New Game in the works!

I currently came up with a cool idea for a twin stick shooter.  So far I've been working in the Unity engine, which is awesome for Indie work.  I'm currently converting some of the elements from the example project from JavaScript to C#.  I was going to do a total C# conversion of the project to help me understand its inner workings, but I think I'm ready to start coding my own elements of the game.  I'll keep you guys posted.

More Minecraft Screen Shots!

View  outside my balcony

Oldspawn at night

Invincible Chest Room

Teture pack bug

Castlevania

Castlevania Exterior

Castle Exteriror 2

Nineveh

View from the Lighthouse

Nineveh City Center

Nineveh Sky Shot

Castlevania Bridge Shot

Shea

Beyond the walls

Castle Keep Interior

Gauntlet Challenge

Puzzle Challenge

Maze  Challenge

Sudden Valley

Deadmau5 club

Ninja Gaiden

Castlevania Challenge Walkthrough: Getting Inside the Castle

     This is a walk-through to the first section of my challenge.  It emphasizes the use of exploration, environmental awareness and platforming.

Minecraft Castlevania Challenge

Minecraft Castlevania Challenge

     This is a level design module that I created within Minecraft.  So far it has been tested to have at least 4 hours of game-play across 7 unique challenges / levels.  With this I encourage players to think outside the box to solve the many puzzles that await them withing the castle.  To prevent spoilers many of the puzzle based challenges are not shown in the trailer.  On a later date I will make a complete walk-through detailing the design and offering solutions to the challenges.

GOC Update: Additional Gameplay Footage

I created additional single player elements including a boss battle.  Now I'm currently working on Dom's AI.  I will keep you updated!

Minecraft Screen Shots!!

The Minecraft server that I build on is getting a reset. So I decided to take some screen shots to commemorate my awesome house.

Gears of Contra Update.

Lately I've added some art to the opening section of my level to get a feel for what I want to use for the remainder of it.  Most of the assets from Gears of War are destroyed objects and buildings.  Finding pristine static meshes has been a daunting task.

Bioshock 2: Final Thoughts

We’re once again thrusted into the world of Rapture, but this time around we play the role of a Big Daddy prototype.  Being a sequel to  Bioshock we expect to see elements of the original game come back better than before. I feel like most of these expectations are fulfilled, but I also feel like there were a few key moments and gameplay elements that could have contributed more to gameplay.

·         Environment- The environment is a key gameplay component that drives character interaction.  There are a few additions to Bioshock 2 could've been capitalized on.  The underwater sequences were underwhelming.  They did add a bit to the aesthetic appeal of Bioshock 2, but ultimately added nothing to gameplay besides a minor Adam boosts if the player was motivated enough to search for them.  The underwater areas did invoke feelings of peacefulness within the ocean depths. But often times peaceful doesn’t equate to fun.  Turning the ocean depths into a hostile environment would have kept the player on their toes, turning an uneventful section of the game into something to be feared.  

Another aspect of the game I thought could have improved gameplay was the locale.  Personally the allure and mystery surrounding Rapture had faded away after completing the first Bioshock.  Outside of the underwater sequences and the Little Sister POV mission. I wasn't presented with anything new within the world of Rapture.  While enjoyable, I did have that aching “been here done that” feeling deep down in the depths of my mind. 

One of the gameplay techniques that I thought worked well in this title were the optional Adam gathering missions.  It gave time to think about and prepare strategies against the incoming waves of enemy Splicers and to a lesser extent the Big Sisters.   Setting up traps and seeing how well different setups pan out was gratifying, but still had room for improvement.   There were a wealth of traps and defensive plasmids, but I also thought to myself, What if I could alter the environment to suit my needs...  Like giving the player the ability to flood a room or knock over oil drums in key locations?

·         Combat- The Progression plateaus a bit early in the game after the first Big Sister fight.  The player becomes stronger without being met with an adequate challenge.  Halfway through the game I often felt unmatched and overpowered. I was also disappointed with the lack of boss battles. 

The Sinclair fight was a letdown.  I was hyped into thinking that maybe I’d experience something new and interesting, but was then presented with a fleeing Alpha Series Big Daddy posed as Sinclair.  Another letdown was the final encounter.  I had been waiting for a flooding event that would kill everything in sight but the challenge preceding the event   wasn’t up to par.  Bioshock 2's answer to ramping up difficulty is throwing more enemies at you instead of delivering stronger adversaries. I genuinely missed the fear that a Big Daddy instilled within the player from Bioshock 1.  Even towards the end of the game, Big Daddies still pose a threat.

Another issue I had was with the console control scheme.  There were so many Weapons/Ammo types/Plasmids that I had a problems switching between them in a pinch.  Using weapons and Plasmids creatively would often pause combat, slowing the pace of the action.  A quick switch button would have been a great solution for toggling between my 2 favorite guns or plasmids.

·         Hacking - The change in the hacking interface while not necessarily an improvement did focus on a different player skill set.  Physically testing a player’s reaction time has its pros and cons depending on tension.  Hacking a vending machine during a lull in action seems like a somewhat mundane task, but hacking a turret in the heat of battle puts the pressure on, and that’s when the most mistakes are made.  Under these circumstances a successful hacking attempt can become extremely gratifying.    

Bioshock 2 doesn’t innovate or change the face of gaming, but it’s an overall solid experience.  If someone asked me if they had to play Bioshock 1 before part 2 I would say yes.  Bioshock 2 is a sequel but not a successor.    

Level Design: Gears of Contra Prototype

A short video of a prototype that I'm working on using the Gears of War framework.

Level Design: Splatterhouse

Here is a Demo of my work as a Level Designer on Splatterhouse Team Kaizen. An in-house studio formerly employed by Namco Bandai Games America. I was hired on as an Intern for a three month contract and then my contract was extended another 3 months to finish the project.

The Levels that I worked on exclusively were the survival arenas: Shadow of the Wicker Man, The Observation Room, Heart of the Manor and Death Coaster.  When the other intern's contract was up I took over her work which were the remaining survival arenas. I also assisted on a few of the story mode levels including: Phase 2,3,5,6, and 8. My duties within story mode were setting up the mask vision points of interest, Navigation mesh edits, Environmental destructible placement, bonus leech placement and Spatter Wall Placment( the effect where the enemies splat against flat surfaces).

Level Design: Castles in the Sky

 

            

This level was created using Dunia,  a proprietary engine derived for the game Far Cry 2.  In this Level design sample I built a multiplayer level using assets provided by the engine.  Within Dunia I was limited in lighting options because I had to work around lighting issues by using  directional lighting.  Dunia does not allow the placement of point lights however you are given the option to manipulate the directional light provided by the sun.