Project Management

The project was presented in the format of a three-week Game Jam delivered during our fourth year of study - with the theme of the jam being sustainability. The project was unique in the way that it allowed us to collaborate in teams including students from different year groups - to allow us to mentor and guide one another. Being the senior-most individual studying the Video Games and Virtual Reality pathway of my course, I took it upon myself to help coordinate the effort in a with guidance, whilst still maintaining equal creative contribution to the project.

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Due to the fast paced nature of the project. documentation was primarily maintained through the use of whiteboards, online notes and Miro boards, including idea development diagrams and kanban boards. We scaled the project size to the development of one complete mini-game per team member, with a total of five team members overall.

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Game Design

In response to the theme of sustainability, we looked at a range of different gameplay genres that could translate the educational value well, without sacrificing the overall fun and design of the arcade unit. We decided early on to produce something in the likeness of micro-game compilations, taking inspiration from titles such as WarioWare (2003, Nintendo). Cooking Mama (2006, Office Create) and Tamagotchi: Corner Shop (2005, NanaOn-Sha).

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Art Direction

We wanted the visuals to feel animated, upbeat and nostalgic, and to create a style that would be simple enough to be replicated by all members of the team, regardless of their level in the course or confidence. References we used on our mood boards included games such as Dumb Ways To Die (2013, Julien Frost, Samuel Baird), which incorporate a minimalistic, bright and warming aesthetic, whilst also looking to emulate the rendering quality of systems such as the original Nintendo DS or Sony Playstation 1.