Project Dates: Jan 5th - Jan 12th 2016, March-April 2017
Utilizing: Unity 2D and C#
Team Size: 1, 2 contractors

Summary: Space Golf is a 2D minigolf game played from a side view intended for mobile devices and PC, developed in Unity C#. Space Golf has a twist: the ability to stop time and hit the ball in mid air. Combined with a large number of levels utilizing many different types of obstacles, such as gravity shifting, grappling hooks, explosives, homing missiles, and more, Space Golf aims to mimic the intrinsic strategy of navigating a minigolf course in a new fashion. Players are graded with a 3 step system, based on time taken, completion, and shots taken, and unlock sets of levels based on their performance. If players utilize environment mechanics correctly, it becomes possible to get through many levels with a few carefully placed shots, or no shots at all. The game was built with rapid level design in mind, with every tool at the level designer's disposal being a simple drag and drop, and the game also supports persistent saving and loading of progress.

My Role: I worked as a Technical Designer on the project, doing solo development until getting some assistance late in development. Personally, I was responsible for:

  • Creating the ball shooting and timestop mechanics
  • Creating an input system that duplicates functionality between PC and mobile builds
  • Implementing a persistent saving and loading system
  • Designing, implementing, and balancing the rating system for unlocking new levels based on 3 progress metrics
  • Creation of visual effects
  • Implementation of 8 different environmental obstacles and mechanics
  • Designing 14 of the game's 18 levels

Postmortem: This project was my first foray into mobile development, and was designed with these principals in mind: Simplicity of controls, as the game only requires a single touch input to play, and rapid development of new content and different gameplay styles. These are principals that are often employed in mobile games, and I feel they represent the strength of the format: Short, easily accessible game sessions designed with a breadth of content in mind, along with progress gating to encourage replayability, skill increase, and potentially a form of monetization. While the game is still in prototype form, and needs an art pass from an actual artist, I feel I managed to accomplish many of my goals and highlight the strengths of designing in a medium other than core console games.