Mobile Escape Room - Summer 2023)
Recently I have been working on developing an interesting escape room that can be collapsed and transported in a vehicle. This was part of a class I was taking in the Summer 2023 semester. Currently it is still in the cardboard prototype stage.
The escape room traps the upper half of a single player in a funhouse themed "room", where the entire game is played within this limited space. The entire room is able to spin, for the bearings for the escape room operate much like a lazy susan does.
The intention of the escape room is to be uninfulenced from the outside world, as to not break immersion from the game.
The players must come up with a 6 digit code within the given time frame to ensure their safety!
This is currently in the physical prototype phase.
Dramatic Irony -(Spring 2021
Dramatic Irony is a game about the closeted transgender high school experience - with a Shakespearean twist. I am the sole developer of this visual novel experience.
This game requires a lot of reflection from me- It's based on my experiences in high school as a transgender individual and requires a lot of critical thinking on my part to help players properly experience the awkward navigation of the real world I had to do while juggling two identities.
The game is intended to comfort those who are transgender and experience similar situations, and also be used as a learning instrument for those who are cisgender as a starting point into the transgender experience. It is meant to balance the serious topic with a lighthearted spin.
This game's first version is completed at this time, however remains as a current project because I intend on coming back to it and continuing work on it.
Masks -(Winter 2020)
Masks is a short 2D game about the struggles of an autistic woman who has to mask neurodivergent traits to interact with the neurotypical world. I am a lead artist and co-creative lead in a team of three on this project.
Masks was originally designed for the 2020 GAMERella Game Jam. There is additional information here: https://tag.hexagram.ca/gamerella-game-award-winner/ , and you can hear us talk about the game here: https://vimeo.com/561368550 .
Our team intends to continue working on this project. This includes a tutorial level, more scenarios, easier-to-understand controls, and additional accessibility features.
This game was made with all of the teams' personal experiences in mind as a group of neurodiverse individuals. We intended to gamify the explanation of masking in a way that neurotypical individuals could understand and neurodiverse individuals could relate to.
The Laurier Way Games - Summer 2020
The Laurier Way Games was a set of 5 games used by the Laurier Orientation team in 2020 in addition to other online programs. It was a group of 8 individuals including myself. I had the role of Game Designer & Graphic Designer.
These games were intended to help students learn about various parts of Laurier that they would not typically learn about in the virtual environment- for example, different resources on campus. We also had players turn their own personal areas into part of the game.
It was an everchanging scope and we had to think of every situation that could come up for each game. For example- what if there was a larger group then expected? What if there was a smaller group than expected? What if the students did not want to or could not turn on their cameras? What if students had poor connection? What if the students could not attend the event and wanted to run these events by themselves?
These were all questions we had to face when designing games, which resulted in us producing two versions of each game- one to be played in a group, and one that could be played by oneself.
Each game at the end had sections about different resources one could use while at Laurier. The game I worked closest with was a collaborative experience where players made a wellness collage and learned about the wellness center. This was to simulate planning ways to take care of oneself and learning what works for other people in hopes they would get new ideas from others.
Obstacles - Winter 2021 - Spring 2021
Obstacles is a text-based game about unseen and often unheard stories of women in high school. I was a hired artist for this project.
One thing that the creator of this project highlighted was the fact that she wanted all the characters to be of different backgrounds. I designed each character to fit their description and tried to give each one their own personality in concept.
The game is currently on itch.io and can be found here: https://isthatamatrix.itch.io/obstacles
This game had the goal of connecting with teenage girls by representing them in a video game. Representation of these stories is pivotal because it reminds those who see these characters that they are not alone in their struggles.