My main long term goal with game development has been to make language learning games. The following is a collection of games for which I have either lead development or contributed in various ways. I hope to make the games fun and engaging for students while utilizing modern teaching techniques to help the learning process be efficient and effective.
Released January 9th, 2022
16 weeks of production
9 collaborators
As a travelling digital nomad and foreign language teacher, I wanted to create a game based on learning the most practical phrases in a foreign language. Fast food focuses on how to put together a simple phrase for ordering food in a restaurant, pushing language learners to master the phrases since each level has time restrictions and accuracy standards that need to be met before progressing to the next level. Some minigames are included to help beginner language students take a closer look at the language elements used in the main game. Also, I wanted to have something in the portfolio that was specifically designed to work on mobile devices.
What I did:
What I learned: The main thing I learned was that my concept for language learning games really works. One collaborator on this project implemented a Turkish version, a language which I don't know at all, and I was able to quickly pick up the target words and phrases, then play the game well. I also reinforced the concept of keeping the idea of the game very simple so I could focus more on the overall design of the game and iterate on it. Concepts like "How do I show a new student how to play?", "Which words and grammar concepts should I explain? And when?", and "How can I go above and beyond the original concept?" were comfortably explored since the main game was simple.
Released March 28th, 2021
16 weeks of production
11 collaborators
A game based on racing through the An Thuong neighborhood of Da Nang, Vietnam to win tips and high customer waitings by delivering food orders quickly and safely. Players accept orders on a cell phone and either follow a floating arrow or GPS map to race around the city, either against AI opponents or other players (up to 4 player multiplayer).
What I did:
What I learned: On this project I attempted to 'go big' for the first time. I put together a team of co-leads (1. Code lead. 2. Audio lead. 3. Graphics lead. 4. Project lead.) to delegate the work load for both time and quality reasons. Some of the main take-aways were:
1. The importance of clear project planning and pipelining.
2. The importance of regular, face to face communication/meetings.
3. The importance of vertical slicing.
4. The importance of regular play-testing and the allowance for changing requirements.
5. The importance of performance concerns for bigger games on target platforms.
Released October 10th, 2018
12 weeks of production
11 collaborators
A game based on learning phonics and letters. An algorithm tracks your accuracy and adjusts what you should practice to help make your study time as efficient as possible.
What I did:
What I learned: This was my first fully produced game and it taught me that building a game with a small team is very possible. It was also my first major HTML5/Javascript game, so many programming concepts were learned.
Released October 2019
12 weeks of production
9 collaborators
A game about being caught in a situation where you need to use a foreign language to get out of a trap.
What I did:
What I learned: This was my first Unity project, so many Unity development concepts were learned.
Released June 14th, 2020
24 weeks of production
12 collaborators
A game that provides lots of novelty through 30 different language learning experiences. This helps keep students engaged while doing repetitive, flash-card style exercises.
What I learned: Firstly, no matter the length of time and seemingly simple scope of a project, finding dedicated team members and delegating the work appropriately is essential. Also, being as clear as possible about the product design helps keep everything on task.
Basketball game.
What I did:
What I learned: This was my first attempt at diving into someone else's code/project, so learning how to navigate someone else's workflow was huge. Also, it showed how powerful background music and sfx are to the overall atmosphere of a game.
A retro shootem up game.
What I did:
What I learned: For this project my main focus was to take a 'go first' approach to making sure the final game felt like a 'finished' game. Meaning that after a few months of production, the game still needed a loading screen, a title screen, text for level selection, etc. While some of my work did not make the final release, I believe by making it a little more obvious that some of this work needed to be done it got more time and attention than if I hadn't shown it early.
Cyberpunk adventure game.
What I did:
What I learned: While the Web Audio API is more difficult to use than HTML5 audio is more difficult, it is not much more so, and it gives much more audio control. However, some features are inconsistent across browsers. So, carefully choose tools during prototypes and make sure they will work when deployed.
