Engine's Maw: Turn based combat system and UI
Secrets Unfold: Mobile puzzle game prototype
This was a prototype I made for a mobile puzzle-cube game. I've always really like the idea of intricate physical puzzles, and like the idea of simulating them to make the more accessible, and to open up more creative possibilities with their design. However, I found most existing puzzle-object games on mobile to have clunky interfaces that could be difficult to use.
My goal with this project was to design an interface that would best simulate the process of "fiddling" with a physical puzzle object. I did two things to achieve this.
The thing I did was break down all the possible interactions with components of the puzzle object into three actions: Pressing, turning, and sliding. I then designed a set of control buttons to represent this and could be used on any selected component, and trigger different reactions based on context.
The second step was a focus on player feedback. I made all interactions with the cube give some kind of visual feedback; Tapping on surfaces creates a ripple effect, floating rings show the currently selected component, and manipulating in that are in a locked state will cause them to jiggle, showing that something must be done to unlock them.
Way of the Dragon: Mobile martial-arts game prototype
Something I'd really like to see get made is a really good combat system for mobile games. Most mobile game combat systems that I have played fall to the same few issues; their either not well designed for mobile and difficult and/or inconvenient to use, or their too simplified and become not fun to play anymore. This prototype was my attempt to resolve these issues.
One of my core beliefs for mobile game design is that the game must be playable in the vertical format, and controllable with a single thumb. This allows the game to take full advantage of it's mobile nature and be totally playable in any scenario.
This prototype uses directional swipes to control a martial artist character. Swiping in a direction from the symbol triggers a specific attack. Swiping anywhere else on the screen triggers a directional dodge. This system contains a tremendous amount of room for expansion; the player could unlock a library of attacks that they bind to the various inputs, multiple moves could be chained together with multiple swipes, and preforming dodges or attacks within narrow timing windows could unlock opportunities and advantages.