Shutter

Shutter was made in my second year at Sheridan College for Design Week with Sydney Davio, Ben Dryburgh, Todd Brooks-Marling, Kitty Chen and Camden Malowany. We were given the task of creating an alternative controller game within the span of 4 days.

For this challenge, we decided to create a camera that utilizes a mobile device for gyroscopic rotation and a Makey Makey for tactile input that allows for taking a photo and movement. As a result, we were able to simulate the feeling of using a real camera in conjunction with our game.  

Game Design

 As a team, we decided that the core gameplay would revolve around taking photos. When designing the game I knew that the core mechanics needed to evoke feelings of fear and tension. I decided that the player would be able to scare off the creature with the camera's flash and would need to take a photo of all 4 dead bodies to win the game. These mechanics created high levels of player engagement, worked well with our narrative and utilized our alternative controller.    

Level Design

Our level needed to be completable in around 5 minutes. To get a feel for scale I worked closely with the main programmer, Kitty. Through playtesting and the greybox that she created in Unity we found the appropriate scale for the level's size as well as landmarks and wall height. While designing the level for Shutter I had to overcome some design problems. I needed to make a maze that wouldn't completely disorient the player since the challenge for our game comes from fending off the creature and discovering the bodies and not from maneuvering a confusing maze. To solve this problem I split the maze up into 4 distinct quadrants that are all connected at a symmetrical center. Each quadrant has a unique design to help players orient themselves and to avoid monotony. Another level design technique that I used to help the player orient themselves is the use of landmarks. The large tree in the center is always visible, the bottom left section has a scarecrow, the top right section has a graveyard and there are unique pumpkins placed throughout the level. 

Project Management 

Early on in the project, I took on a leadership role. Since we had a very limited amount of time to create the game I ensured that everyone always had a task to do and was aware of what others were doing. I focused on strong communication, staying after our allotted class time to work one-on-one with both the artists and our programmer. This ensured that they were on the right track and that what they were working on meshed well with the design of the game.