Sacre Bleu - GAME DESIGN

Project Type: Team
Role: Designer, UX, QA
Team Members: Stein Loetveit, Alex Carey, Santiago Alvarez, Mike Torillo
Duration: Ongoing (1+ years)
Tools: Unreal Engine 4, GitHub, Jira

IDea

I was brought on as a game design consultant in February 2020. Initially my task was to outline the high level gameplay progression that the player would experience. Over the subsequent months my role would evolve within the team to also encompass some UX design as well as act as the primary quality assurance team member.

Process

When first working with the team there was some discussion whether a rouge like would be a good structure for the game. It was decided however that given the resources and skill set of the team a more linear gameplay experience would be optimal.

I sketched out a very basic level structure including tutorial and central hub as well as discrete level areas. This was then iterated on several times adding and removing features until settling upon a final design. I was also tasked with creating a game design document for this project but as the project is ongoing that work has been excluded from this portfolio.

As my role evolved I was also asked to work on some of the user experience elements of the game. I created a UI mockup for an area in which the player is able to purchase cosmetic items to customize their character.

In addition to graphical mockups I was also asked to edit several development vlogs. These short videos documented the progress the team was making on Sacre Bleu. One of these videos in particular I was asked to describe my role in the team and discuss a little of the game’s design.

Finally the last aspect of my role on the team was to act as the primary quality assurance member. With every build of the game I would play through it in its entirety making notes of bugs and design changes that would need to be implemented.

Due to a limited number of people playtesting and giving feedback I came up with a system to test the game in a variety of ways. I would record my own gameplay sessions consciously playing with different personas such as a speed runner, brand-new player or collectibles nut. I would then review this footage watching it back to see if there were any bugs or awkward design elements that I had missed by simply playing the game.

Takeaways

Working on this project has opened my eyes to just how complex game development can be. Each of my roles Designer, UX and QA has taught me something different and greatly deepened my skillset as a gamedev. I am extremely proud of the work I have done on Sacre Bleu and eagerly await its release so other people may play this delicious little game.