Daemonium Motus
Created for the Now Play This x Abertay Game Lab Design Lab - Daemonium Motus is more of a theatrical installation with digital elements than a purely digital game - and I love it so much. Half personality quiz, half séance - it feels like we really created a living breathing monster, that intertwines the hearts of all of its creators.
This game uses an alt controller designed like a sarcophagus, adorned with symbols and an amazingly textured mask - with sound design to bring the players into this ritual. It captures the exact kind of magic in world-building I attach to in my art, but through a completely different dimension.
It was also really nice to take a break from programming for game jams and purely just write and build. There are times when I want to program - but in that moment I just wanted to craft, explore these materials - and it felt like everyone in the team’s skills and viewpoints aligned at the perfect eye level.
Due to its nature, you can’t really play it online. I’m going to try and archive various things about it here - videos, photos, etc. once I get access to them.
Clown Therapy
Are you a gifted kid with misplaced passion? Are you filled with trauma after a dramatic Clown car crash? Are you some third, undiagnosable thing that I didn't have time to implement? Well, then you might just need Clown Therapy - the hottest new game jam by Yellow Crow!
Made in Godot, I feel like I solidified a good amount of knowledge in dialogue systems and tweening with the help of our resident Godot expert and soundsmith Calum Sarjeant. I bit off more than I can chew with the dialogue though - implementation + polish + 3 whole characters was too much, so only 2 got added. I wrote 80% of the dialogue in a delirious haze, so that either shows my innate abilities… or my innate insanity. Probably both?
For GGJ 2024, the theme was Make Me Laugh - and by far the funniest part of this game is the fact that I implemented a function to call random jokes for every clown to say… but ran out of time to write more than one joke. But if you play, you can finally learn why the penguin made a fish pun! (The Answer May Surprise You).
Tower of Catastrophe
Created for GitHub's Game Off Jam in November 2023 - I was a programmer for this game jam - mainly working with the UI and helping with game design.
The game went on to be in the top 10 highest rated games of the jam, out of all 630 entries, and was featured in GitHub's blog posts and on their YouTube channel! It was a huge honour to be showcased and huge props to the other creatives on the team.
Bar Fight Cleaner
Ever wanted to start a bar fight? How about clean up a bar fight? …Less cool? Maybe, but that's a regular Tuesday experience at this bar.
For GMTK Jam 2023, the theme was Roles Reversed - so we play the role of the lowly bartender keeping the bar afloat during the bar fight, trying to avoid the health inspector. This game would not have come together without the amazingly talented Cypri and her limitless Godot knowledge hard carrying the game to the finish line. I’ve grown much in Godot knowledge since - but my Spaghetti Thursday quality puns remain the same.
Rhythm Henry
A collaboration between me and fellow incomprehensible cryptid Henry Neff - Rhythm Henry is a rhythm game based on a true story. We had a collection of professional headshots, a total zero hours of Godot Engine experience - and a dream: this is the result.
It was really good to learn how to use Godot - it's really the best of both worlds. No bloat, but it somehow has everything you need. Super easy to translate over Unity experience to it, love the built-in tweening in particular (you can see I use an abundance of it for squash and stretch).
I think a two person game jam leads to the most perfect chaos - no interference, but enough collaboration and improv to "yes and-" all of your worst/best ideas. I had been very obsessed with Rhythm Heaven at the time, Henry said let's roll with that, and we made this beautiful monstrosity. As much as I joke about it, many people have said they love it, which makes me really happy.
Mushroomba
Created for Global Game Jam 2023 with Yellow Crow Games - I was involved with the programming for this project. This involved creating the character controller, collision detection and general systems such as the camera zoom out at the end of the game.
The theme for the Game Jam was Roots and our team immediately became enamoured with the idea of theming the game around mushrooms. We toyed with a couple of different ideas such as a Crypt of the Necrodancer-esque rhythm game, before I was struck with the pun inspiration for Mushroom + Roomba and that stuck immediately.
There's a certain surreality to Mushroomba that I adore - everything is chaotic and nothing is explained. There's a couple of objectives, but really, it's just a little playground for the player to explore in and find their own meaning in. You can try and mashroomise everything - or you can just try and write rude words in the mushroom-y soil. Don't worry, I won't tell.
There's a Rat in my Robot!
I think it's important to embrace when things... don't go well! There's a Rat in my Robot! is the epitome of biting off more than I could chew. After Gumball Galaxy, the same Dream Team went on to make a Nightmare. But if you've made it this far down my portfolio... you're either me - or you are genuinely interested in my work in some way. And I deserve to face my mistakes head on - like a matador.
We kind of ignored this game for so long, it's hugely flawed and mess to play. You either play as a rat, who does very little but has to move batteries around inside the robot, pretty unengaging. Or you play as a robot, and have to do very janky 3D platforming. Or, god forbid you have to play both parts - in which case this becomes the most boring stop and start process of continually having to charge the robot every 5 seconds.
But, looking back on it, this game actually has a pretty cool concept! You can tell it's the biproduct of a little Ewan who's favourite games console was the Wii U - and a fascination with asymmetric game design. And this game basically ended up becoming the Wii U of my game jam games - the running joke from everyone that's played it.
Even the concept of being a little robot, exploring a big house - little rat in tow - we had this lore that they were escaping from a mad scientist or something? I've always loved huge worlds from tiny perspectives like Pikmin or Chibi-Robo. My honours project ended up being a 3D platformer with a little robot - so clearly this game lives in my mind rent free.
As is my own methodology and perspective in life - I like to embrace my mistakes. I would not be where I am today without stuff like this, and I want the world to see that not everything you make will be a home run. You can attempt to play it below. Keyword attempt. (Or just watch the video, so you can vicariously enjoy my suffering from a comfortable distance).
Gumball Galaxy
This is a physics-based cooperative puzzle game where two players attempt to guide a Gumball to a fuel pipe. I was involved with level design, concepting and certain mechanics implementing - such as the pistons.
This was my first time programming with a group and working in Unity! As such I had to learn how to use GitHub, branches, and general co-operation and time management skills. For a first project is may have been too ambitious and out of scope for 3 first year programmers - but showing it around to everyone as a game I made was an incredibly validating feeling.
The game was created for a jam hosted by Abertay Game Dev Society in 2019. The theme for the jam has Revolutions - hence the idea for all of the swinging and revolving platforms and interlocking mechanics.
Other places I can be discovered!
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