Divine Messenger

"Instant Messaging" before it was mainstream

Divine Messenger is a single player infinite runner/platformer. Collecting gems, defeating Medjed and avoiding obstacles are goals on your path to mastery. Play it now on itch.io

My Role

I worked as the lead game designer with the assistance of an aspiring game designer.

I worked in the Unity engine to build a system of level chunks to procedurally generate levels. I created a system for other level designers to follow to quickly build new level sections.

I was a solo programmer on this project. I built a 2D Character controller, procedurally generated levels and other basic gameplay components.

I acted as a mentor for other developers, teaching them how to use unity, and some basics of C# to get them started, or to expand on what they already knew.

The Challenge

In a team of 5, choose a gameplay experience and follow through with that through the design. In out case, we chose to create a game all about mastering a skill.

Hold on! Care to try the game yourself?

Try it now!

Project Breakdown

Development

Mastering a Skill

Upon getting our team, we spoke about what we felt we could accomplish, given our team composition. We were an art heavy team with only myself as a programmer. For this reason we decided to go for an experience that had a limited number of required mechanics. We determined that mastering a skill would be appropriate for this challenge. With these we could make simple mechanics and have the level design team build around the mechanic to fill out the gameplay.

Working Remote

Given the nature of the times, we did our best to create a game without ever having met in person. To simulate working as a team, we often made communication simple by remaining in a communal voice call. This made asking a question simple, and streamlined some important processes.

We used Discord as a communal meeting place, and Miro as a group work board. This was not a perfect substitute for meeting in person, but it worked well for our needs.

Take-aways

My Take-aways

This was a fun experience, but also a very busy one. It was a good opportunity for me to practice my teaching and mentoring skills. As the most experienced developer on the team, there was a lot riding on my shoulders.

I witnessed the power of positive team energy multiple times and made sure to encourage it as the team worked some grueling hours. I found that a team with direction and positive energy can overcome steep challenges.

This also came into play when I was teaching others more about making games and working with Unity. Even when they struggled with some ideas, positive energy would keep them encouraged to figure things out, and to in the end be proud of what they had created.

Team Trailer/ Instructional video

Game & System Designer