by Annie | Dec 14, 2011 | Game Design
MotionMaze Holiday Adventure is now out on the App Store! This new version of MotionMaze features over 100 brand new mazes filled with pickups, as well as a Daily Scramble that offers a new maze every single day. So what are you waiting for? Try out MotionMaze Holiday Adventure...
by Annie | Sep 28, 2011 | Game Design
Today, our first game, MotionMaze, went live in the App Store. Nothing can quite prepare you for the excitement, pride, and craziness that follows the release of a game. MotionMaze was created within 2 weeks. After spending a significant amount of time designing a larger game with tons of features, we decided that creating a smaller game to prove out the tech and the crazy ideas in our heads might be more useful. And the good thing about working on such a small team is that U-turns and detours can be achieved quite easily. From a game design perspective, working under a strict 2-week deadline is both daunting and helpful. Having to create everything in two weeks forced us to focus on the most crucial features in our game, resulting in a streamlined experience. Sure, there are features I would have added if we had more time, but ultimately, the game is immensely more useful in the hands of players than sitting on our computers here in the office. So check it out for yourself. Head on over to the App Store and download MotionMaze now!...
by Annie | Jul 4, 2011 | Game Design
What’s it like to be a game designer? Well, I’m pretty new to the field, but I can already tell you that it’s a lot of hard work. But also a ton of fun. I started working this week as an official game designer. You know, out in the real world. My job? To design games that encourage kids to be physically active. Sounds a bit counterintuitive, using video games to get kids up off the couch, but that’s where the creative challenge comes in. Our initial aim is to release an iOS game that is highly addictive and gets kids to move around to get some exercise. Because of the platform, we’re limited to iOS device capabilities, namely the accelerometer and gyroscope. (GPS and compass are possibilities as well, but we’re thinking most 6- to 12-year-olds would probably have iPods rather than iPhones.) Because I’m working with a startup (the entire team is just 7 people), I’m in the unique position of having a lot of say in the creative process even though I’m fresh out of school. As the main designer on the project, my days mainly consist of brainstorming and research (i.e., playing comparable games and reading lots of articles). And already, the many assignments we worked on and the skills we acquired at VFS are coming in quite handy. The deliverables on my list in the coming months include a concept doc, design doc, QA plan, tuning for pacing and difficulty, design of control schemes, and UI design, as well as numerous pitches to the team about different concepts under development. A year ago today...
