Adam Connell

Demon Defense (Playable)

Other Levels: Mansion Gas Station Neighborhood

Role:
Level design, concept, prop and texture placement, pathing, combat encounters, event scripting, pacing, gameplay scripting, Ai scripting, effects, animation, art direction and game doc creation.

Platform:

Windows PC

Mac OS
Console

Leaf: Utah Game Wars Winner!

PC Game: Demon Defense

Follow Leaf the game on Facebook.

Role:
Game/Level design, concept, prop and texture placement, pathing, combat encounters, event scripting, pacing, effects.

Platform:
Mobile iOS

Engine:
Unity 3D

Language:
C#

Duration:
2 months +
(Work in progress)

Team Size:
3

Overview:

The story of "Seeders" is one of survival and respect for the dead. The main character of the game is a young Dyrad known as Leaf. Leaf is a Seeder among the Dyrads who lives with many others among the tops of the trees in the forest. Dyrads are peculiar creatures who have the magical ability to control winds. They look like 6 inch tall humans but as they age they develop bark on their skin, tree limbs and leaves. When they are ready to pass on they curl up and assume the shape of a small seed which once planted in the soil will grow into the giant trees the Seeders dwell in. Each tree is known by name to the Dyrads for this reason and is protected with the utmost respect.The basic mission of the Seeders is to bury their dead by parachuting from the tall tree tops to the ground in a forest fraught with perils and many creatures who covet Seeders as food as well as the bodies of those you are burying. To join the elite ranks of the Seeders among the Dyrads you must prove your worth and determination by accomplishing a series of challenges presented. Once you've finished training your adventure begins.

Two basic mechanics

1-Using swiping techniques which create wind currents that guide the parachuting Seeder through the environment as well as direct his projectiles to desired targets.

2-Using swipe and release techniques to fire your weapon at enemies and to initiate contraptions that will further your progress

Project Design Goals:

Create a never before seen iOS game.
Design a simple movement mechanic that can be used in multiple different ways.
Create a new take on the auto-runner game that also uses puzzles.
Build a game with great re-play ability.

Development Build: playable demo
(click icon)

Gameplay Instructions: This is a web build of an iOS game so use your mouse as you would swim your finger on an iPad. BECAUSE LEAF IS BUILT FOR iOS THE MOUSE CLICK SOME TIMES DOESN'T REGISTER THE FIRST TIME YOU START THE GAME OR LEVEL. ONCE THE CLICK WORKS YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE ANY OTHER PROBLEMS.

Proof of concept block out:

Initial movement test level and basic physics based puzzle that also uses our wind mechanic.

After we built a basic wind control mechanic we blocked out a more complicated level to help refine the character controls with the wind.

Now that we have a semi refined control mechanic and have decided on a art style we have begun to use the level sprites to begin the basic level block in so that we can begin play testing and make iterations.

To speed up the level design process and the visual style of Seeders we are using a 2D terrain editor. This allows me to quickly and easily make changes to the level while play testing to get the balance and pacing exactly the way we want it.

Once we have the level designed the way we want myself and our artist take a screen shot of the finished layout and make a paint over. This is were the pretty comes into play, at this point the level is finished all the game play and fun is figured out and this pass is all about the art and story of the level.

In game pictures: (work in progress)

Screenshots of the new look for Leaf!

Demon Defense

Demon Defense (playable)

Rapid Prototypes: Revenge of the Zombies

Induction (Playable) iOS game

Rapid Prototypes: Zombie

Role:
Project manager, game designer, level designer, effects, mission scripting, pathing, pacing.

Platform:
Mobile iOS

Rapid Prototypes

Other Prototypes: Magnet Mayhem Abduction

Role:
All gameplay scripting, enemy AI behavior scripting, level design and layout, gameplay mechanics.

Platform:
Windows PC
Mac OS

UDK & Kismet

Other Levels: Zombie Magnet Mayhem

Role:
Game and level design, concept, prop and texture placement, pathing, combat encounters, event scripting, pacing, gameplay scripting, AI scripting and art direction.

Platform:

iOS

Magnet Mayhem

Other Prototypes: Abduction Zombie

Role:

Concept, prop and texture placement, pathing, event scripting, pacing, gameplay scripting, effects, character design and art direction.

Platform:

Windows PC
Mac OS

Console

Engine:

Unity 3D

Language:

C#, JavaScript

Duration:

4 weeks

Team Size:

Overview:

"Magnet Mayhem" is set in a 3D world with movement restricted to moving forward and backward along a pre-set path, giving a full-world feel with 2D side-scroller gameplay. Magnet Mayhem is and action puzzle game centered around using magnetic forces to influence objects in your environment, reach target areas, kill enemies and find hidden objects. The game is set in the ruins of an imaginary ancient civilization that had unique relics which could control magnetic forces. With it's emphasis on magnetic puzzles, Magnet Mayhem does not have any weapons. The player has only one tool, an electro-magnetic staff used to attract, repel, and charge objects magnetically. Any enemies the player encounters need to be dealt with using this staff and the objects in the environment.

Project Design Goals:

Create a unique take on a traditional 2D side-scroller.
Demonstrate skills in game / level design, pacing and balancing, environment design and combat design.
Create a prototype using magnetics in 4 weeks.
Build a modular pipe line to speed up prototype time and level design build times.

Detailed Info:

Magnet Mayhem's first level is a proof of concept and a tech demo that demonstrates all the major gameplay mechanics. The player can use the magnetic staff to pull the character to a stationary or heavy object within a specific range. The player also uses the staff to pick up and carry light metal objects using the staff, players can also push and pull light or medium magnetic objects. To move medium objects, the player must be anchored to a heavy or stationary magnetic object.

In addition to these simple interactions, Magnet Mayhem also includes the following more complex interactions:

By collecting multiple magnetic or metal objects, the player can assemble them into a bridge or stairway to reach other areas. In a similar manner, the player can create a less stable structure to activate a switch that is out of reach.

The player can charge an object and use its polarity to attract or repel other magnetic objects.

Game & Level Design:

Features I designed and built for Magnet Mayhem:

Narrative design (story, characters and locations)
Level design, prototyping, and construction
magnetic item locations
Enemy spawn locations
Environment set dressing and prop placement
Animation state machines
Hundreds of debugs, issues and tweaks

Scripting C#

Player movement
3D bezier curve pathing
Magnetic Functions
Moving platforms

Initial Level designs:

Magnet Mayhem is a 3D side scrolling puzzle adventure game. Players use + and - ends of a magnetic staff to push, pull, grab and stick to metal or magnetized object in the world.

Combining 3D with a side scroller gave us much more freedom to create large complex puzzles and secondary paths the player must explore in order to move on.

Gameplay Mechanics:

The player has a staff that has a positive and negative side. This staff can push, pull and lift objects as well as can be used as a grappling hock for the player. Below are the hieroglyphs that are placed in the level to show the players how their staff can be used to solve each puzzle in the game.

Original staff concept

Tech demo layouts:

When players fall to far or jump off a ledge thats to high they will die. This section of the level teaches players how they can use there staff to grab onto a wall then push themselves away from it safely landing on the ledge below.

Finally in the first level we used "signs" or ancient hieroglyphs to show the player how this magical staff could be used to solve problems.

Other Prototypes: Abduction Zombie