An early in-engine contribution I made was a laser-beam style trap that would damage the players. This idea was inspired by a part of a level from the Spy vs. Spy game on the original Xbox.

• My design goal with this asset was to allow it to be designer friendly, able to tweaked and modified easily while in the level viewport

• My gameplay goal was for this obstacle to provide a low-difficulty challenge that affected player's movement & timing skills

• The asset ended up being implemented within a boss blueprint later on, which required me to add additional changes to compensate for meshes and beam effects that would get inappropriately distorted within the boss' blueprint

• The laser beam effect is a Niagara-effect using a flat ribbon, and I learned how to make the color variables in this emitter instance-editable within the actor's blueprint

• In order to stay in theme with the rest of the project, I found and implemented a free Laser Pointer asset, and used UE5's modeling tools to create a small emitter base mesh for the actor

An additional asset I implemented was a Turret and the slow-moving projectiles it would fire. The purpose of this obstacle was to provide a low-difficulty challenge and introduce projectiles as a threat to players. 

• I used UE5's Modeling tools to take an open-source asset and create more designer-friendly meshes for the purpose of a blueprint actor.

• I created many instance-editable parameters so that Level Designers could easily make changes & fine tune the affected gameplay spaces.

• I implemented a trailing Niagara effect to the projectile to add visual flair and a sense of velocity.

• The setup of this asset allowed another designer on the team to use custom assets to make a turret with a new visual theme (a PEZ dispenser).

For the 2nd iteration of the project, I stepped in to improve the beginning portion of the prototype level. The placeholder-blockout layout included a straightforward path through a cardboard-box that was very dimly lit inside.

• My goal with was to create a beginner's difficulty obstacle-area using only the Laser Trap I had created beforehand

• I used the UE5 modeling tools to modify the cardboard box asset to have an open roof to allow for more light

• I wanted to make sure I showcased some of the different functions the Laser Trap blueprint offered, and settled for 3 different sub areas within the box to avoid making too complex of a layout

  • 1st sub-area is a single Laser Trap going up and down to practice the player's timing

  • 2nd sub-area is double lasers moving in fan-rotations while also crossing over each other, and allows the player to use timing or try out the rolling mechanic for dodging through it

  • 3rd sub-area is a "laser grid floor" style using 3 lasers to practice jumping over dangerous obstacles

• I put some objects in between the Player Start and the Box's entrance to have players explore the details of the area more

• It was a design requirement for me to implement a trigger system with the entrance that activates the lasers when the first player steps into the doorway

• I also included a full-size Laser Pointer static mesh nearby the entrance as a form of foreshadowing to the players, angling the asset to be pointing towards the entrance of the box

As we were getting closer to our 2024 Rookies submission deadline, I took on the task of adding in some in-game cutscenes for the level to add visual flair and polish

• The 1st cutscene involved a small, wooden model-car that would roll down a hotwheelz-like track and smash through a destructible wall

  • In the process, I learned how to use the CineCamera alongside the Camera track assets within Unreal Engine

  • My goal with this cutscene was a bit free-form, with no big goal in mind. But I did want the  cutscene to capture a sense of "downhill-speed"

  • By accident, I found that having the car go out of view and then zoom by back into view got some good feedback from other team members

• The 2nd custscene involved an establishing shot of the boss arena for the end of the level

  • My goal here was to make sure to get a clear shot of the arena to effectively communicate the playspace for the players

  • This was difficult as I was working inside a closed-closet setting, which meant I couldn't get wide shots easily, and I also had to show it in relation to where the players came from

  • I found breaking the scene into two portions worked the best

    • the 1st portion sweeps from the arena entrance (where the players enter) and rotates to face the center of the arena

    • the  2nd portion raises high up overhead to get a nice wide shot of the arena

I was nominated to be the Lead Game Designer due to my early work on the Game Design Documentation, and have been in this role for over a year now

• The Game Design Team fluctuates from between 4 and 8 active Designers

• We work across multiple time zones (spread throughout USA & Europe)

• I coordinate Weekly Design Meetings and ensure team members have tasks, review progress, provide feedback, and answer any questions/concerns from team members

• I coordinate production times alongside the Creative Director

• Create formal documentation formats (especially with Design Tickets in project management apps) for team members to source and follow (examples available upon request)