Lead Designer / Producer
Sticky Slime
Unreal Engine 4 — PC
September 2018 - April 2019
Team of 3
Unreal Engine 4 — PC
September 2018 - April 2019
Team of 3
Description
Sticky Slime is a game about a remote slime village whose giant slime queen has grown too old to rule. The time has come to pass on the crown, and a new queen has already been chosen. All that remains to be done is the coronation ceremony, but before that can take place, all the slime creatures of the village must present a gift to the new slime queen as per tradition. Luckily, the forest is full of oddities for little slime creatures to find. Anything shiny and new will suffice. The player controls one such slime whose goal it is to retrieve a suitable present for their soon-to-be queen.
Slimes in Sticky Slime have a unique ability to stick anything they can pick up to themselves. Stuck props become part of a slime's body and can be used to traverse the world in ways a naked slime could never do. Certain props can also be activated to spring the player around, climb up sheer surfaces, shed light, and more. Anything a slime can pick up with their slimy tendrils is a tool to be used.
Slimes in Sticky Slime have a unique ability to stick anything they can pick up to themselves. Stuck props become part of a slime's body and can be used to traverse the world in ways a naked slime could never do. Certain props can also be activated to spring the player around, climb up sheer surfaces, shed light, and more. Anything a slime can pick up with their slimy tendrils is a tool to be used.
I was the project's Producer and Lead Designer. My production responsibilities included managing the team's deadlines, road map, source control, and sprints as well as communicating information from our acting executive producers/directors and lab managers, the class' instructors.
My design contributions to Sticky Slime were in level design, mechanics design, UX, and gameplay scripting. I assisted in prototyping and debugging many of the props we used throughout the game, implemented the dialog for the NPCs in the game, and collaborated with artists to create and implement multiple shaders and materials.
My design contributions to Sticky Slime were in level design, mechanics design, UX, and gameplay scripting. I assisted in prototyping and debugging many of the props we used throughout the game, implemented the dialog for the NPCs in the game, and collaborated with artists to create and implement multiple shaders and materials.
Early environment concept: The Forest
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Early environment concept: The Queen's Lair
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Production
I produced the team using a loose scrum sprint structure. We operated with two-week sprints, and met for regular stand-up, retrospective, and sprint meetings. We had three major milestones to hit and a road map refactor after each milestone. Every two weeks, we had a sprint check-in with our acting executive producers and directors, the class instructors. For each sprint check-in, we had a working build of the game, a sprint report, and a 10-minute meeting to make sure everything was going as planned. We used Perforce as our source control solution since it had built-in integration with Unreal Engine.
Throughout the project, I made it a priority to make sure that each team member was empowered to do their best work while contributing as much as I could myself. I encouraged the team to partake in gaming nights, team-on-one's with professors, lunches, and more to maintain morale whenever possible. Our team space was decorated with concept art, and I made it clear to my team that I was available for anything whenever they needed me.
Throughout the project, I made it a priority to make sure that each team member was empowered to do their best work while contributing as much as I could myself. I encouraged the team to partake in gaming nights, team-on-one's with professors, lunches, and more to maintain morale whenever possible. Our team space was decorated with concept art, and I made it clear to my team that I was available for anything whenever they needed me.
This project taught me how to re-scope and reorganize a project road map on the fly. The project's priorities were constantly in flux throughout development, but we still met all our major milestones and deadlines.
Level Design
Early level design: World Map
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Early level designs of Sticky Slime included four major areas. Players had to explore the nearby sections of forest to look for suitable gifts for their queen. Along the way, they'd unlock access to even more areas with more potential treasure to bring back to the queen.
I started my designs on paper and in Photoshop. Much of the early design process was done collaboratively with a concept artist who helped flesh out the visual design of the areas of the forest. Later in the project, we found that players loathed returning gifts from the forest to the Queen's Lair and would rather spend their time exploring the forest. Our response was to cut down the scope of the forest to only include two major areas: the Queen's Lair and The Forest. Now, players were looking for the singular suitable gift left in the forest solving puzzles and goofing around along the way. |
Early character concept: Slime
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Early character concept: Carrot Enemy
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Early character concept: Slime
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