Enemy Spawn Manager for Endless Game

Blog Post #3
The most important core in our game is definitely the enemy spawn manager. This system is very important because determines the game pace, the length and how much fun can generate. A lot of time is required when it comes to balance the game and is very important to have a flexible source where is possible to change settings quickly and easily. So that’s why this week I have been working on a script, able to facilitate the game designer […]

Using Audio in Unity

I am the Lead Sound in my game design group, so I have done research on how to use Unity’s audio system, both through the editor and through code. I found it a bit tricky at first, so I’m hoping that this post might clear some things up and help someone else understand.
For my fellow students: if you find this helpful, make sure to show it to your own group’s Lead Sound! And if your team has any sound issues, write to me and […]

Creating feedback through particle effects & sound

This week I have been play testing and editing variables, finding sounds and created particle effects. In my previous posts, I’ve been talking about my work in a very abstract way and therefore I find it fitting to talk about the concrete work I’ve been doing this week. The particle effects.
We received around 40 reviews during our pre-alpha presentation and it quickly became obvious to us that our game was lacking feedback. I figured I wanted to improve this mainly […]

Absurdly Extravagant Level Design

Imagine if you will, a project manager that is not only a cunning and apt leader, but also a masterful level designer. Seems too good to be true? It is. I am neither. However, since our game designer so rudely disappeared in our moment of need, the team needed someone to  visualize the Echoes of the Abyss dream. Someone with years of experience designing board games. Someone that understood what the player wanted. Someone that could make Rukh great again.
I […]

Assets & Scenes

During this week, I have been continuing with creating the graphics for my group’s game that we now call ‘’Betulla’’.
First of all, I want to say that I feel like this week has been way less productive to me, compared to all of the other previous weeks since I so far have been sick and have not spent much time at all with my group.
After finishing the background last week, I am now working on some smaller projects, like creating […]

#3: Backlogs and the push/pull method.

When I started thinking about how my team could get the most out of our backlog I came to think about the problems surrounding how it is utilized. The traditional way is for the management to push items from the backlog. You can think of this like a manager holding “work” in his hands and giving it to a team member telling him to commit to creating this work item until the deadline.
The other way around is for the team […]

The Complete Flow of Spirits of The Shogun

Hey guys!
A lot has been done this week. After a couple of weekly design meetings we concluded how the game flow of Spirits of The Shogun works like, and it was up to me to program the game to have the decided flow.
In Spirits of The Shogun, you begin progressing through the endless level by walking to the right. You can’t walk back from where you came from. It’s like the level progression in older Mario games.
When you have reached a […]

What seems to be the problem?

Games, generally speaking, are made up of problems. Or, as it is more commonly described, challenges for the player to overcome. These challenges can take many forms, from puzzles to solve to enemies to defeat. They also often come in different layers (defeating agents of the enemy before fighting the final boss) as well as in different combinations (solving a puzzle under time-pressure). A large part of game design is trying to make sure the player is always faced with […]

Subconscious design

Two systems
The concept of two system that handle how we work as human beings keeps popping up in different research. Lieberman in his book “human learning and memory”¹ talks about different journals³ and research that brings up two systems of learning. That we automatically learn things in some situations and in other situations we seem to have more control over what and how we learn.
Other research on two systems is more oriented towards behavior science. David Kahneman is a noble […]

Earn a free conference pass!

So your crowdfunding missed its target, your company can’t send you, or you want to scout talent before anyone else gets the chance. Whatever the reason, you may earn yourself a free Conference Pass and front row seats to meet our students by serving on the GGC Jury!
The jury arrive a day early (28/5) to attend student presentations (2-4 hours, with breaks) and then play their games on the show floor and provide thoughtful and constructive feedback […]

Educators Summit update

The Game Educators Summit is a 2-day meeting hosted by the Department of Game Design, during the GGC. We aim to bring together all higher game educations (internationally) to discuss our common concerns and set up a network of support.
So; two days, broken up by the Gotland Game Conference. The first day (28/5) is filled with short presentations and an evening meet-and-greet on the show floor among the student games.
The second day (31/5) takes place after […]

Keeping Assets Consistent Throughout Production

Author: Hanna Hagenmalm
Team: Leviathan
Concept: Draxl’s Journey
So. You have been tasked with drawing a spaceship. As you have never drawn a spaceship before, this turns out to be quite a challenge. But as the art style is graphic and your team supportive, you do manage to create a first little shiplet. It took many hours, and the standard bucket of sweat and tears and blood, but you did it. Good job.
Then you have to create a second one, and while the […]