

Platform
PC
Role
Lead of Game Design,
Technical and Art Designer
Tools Used
Unity, Spine, GIT, Photoshop
Team Size
6
Project Duration
8 Months - Capstone Project









Taking first place in three of four categories at Level Up, in Toronto, Ontario in 2017, and being featured at GDC in 2018, Disco Is Dead's winning feature was its unique, slappable zombie head controllers, which players physically slap to slap away zombies in the game onscreen.
I served as the lead of game design on the project, working to define and iterate on the core gameplay loop in order to produce a experience that emphasized cooperation and coordination between the two players, such as allowing them to high-five to activate super-moves. Disco is Dead was my capstone project for my final year at Sheridan's Bachelor of Game design program.
Responsibilities
Game Design
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Design a unique experience based around slapping zombie heads, ensuring gameplay was designed to work with this feature - it needed to be simple enough to balance the unconventional controls, but still provide sufficient challenges, and most importantly, give the players plenty of opportunities to really have fun slapping the heads around.
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Focus on designing a two-player co-operative experience that encouraged communication and cooperation between players.
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Develop and test mechanics that rewarded cooperation and careful timing, including enemies that required coordination to defeat, and special moves that could only be activated though players high fiving each other.
Level Design
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Develop a plan for seven levels in the game and adjust it to meet time constraints while still maintaining the entertainment value of the experience.
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Work to develop the two boss levels for the game, and the mechanics and gameplay in each.
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Developed sequencing system for building levels.
Scripting
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Serve as one of the two coders for the project, implementing features, managing asset pipeline for animations and visuals, and version control.
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Script sequencing system and game design tools which allowed less code-inclined individuals on the team to help develop levels.
Art Design and Animation
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Produce all art for the final 2.5D isometric level of the game.
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Animate all elements for the final boss encounter in Spine to produce a unique 2.5D experience while staying true to the preexisting art style.
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Color and shade comic panels used for in-game cut-scenes.
Documentation
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Worked to manage documentation and write up proposals for game and features.