical scrolling racer, in which the aim is to ram your turbo-charged cop car into a variety of “baddies” that are tearing their way through the busy interstellar traffic. For more info visit its Xbox product page.
My Role
I was principally the designer on the project, designing the method and building the tiles through which our random and infinite highway was built. I worked closely with our external artist on the project - Sandy Beveridge - to ensure his environment and vehicle artwork was integrated into the game as desired. I also balanced the gameplay, determining the scoring, rate of difficulty ramping, control and functionality of the player’s cars, and so on. Finally, I was responsible for designing and implementing all of the game’s UI and frontend.
Bloody Good Time
Released: October 31, 2010 | Platforms: PC Xbox 360
Project Description
The spiritual successor to The Ship, Bloody Good Time is a multiplayer FPS with similar “hunt and be hunted” gameplay to its critically acclaimed predecessor. Set on Hollywood film sets, the players become wannabe movie stars willing to kill to impress the sadistic Director X. With weapons ranging from the innocuous (frying pan) to the preposterous (robo-rat), and a streamlined needs system that ensures plenty of… “vulnerable” moments, BGT sure delivers what its name promises!
My Role
I was initially responsible for designing and building levels, but ultimately played a far larger part in sculpting the game’s design from conception to release. I ended up responsible for completely rewriting the game’s design document, and while doing so redesigning and streamlining many of the game mechanics. I liaised closely with both the art and programming teams to ensure the game’s features and interfaces met the design team’s vision.
AvaGlide
Released: July 17, 2010 | Platforms: Xbox 360
Project Description
An Xbox LIVE Indie title developed over a 6 month period by myself and 2 colleagues. AvaGlide is a laid back gliding game designed to be relaxing and welcoming to non-gamers, but also competitive and challenging for the “hardcore”. The game received almost unanimous praise from critics, with reviews featuring no shortage of statements like “it oozes charm and style” and “one of the finest games on the service to date”. For more info, visit the game’s website or Xbox marketplace page.
My Role
I was principally the designer on the project, however I also did a large amount of the programming and artwork seen in the game. I was responsible for designing many of the game mechanics and game modes, designing and implementing the UI and HUD, designing and building the levels and challenges, creating many of the art assets, building the website, and much more on top!
Crate Expectations
Released: October 27, 2009 | Platforms: Xbox 360
Project Description
An Xbox LIVE Indie title developed over a 2 month period by myself and 3 colleagues. Crate Expectations is a turn-based competitive strategy game in which 2-4 players race to deliver a quota of crates through one of 70 arctic mazes. Forward planning, quick thinking, and outright ruthlessness are all required if the player is to beat their rivals! Crate Expectations was critically acclaimed for being amongst the most polished games on the service on its release, but ultimately failed to connect to the Xbox Indie customer base.
My Role
I was responsible for designing gameplay mechanics, designing and building the levels, designing and implementing much of the UI and HUD, and several other programming tasks. Oh, and puns. Lots and lots of puns.
Weaver
Released: May 1, 2007 | Platforms: PC
Project Description
A small Half-Life 2 Deathmatch level I created for Mapcore’s “1024″ contest. The task was to make a playable HL2DM map contained within the not-so-spacious confines of a 1024 unit cube. The map took first place in the contest, which saw 15 entries.
My Role
This was a personal project in which I was the sole developer. Using the Source SDK, I designed the layout, built all the basic geometry using BSP brushwork, detailed using standard Half-Life 2 assets, and did the lighting pass, weapon placement, soundscaping, gameplay balancing, and so on.
The Ship
Released: July 30, 2006 | Platforms: PC
Project Description
A first-person shooter with a twist, The Ship tasks players not with simply killing everyone in sight, but instead with killing just one specific target huddled amongst the crew and passengers of 1920s era cruise ships. Adding to the suspense however, the player must also be on the look out for the player that has been tasked with murdering them! The Ship was critically acclaimed for it’s original gameplay and novel setting that make it stand out from the crowd of online FPS games.
My Role
On this project I was responsible for designing 3 of the multiplayer levels; Cotopaxi, Connemara, and Krassin. Cotopaxi was also used as the ship featured in the single player story mode. All art assets were created by my Outerlight colleagues.
