My position | Junior Game Designer |
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Time frame | July 2022 - December 2022 |
Genre | RPG on a shared screen, using multiple platforms and hybrid game loops |
Platforms | Nvidia shield + TV, iPadOS, android |
Target group | children from 7 to 12 |
Other team members | 1 Lead Game Designer, 2 artists, 5 programmers, 1 QA manager, 1 product owner |
Software | Docs, Sheets, Notion, Miro, Unity, Asana |
Company | Wondershop Oy – Helsinki, Finland |
My tasks |
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We were developing a new gaming experience for kids with a unique controller.
Players play together on a shared screen in a public venue. The goal is to create fun,shared experiences. Each venue, the so-called hub, brings something unique to the game.
The game concluded multiple platforms, two of them were the Player Console and the here-shown Game Screen. The Game Screen is for the shared experience with other players on-site. The Player Console is for resource management, everything social and individualisation of your player character.
The unique part of the game was that the in-game and physical worlds were intertwined. Real-world activities help you progress in the game. As I first studied digital installation design and have experience with physical games, I designed how these connections work and when the players should end their digital session to continue in the real world.
However, my primary responsibility in the project was the Player Console. The player handles everything personal here. The first version felt more like a tool than a part of the game, as it was less playful. Additionally, accessing all the features the player was supposed to find easily here took a lot of effort.
I proposed a new start page that had a different layout. I suggested that based on multiple personas I made with the team's help at our test hub. I've constantly exchanged with the developers and artists implementing the changes.
My position | Game Development Intern |
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Time frame | April - July 2022 |
Genre | Deduction game |
Platform | board game |
Target group | families with children older then 10 |
Company | Ravensburger – Ravensburg, Germany |
Software | Proprietary text setting tool, Word |
Other team members | 2 Game Development Managers, 1 Art Director, 1 Art Department intern + working with multiple other departments in the end for the final product |
Published | 2022 |
My tasks |
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When I joined the project, the two Editors working on this project already developed the new character abilities for Holmes' Team. In the old version, one person played Mister X and could only win by escaping. Now, this player plays Moriarty and can also win by committing crimes.
But with the new player abilities, we realised during one of the many test sessions that Moriarty needs an escape strategy. These Moriarty abilities were my main tasks during the development. I chose the locations where Moriarty could land with his air balloon and helped figure out the crime scene areas on the board.
In the end, we decided to use Moriarty's start number tokens also for the landing possibilities, always having two options on one token. This way, we didn't need to set up a new layout for printing and could lower production costs.
In the end, I was even in charge of correcting the rules, coordinating with the art director for this project, checking the final print files, and writing instructions on setting up the rule book's explanation pictures.
My position | Game Designer Intern |
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Time frame | May - July 2019 |
Genre | AR learning game |
Platforms | android and iOS |
Target group | families with children from 8 |
Other team members | Supervising Lead Game Designer, 1 programmer, 1 artist |
Software | Omnigraffle, Spine, Unity |
Company | the Good Evil GmbH – Cologne, Germany |
My tasks |
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After a few weeks, I was in charge of this project. The Lead Game Designer reviewed my process with me weekly and advised on how to proceed. Besides that, I had absolute freedom and worked alone on the Game Design.
I knew which specific forest areas I needed to include in the game and which animals the visitors could find at these. My task was to figure out the possibilities with AR and what the player could do at these sites.
The interactions in the game are small: for example, the player searches with their phone on the trees around them for a place on which bugs could be so the woodpecker can find and eat them.
A short informational text informs the player about the specifics of the animal. Then, they can continue with the following small task. This way, the player learns much about the connections between the forest and the animals living there.
The game is supposed to be played while walking through the forest, and the stations are not directly next to each other. The main focus is still experiencing nature, and the players are encouraged to search for all the details revealing the animal's activities.
My position | Team Lead and UX/UI Designer |
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Time frame | September – November 2023 |
Genre | gamified music learning support app |
Platforms | mobile and tablets |
Target group | children learning an instrument with a teacher and music teachers |
Other team members | Founders, Lead Developer, 6 part-time Developer interns |
Software | Figma, Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo, Notion, Miro |
Company | Bravori Oy – Helsinki, Finland |
My tasks |
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I orginally joined the team as a Game Designer, as the founders were planning on not only gamifying their app, but making it a serious game!
Unfortunately the project was not in that state yet and the core functionalities and user's needs not validated. The core functionality is the exchange between teachers and students about the lessons they are supposed to practice at home.
So, I made it my task to ensure the core functionality is what the target group actually needs. Or let's say target groups. It's mainly the children, but the teachers will be the ones introducing the app to their students.
To test this core functionality I broke down all the ideas that were roaming around, figured out what we really need for the first prototype and started to build flow charts and wireframes.
At the same time I tried to get every team member on the same page, as we refactored the entire project. Thanks a lot to my colleague MJ for doing such a great job in helping all these young developers while refactoring.
Last but not least I was also organising and conducting user tests to understand, why students practice - or do not practice - currently, what other apps they use, what is fun for them, and so much more.
Screenshot from the html version
UI sketches for the look & feel
My position | Game Designer |
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Time frame | May - July 2019 |
Genre | Casual Mobile Strategy Game |
Platforms | android and iOS |
Software | twine, Docs, Sheets, Affinity Designer, Affinity Publisher, Adobe InDesign, draw.io |
Target group | teenagers from 13 to 18 |
Other team members | 1 Content Designer, 1 Artist/ UI Designer, 1 supporting professor |
Company | Harz University of Applied Sciences + Saxony-Anhalt state parliament |
My tasks |
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Detailed game flow
Screen flow showing how the user experiences the different game states.
