Video Horror Society | 2019-2023
Unreal Engine 4, 4v1 Asymmetrical Action
Role: Lead Backend Programmer
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Firstly, I don't want to claim any serious design credits on this project. I was a backend programmer on this project, you can read more about my technical work on the project, as well as what this actual project was here. I was not a game designer on this project.
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One of the main benefits to working at a game studio is that you're working on a game! You get to talk about games for a living. You get to playtest it. And- if the studio is any good- you get to suggest improvements to make the game better. Obviously in your own area of expertise you should be making improvements almost daily; writing better code or making better art. But while writing backend code is about the farthest thing away from gameplay at a game studio, I endeavour to improve the user-facing experience as best I can. I'm a passionate gamer and will go out of my way to become as good a player as I can at whatever game I'm working on, so as to be able to make gameplay improvement suggestions from the most informed position possible. You don't need to be good at a game to make suggestions to improve it, but things like balance changes often need to be considered from a highly competitive perspective, aspects of which are difficult to see from unskilled or unpracticed players.
I enjoyed improving at this game, and eventually being considered one of the better players at the studio, enabling me to play in the competitive playtests and level design playtests.
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Aside from playtesting and giving balance feedback, which was often expertly received by our fantastic gameplay and level designers, I also came up with some designs for new monsters and new gameplay features. I'm not about to start listing features and claiming credit for them, because everything was a team effort and every change was iterated on many times. I guess I just wanted to make a design page about this project because I felt like I had a non-insignificant impact on the final product, and it was an absolute pleasure being able to participate in design outside of my main technical area. I sincerely hope my future projects will offer the same level of input.
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