Puzzle designer Technical Narrative Designer & Writer Programmer
University Team Project to design and implement a multiplayer virtual reality escape room in conjunction with MeetspaceVR Nottingham.
Worked as narrative designer and writer to create a narrative tapping into the potential of VR.
As technical designer, developed and scripted systems in Unreal Engine to support both narrative and gameplay.
Puzzle designer with input into every level, either as a solo or second designer.
Appropriate for both multiplayer and single player.
Acted as primary production manager as well as above mentioned roles.
Also provided 3D art assets and voice acting to create a finished, polished game on top of QA testing.
Working in conjunction with MeetspaceVR Nottingham, my team was tasked with creating a multiplayer virtual reality escape room, similar to games such as Ubisoft’s Escape the Lost Pyramid. However, this project was developed in the first half of 2020, back when we could not imagine being unable to collaborate in person and losing access to our university’s sound suites, and more importantly, VR equipment. Being a programmer who did not own a VR headset at the time and thus relying on-campus facilities, on top of every student suddenly struggling to access the same level of project support, we had to rethink our approach.
In March 2020, we held a meeting to redesign our brief understanding that we may not be able to meet MeetspaceVR’s criteria in lockdown, but that we could still create a game with our designed puzzles in mind.
Being a small team, I took the role of both narrative designer and lead scriptwriter. Having created a narrative relying on the potential of virtual reality, I adjusted the story to be appropriate for a single-player FPS experience. As well as this, I worked alongside the project lead to re-design our puzzles for the new gameplay style and eventually programmed them, once our lead programmer had set up the main framework.
Colour Theory presented unique challenges, particularly in regards to the pandemic. It taught me to prioritise and adapt to unpredictable circumstances and work through the full design pipeline from conception to completion, having been involved in the creation of the core gameplay loop and every puzzle.
