July 2, 2010
August 1, 2010
Works
Magnetiball - lead game designer, level designer, producer, project manager
Sponsored by King.com - play the game!
A flash game with a simple premise: move a metallic ball from its starting position to a finish line, using magnets to attract it. The concept is explored in 60 levels that feature elaborate architectures, dangerous spikes or changing gravity.
The game was a critical and commercial success, receiving good marks on popular flash portals with JayIsGames.com saying:
"By keeping its presentation so simple and slick, MagnetiBall is able to focus much more on gameplay than relying on flash and bling to keep us hooked [...] it is a remarkably tight and well-made little package. There are only really two moves to master, but the level design is sharp enough that the approach to each one rarely feels stale or unfair."
Active Tactics System - creator
The ATS is a set of rules to be used in card games regardless of the theme. It is highly adaptable, easy to understand and yet allows a great deal of tactical depth.
The Active Tactics System is founded on two main ideas: make the game more dynamic and reactive by allowing players to play cards even during their opponent's turn, and avoid flaws commonly found in customisable card games such as the predominant random factor and the overwhelming importance of deck-building over in-game decisions.
The open nature of the system makes it adjustable to various thematic environments - it can simulate fast fights or long skirmishes, one-on-one combat or team face-offs, character evolution, attack counters...
I currently have designed and produced two games using the ATS, one based on Pokemon and the other on a new IP. Both have been playtested and finely tuned and are now enjoyed in separate communities.
My Guest House - lead game designer
For this student project, we had one instruction: appeal to 35 to 45-years-old women. My team developed in one week a flash game in which the player has to attend to the various household tasks in a guest house. For each room - living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and garden - one minigame can be performed. A good result grants money to spend on better furniture, which increases the house's general allure and thus attracts more guests.
The game's target audience is the active middle-aged woman; as such, it is designed to be played during a normal work day, as an aside entertainment. Each minigame can be played once per day and the rewards are given at midnight: the game can be launched in the morning, given a minute or two multiple times during the day and then closed when leaving the office. The progression is saved and the player feels a sense of achievement as more and more guests stay at the increasingly beautiful house.
Relaxing and entertaining work tool - game designer, team manager, producer
Since this project has yet to be released, most of my work on it is confidential. The aim was to design a software to be used by commercial agents that would both streamline their daily tasks and embed them in a relaxing and motivating environment.
The final product had to be easy to use, more functional than a software specifically designed for the management of commercial contacts, and rewarding. I worked with psychologists specialised in interactive mediums and their impact on an individual's self-esteem and efficiency, to avoid problems such as dependency, disaffection with the real world, or overwhelming competitiveness. The final design is based on the concepts of personal achievement and cooperation, to ensure a sound working atmosphere.
Toxic Attack - game designer
The instructions for this student project were as follow: "produce a card game to inform 11-year-old kids of the dangers of smoking." Of course, the game had to be simple enough for kids, but it also had to include smoking as a negative element in the core gameplay (as opposed to superficial flavour). We also had to be careful not to put the wrong message across - for example, having player collect smoking-related cards was prohibited, even if it was to destroy it.
Toxic Attack ended up as a fast-paced card game in which players have to quickly associate "protection" cards that start out in their hands (nicotine patches, respirators...) with "danger" cards (cigarettes, smoke...) to get points. The game is adapted to its audience, with cards featuring manga-like drawings on colourful backgrounds with no text at all, and conveys the right idea, while also giving hints on how to protect oneself from the addiction to tobacco.
The game was prototyped, playtested in a school, and produced in one week.
