As an animator who started in the flash days, I have always been interested in game development and gamification. I feel animation naturally aligns with it. Here are a few projects that I have worked on independently.
Bloopco (2015)
In early 2015, I was prototyping game mechanics that I believed had the potential for anxiety reduction. My technical partner Josh Reynolds and I, began prototyping a biofeedback game mechanic. We discovered that by detecting heart-rate input, we could recognize a deep mindful breath. This became the basis for Bloopco, a health and mindfulness game company. We began building our first game, deciding to develop for the newly launched Apple Watch. Using zen and archery as a narrative backdrop, we built a game called ‘Way of the Bow.’
With medical consulting from Sarah Lopez, a USC physician and researcher, and art concepts from Bill Green, we were able to complete and launch the basic game on the Apple Store in the fall of 2015.
In addition to UX design and project management, I did business development, fund raising and strategy.
Way of the Bow was depreciated in 2017.
PulseCat (2016)
In 2016, I was still working with heart rate gaming from my previous start up Bloopco. By chance, I found an unusual audience, golf. Working with golfers, I pivoted the Bloopco technology into PulseCat, a stress management system for athletes. After changing the graphics and branding, I integrated the data into a database system for integration into work out systems.
After 18 months of work and research, and some convincing test cases, I ran out of money and energy. Below are some sketches and concepting. I demo the prototype below.
Commander Cluck (2012)
Commander Cluck is a procedural generated side scrolling jump-flap mechanic game. I adopted the simple endless runner to include a jump with a flap ‘joust-like’ descent. I created a space rooster adventurer to match the character’s mechanic and created a world of bad guy aliens, called Zorcanians, for him to squish.\
\
I developed all the art assets in Adobe Photoshop and After Effects and partnered with Kiran Rao and XDev Studios for the development in Cocos2D. Commander Cluck was depreciated in 2017.\
Here is the trailer:
Agent Kickback (2015)
As a kid, I grew up playing dozens of plat-formers on a commodore 64. For a long time, I imagined a side scrolling open world plat-former about a secret agent, who had to uncover a government alien conspiracy. The mechanic of the game was based on a fun “Kick Back” that the main character had when he fired his plasma cannon.
I prototyped and built in the HTML5 engine construct 2, and created a system for fractioning and designing levels, as well as a map and mission system. I built all of the art in Adobe Photoshop and After Effects. I particularly like the art style as it felt creepy and alien like but still fun and cartoony. The awesomely talented Jennifer Kes Remmington did the music track, which I feel hits the mood of the character.
You can play the desktop web prototype by clicking here.
Here is a video playthru:
Here is some various odds and ends from development.
Sketchbook and Prototypes