Overarching Game Loop
Content design table, showing the different cases, possible decisions and outcomes
My position | Game Designer |
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Time frame | May - July 2019 |
Genre | Casual Mobile Strategy Game |
Platform | board game + tiptoi |
Software | Prototype in Table Top Simulator, Affinity Designer, tiptoi tool, Sheets, Docs, draw.io |
Target group | children from 6 to 10 |
Project background | Masters' degree: thesis project |
Other team members | Consulting Game Development Manager |
Company Cooperation | Ravensburger – Ravensburg, Germany |
My tasks |
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The tiptoi is a pen for kids that adds audio to print media.
Some of the possible Game States.
Flow chart for the core game play.
Voice commands and logical references with the point code, that makes it play.
Playing a level. The sheep has pushed the rice into a corner from which it can no longer be retrieved.
Visualisation in the game on how to play.
My position | Game Designer |
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Time frame | March - August 2020 |
Genre | Tile and turn based Puzzle Game |
Platform | windows |
Engine | Unity |
Target group | puzzle players, mainly from 25 to 35 |
Other team members | 1 programmer |
Project Background | Harz University of Applied Sciences: Pracitcal project |
My tasks |
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SheepRoll was a project developed in a group of two within one semester. We’ve built a prototype which was programmed by my colleague and illustrated by me.
I put a lot of time in user personas and analysing multiple game mechanics to build a game with simple rules and goals, but a challenging experience.
I was in charge of the overall game design, and my colleague did the level design. That also made me the primary tester. We ended up with five different levels.
Visualisation in the game on how to play.
Overview of the various elements and their respective states in the game.
Very early scribble of the level selection map.
Prototyping and testing the gameplay with a mockup.
Trying out the movement and overall gameplay with this "analog" prototype.
Level was successfully solved!
Download the unity build (Windows):
Visualisation in the game on how to play.
Player red is infected and on the way to the desinfect. They loose hearts slowly while infected. Player blue already has a milk carton in their cart.
Player blue won the game! They got all needed items and left the shop.
My position | Game Designer |
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Time frame | March - August 2020 |
Genre | Competitive Maze Runner |
Platform | Windows |
Engine | Unity |
Target group | children from 8 to 12 |
Other team members | 1 programmer, 1 sound artist and animator, 1 artist |
Project Background | Harz University of Applied Sciences: Game Development course |
My tasks |
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The basic game play was decided very quickly. Be a hamster, get all the groceries, don't get sick, get out of there first. I made some flow charts, made a map with all the needed screens and then started to scribble some mockups.
Our main difficulty: the team consisted of four people and we had a lack of programming knowledge.
One person doing the Art and UI, one person doing animations and sound, our developer and me doing Game and Level Design. Our developer had never written a line of code before. Therefore we needed to test as much as possible before in a more analogue way.
To simulate the game play I moved around the different visuals digitally just like a paper prototype. Below you can see my mockups. As the first assets for the groceries were done very early, I used those in there very soon.
Mockup: The players see the shopping list before the level starts and they can enter the shop.
Prototyping with visualising the gameplay. At this point we still had a maximum limit for the shopping cart.
Players can win the game even though they didn't buy everything they needed. Players get bonus points for fulfilling the whole shopping list, and there is a penalty for leaving when infected. But there is also a smaller bonus for leaving first.
Core mechanic, secondary mechanic, progress in the game and the overarching story
Snippet from the table showing all the different actions and player status + the environments reactions.
My position | Designer, Programmer and artist |
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Time frame | October 2016 – February 2018 |
Genre | interactive installation |
Platform | windows + Kinect |
Software | Processing, Adobe Photoshop |
Target group | by-passers in the city |
Other team members | 1 helper to set up the installation |
Project Background | Trier University of Applied Sciences: Main project |
My tasks |
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This project was my main bachelor's degree project and I developed it on my own. I had enrolled in a course called Installation laboratory and I found it extremely fascinating. In the course we developed our own tiny digital installations and augmented reality projects in processing, a library based on java.
My idea was to have people realise more what happens around them and therefore to pay more attention to their surroundings. Fianna starts to appear as soon as the Kinect tracks a person walking by. Lines appear on the screen and there is movement. When the person then stands still, she fully appears and imitates your movement. The longer you stand there, the more nature around her appears until at one point everything disappears again.
This was the setup from the inside of the Bühne in Trier, a public art space.
The setup in the shopping mall.
I also made a design for all my materials like posters and handouts.
My position | Experience Designer |
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Time frame | March – September 2017 |
Genre | interactive installation |
Platform | Physical installation with multiple digital games and infographic stations |
Software | SketchUp, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign |
Other tools | Loads of Styorofoam, wood and acrylic glass for the models |
Target group | visitors of the church, young adults |
Other team members | 40 Students from the degrees architecture, informatics, and intermedia design |
Project Background | Trier University of Applied Sciences: Installation Design |
My tasks |
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The game while playing.
My position | Game Designer |
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Time frame | September 2019 – January 2020 |
Genre | transportation game |
Platform | Board game |
Software | Affinity Designer |
Other tools | Cardboard, glue and paints |
Target group | kids 10 and older |
Other team members | just me |
Project Background | Harz University of Applied Sciences: Game Development Course |
My tasks |
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Showing a typical hand of a player in the game.
Here you can see all the games other components.
Page 2 and 3 from the manual
May 2022
March 2020