First Date - A Playground Style Simulator
Worked as the lead game designer and artist. Designed the gameplay, core features, controls, movement, and created custom 3D assets for this project.
Collaborated with a team of 6 as the game designer, UX designer and artist to meet a 1-week design challenge. Needed to choose an action for our players and felt the classics such as farming and building were not quite strange enough..
Decided on eating– a simple yet challenging task.
Timeline: 1 Week – Team of 6
- DESIGN PROCESS -
I find that creating visuals helps with demonstrating design ideas and clearly conveying specific movements and controls. One of the main challenges was connecting player controls in a way that felt intuitive to the action of eating.
- MOVEMENT CONTROLS -
Went through multiple prototypes and play-testing stages to finalize controls and game mechanics. Discovered which default gamepad buttons felt the most natural to players, as well as their feedback on the storyline, challenges, and menu items.
The final player controller was designed to create an ease of tongue movements when eating in the game. The camera and and controls flow in a way that immerses players into the setting and opens them up to the challenges and menu items.
- MENU & STORYLINE -
- Creating a menu that peaked interest and were familiar to a wide range of audience was essential.
- Special menu items such as the crab were created specifically for increasing difficulty for the choking challenge in the game.
- Unlimited ordering allows players to spam menu items and heap a huge pile of food for their date.
- First dates are a thrilling experience for most, so the goal of impressing a date fit well with the playground-style experience. Don’t choke!