A game about learning how to read code.
What I did:
What I learned: This process reinforced how important playtesting, feedback, and iteration is, especially with educational products.
A tower defense game. Various SFX and integration through FMOD. Instances of SFX limitations (less messy/noisy).
What I learned: It's eye opening to see how much progress can be made when you have even a few members dedicated to one aspect of development... In this project, at least 2 of us were working only on SFX and we accomplished a lot in a short time period.
Brick breaking game:
What I did:
What I learned: This project was an unexpected milestone in my ability to quickly develop and implement sfx into a mostly developed game.
Released Sept 30, 2018
17 week project, 13 collaborators
Fighting game.
I wrote the main theme (also used for level 1) and level 3 music.
What I learned: Receiving and implementing constructive criticism from the project lead greatly helped direct the composition of the music, which ultimately made the feel of the game much better.
A wandering whisp makes its way through a cavernous world.
What I did:
What I learned: This was my first attempt at working on both a Unity and FMOD project. I was also implementing new sfx creation techniques, so I learned a lot about Unity, C#, FMOD, and sfx.
Helicopter flying game.
I wrote the title music which can also be heard in game.
What I learned: This was a big reminder at how good the quality can be for a feature if you are focused. My only contribution was a song, which I was very happy with because I only focused on the song and the sonic possibilities.
Wizard town game.
What I did:
What I learned: This was an unexpected milestone in my ability to quickly create sfx and music, then implement them in FMOD.
Transporting packages through space.
What I did:
What I learned: This was my second Unity project to which I contributed and decided to create audio assets without FMOD. While it may not have been the best route, it did show that once you know some basic design patterns, it is possible to figure out how to implement them with unfamiliar tools without too much trouble. However, I still prefer familiar workflows because I prefer to create and play with the tools instead of tinkering with how they work.
A car racing game. I made the rain effect.
What I learned: A milestone into how much I've learned over the past few years about programming... I was bored during a layover at an airport and decided to come up with a random feature for a game in the HomeTeam collection, and basically finished it in 4 hours.
Platformer.
What I did:
What I learned: A bit about graphic design. A milestone regarding being able to contribute to the overall project rather than one aspect.
RTS.
What I did:
What I learned: This was a lesson in needing to learn more about coding, as some concepts were way above my head.
Released Aug 5, 2018
15 week project, 24 collaborators.
Sims type game.
Farmhouse art. Menu song.
What I learned: This was my first contribution to a game... And it was inspiring to realize how relatively simple it was. I really enjoyed being able to download a simple DAW while traveling, write a song with it, and commit it with github. Similarly, it was inspiring to use a simple graphic tool like paint.net to create art assets.
Chop down all the trees!
What I did:
What I learned: Diving into other people's code can be quite complicated, so knowing your design patterns is important.
Space shooter game.
What I did:
What I learned: There are many ways to contribute to a game project. Sometimes doing things like marketing is more valuable than trudging through code.
Released Feb 9, 2020
9 week project, 11 collaborators.
A fun game about driving a patient to the hospital with an ambulance in space.
What I did:
What I learned: Every project is very involved and takes lots of time. I was attempting to be involved in this game and leading my own game at the same time, which quickly became overwhelming. Manage your time wisely.
Released Jul 29, 2018
11 weeks, 23 collaborators
Car racing game.
What I did:
What I learned: Writing music at the airport in your DAW is totally possible.
Released Apr 5, 2020
13 weeks of production, 15 collaborators.
An exploratory platformer inspired by Stranger Things. I wrote the title screen music.
Dungeon monster killer game. I created and implemented footstep sfx.
An homage/remake of Kung Fu.
What I did:
Action rpg.
What I did:
Released Dec 16, 2018
11 week project, 11 collaborators.
Bullet Hell. I wrote some of the in game music
Released May 27, 2018
16 week project, 13 collaborators
Like Twisted Metal. Car fighting game.
I wrote 3 songs for this game.
