Developer
April 2017 – July 2018
A game I made with some help from friends. Started off as a hobby project one summer during junior year, and after graduating (and waiting to hear back from job applications), I just sorta kept working on it. Eventually I had to move back in with my mom, and figured that it was far along enough to try to finish it off. I still think it’s neat. Probably still the project where I learned the most about game dev (and my own work habits) in the process.
You can read more about how the game works at the website, which I’m still pretty happy with. It’s a twin-stick “battle disc” game, inspired by a very silly unofficial game mode in Street Fighter 4. You can also download and play the game for free, if you’re willing to try. It’s rough around the edges, but fun (so I’m told).
As I mentioned above, I learned a lot on this project. All the design tuning, art and VFX were things I had to teach myself during development. It’s not perfect, but I did the best with the time and skill I had. It got into PAX East, at least. Speaking of which:
Synthrally at PAX East 2018
Again, being the main developer, I had to manage everything that went into showcasing the game at PAX East. That meant designing / making merch, printing posters, configuring and testing setups, and then lugging it all to the convention center and back. The single smartest thing I did to prep was to regularly playtest the game ahead of time at a local PC bar. Caught a lot of bugs that way, and it made the real show go smoothly.
Ryan, the one on the right in the middle picture, composed all the music, and also flew out from WA to help run the booth. I remember him being very amused at how over-prepared I was. It worked out though, cause I ended up just handing out any spare water bottles / sanitizer to nearby booths who weren’t as prepared. Made some good friends that way.
This is the point in the post where I’m supposed to get wistful, or something. It’s real hard to think about this project without thinking about the pretty terrible mental state I was in during the project. Getting a job offer, only to have it rescinded weeks before you graduate, and then being left out to dry for a year and a half after, all while having to support an ailing family member; it’d make anyone despondent. I’m glad I was able to make something out of a tough situation, cause even though the game only sold 30-ish copies (~25 of which were people I knew personally), it led to me getting a job at VVS, which was the foot in the door I needed.
It’ll forever be a project that I’m happy with, but my thoughts about it will always be too complex for words. So here’s a picture.
