Project Timi's Gameplay Design
Since the game design team at Ephemeral Cube was small, most of us had to work on everything under the design umbrella. Below, you'll find some of the work I contributed to on Project Timi.
Enemy and Boss Design
New enemies are introduced to the player in each world of the game. Each one with different rhythmic abilities that interact in some way with the world's corresponding ability. My contributions to enemy design included:
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Modular Systems: Designed and helped implement enemies with a 'building block' philosophy, allowing the team to build future enemies with features shared by previous ones.
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Parallel Development: Whenever possible, enemy and level design were developed in parallel, constantly feeding into one another to create an engaging gameplay loop.
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Boss Design: Created challenging and engaging encounters that serve as a comprehensive skill check, requiring players to combine everything they've learned throughout the level.
Actions, Interactions and Encounter Design
Timi's Level Design allowed for highly specific encounters and gimmicks in each level. My contributions to encounter design included:
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Tailored Gameplay: Created unique, engaging, and memorable interactions between the player, the environment, and enemies based on each hand-crafted level's specific premise and aesthetic.
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Pacing & Progression: Structured encounters to give players a safe space to practice new mechanics before facing high-risk, complex challenges.
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Timi's actions and interactions: Designed and helped implemented anything that involves the player's movement and interaction throughout the level, resulting in snappy, satisfying interactions and movement with great game feel.
Puzzle Design
Project Timi’s puzzles were designed to support each level's narrative and aesthetic, creating a loop where gameplay and story constantly feed into each other. My contributions to puzzle design included:
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Puzzle Progression: Designed and implemented puzzles with a clear scaling difficulty, ensuring puzzle mechanics are introduced gradually before combining them into more complex challenges.
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Environmental Integration: Crafted environmental puzzles that are deeply tied to the level's aesthetic and premise, requiring players to interact with their surroundings to unlock new pathways.
