Post-Mortem: Bizarre Plunger Crusade

Bizarre Plunger Crusade (BPC) was developed in 2021 by a four-person team over the course of three months. It was the first original game we created from concept to completion. Built in Unreal Engine 4, the game blended lighthearted horror with puzzle-driven progression, where players explored a haunted house, searched for keys, and ultimately confronted a possessed toilet. Despite being a novice team, we successfully delivered a polished, playable build that was later refined and released in 2023.

Team & Roles

The team consisted of three 3D artists and myself in a combined director, producer, programming, and design role. Each of us wore multiple hats, contributing outside our core areas to bring the project together.

• Team Size: 4 developers

• Roles Covered:

  • Producer / Programmer / Designer (me)

  • 3D and Texture Artists with additional responsibilities in asset integration and design support

• Tools Used: Unreal Engine 4, GitHub, Discord, Miro, Scrum boards

What Went Well

Strong collaboration and workflow structure kept the project moving forward despite our limited experience. Early in development we chose to align responsibilities to individual strengths rather than splitting every task evenly, which improved efficiency and quality. Regular check-ins and agile-inspired practices kept communication clear while working remotely, and the inclusion of voice acting and subtitles elevated the final experience beyond what we initially planned.

Key positives:

• Clear division of responsibilities based on strengths improved polish

• Agile-inspired workflow and frequent meetings supported collaboration

• Strong creative theme gave the project cohesion

• Voice acting and subtitles added personality and immersion

What Went Wrong

Several challenges emerged as the project progressed. As a team new to version control, we faced issues with GitHub, including a faulty commit that temporarily broke the project and cost us time. Inconsistent participation from one teammate forced us to cut a planned room, which reduced scope but protected quality. We also lost time to technical hurdles in Unreal Engine 4, including persistent collision bugs that required reworking how key collection events were implemented.

Main challenges:

• Version control inexperience caused setbacks early on

• Uneven team participation led to scope cuts

• Technical bugs in UE4 slowed progress until simplified solutions were found

What We Learned

The project highlighted how important it is to keep solutions simple, maintain accountability, and scope realistically. We also learned the importance of balancing ambition with practicality, pursuing features that added impact, like voice acting, while cutting others to protect polish. The experience reinforced how critical communication and flexibility are when working with a small, relatively inexperienced team.

Key takeaways:

• Match responsibilities to strengths instead of splitting tasks evenly

• Simplify technical solutions when possible

• Ensure accountability in small teams to prevent bottlenecks

• Protect scope by focusing on quality over quantity

Conclusion

Bizarre Plunger Crusade was an important milestone for the team. We overcame setbacks, adjusted scope realistically, and delivered a playable experience that reflected both our creativity and our growth. It remains a project I’m proud of, both for the final result and for the lessons learned that continue to shape how I approach game development.