The GRID

The GRID is a 3D Hack N' Slash Adventure where the player takes control of an avatar in a place called the Grid. The player is trapped inside the Grid and must use her newly attained powers to escape from it. The player will face enemies, complete puzzles, and platforming to escape the Grid!

The GRID was created as a project for a module during my 3rd academic year of studying User Experience and Game Design in DigiPen Singapore. This was done in a team of 12. During this project, the team was tasked with creating a complete but short-length game in a custom engine. I was tasked mainly as a level designer, but helped out on the game's scripting side as well. The game's original prototype started in Unity but had to be ported to a custom engine due to project requirements.

Crafting the level proved to be difficult as there were no quality-of-life features provided (until later) in the custom engine compared to a commercial engine like Unity. Features, including multi-select or proper duplicating, were not given early in development, and proved that crafting levels using modular pieces and assembling collision were tedious. However, as a game designer, I looked at it from a design approach and attempted different ways to smooth level development. Due to feedback from lecturers and teammates, the level went through several iterations, going from open world to a linear approach to help players understand the mechanics, narrative, and controls of the game, smoothly.

At the end of the game's development, the game is significantly different from its Unity counterpart, with changes to its art direction, level, and narrative, but still retains its gameplay. In retrospect, this project taught me as a designer that there are multiple ways to achieve the same goal, even if a functionality is not present, and sometimes that lack of functionality can lead to better results.