Project Dates: January 2017 - April 2017
Utilizing: Unreal Engine 4 
Team Size: 12

Summary: Heart of Tin is a virtual reality adventure game based on The Wizard of Oz that's designed to help teach players how to effectively support those with depression. In the game, the player is a traveler on the yellow brick road whose travels are interrupted at a small village when trees block the road. In order to continue their journey, the player has to convince the Tin Man to clear the road. Unfortunately, he's suffering from depression, and the player has to interact with him and his neighbors to support him through his troubles, making dialogue choices and interacting with objects in the environment to help support him. As the player finishes the game, their performance is evaluated, and feedback is given in order to teach the player areas in which they could be more supportive. The project received oversight and direction from multiple subject matter experts, including therapists and doctors of psychology, and the game is intended to be used in a clinical manner, teaching while still being engaging to the audience. Virtual reality was used in order to give the player a more personal connection with the characters, and to emphasize the value of proximity and physicality in support.

My Role: I primarily worked as a Technical Designer on the project, designing and implementing game flow and features. Personally, I was responsible for:

  • Designing a feedback mechanic that used post process color saturation to tell the player how well they were doing
  • Reviewing and editing the game flow and script in accordance with subject matter expert requirements
  • Recording and editing dialogue
  • Designing minigame style interactions that illustrate non-verbal support methods to provide variance in gameplay types
  • Designing and balancing the point system for gauging player success, as well as writing end game feedback
  • Implementing sound effects, including music, animation based sounds, and different types of triggered ambient sounds

Postmortem: Overall, the project was an exercise in designing under client constraints, and in balancing teaching the player against keeping them engaged with the game. It's given me experience in working within the bounds of an existing set of conditions, and not just matching those conditions, but actively improving upon the initial desired product to make something that's satisfactory to both the core audience and the client.