Game Republic Student Showcase 2023

How I won 1st In Game Design :

See what I did for the Game Republic Student Showcase 2023. In this you will see what I developed for my major project and further developed for the showcase. For the showcase, I had a optimised build. Fully changed the level design and improved the full experience from lots and lots of playtesting !

Itch.io Game Link :

What I Handed in for major Project :

During the event, I had brought with me my game development document.This was something we had to create 2 months into the 6 months development time for the project. During that time I documentated, the protoypes of the split mechanic. Feedback forms from how I could improve the mechanic. Also, the development plan I had in place.

Major Project Hand In Video :

For my hand in, I was happy with the progress I had made and the improvements to the design in such a small time. However, I wanted to improve everything about this. Before the Hand in, I wanted to change the level and pacing but was unable too, due to the deadline. Shortly after the hand in of my work, I was given an oppertunity to go to the Game Republic 2023, Student showcase. I had 2 weeks to improve my game.

GameRepublic 2023 Build - 2 Weeks of Improvements

During this time, I redesigned the full level design and changed the pacing to give the player more time to become adjusted to the world. Optimizing assets, reducing draw calls and baking in a lot of lighting. This was a very long 2 weeks of 18 hour days. Looking back at it now, it was worth it. At the end of the 2 weeks, I was burned out completely and only recently got back into game development.

FAQ At The Event :

Why did you decide to do this project as a Solo Developer :

I have worked in teams in different projects but I wanted to create a game on my own. This is so, I could understand the full development process of creating a game and experiencing this to help me communicate with other game developers if they have a specialisum in coding, level design or even coding.

Why Is your main mechnic to Split :

From the start , I wanted to create a game what adds a twist to a well know mechanic. I choose to try and make crouching a difference experience. Most players know what to expect, when you crouch. So , making my mechanic not feel jaring was very difficult. The games purpose was to reveal the mechanic , once the player becomes comfortable with the controlls and world.

Starting with the mechanic being grounded with the player, as you play as a robot. Revealing to the player that they are not a human using reflections and in world assets hinting what they are. Aswell as the real time Hud element , that shows shadows and is designed to look like a monitor/crt bezel .

What made you choose this artstyle :

I wanted to be able to create textures from scratch, without relying on Substance materials. Hand drawing the materials, got me used to and understanding the scale, and importace of UV’s. This method of texturing helped me, save bit of time when It came down to development. As I had four other projects to do while at university, time was scarce. I also got to create a visually unequie experience, as I wanted to create something different to most games visual style.

What was your process for designing the game :

From the beggining of development, I was getting feedback and playtests from as many people as possible. Especially when It came towards the main mechanic and how it feels to play. A large amount of development time was iterating on the mechanic from feedback and listening to playtesters and watching how they approached levels.

The design of Spli/t when I handed it in for my major Project, I was not happy with its pacing and level design. So when, I was told about the oppertunity to participate in Game Republic 2023. I started the level design from scrach. Having 2 weeks before the event to improve all aspects of the game. Getting feedback from my major project hand in. Feedback when it comes to all aspects of game development, is very valuable ! If it was not from feedback of playtesters, I would not have won.