Energy Eaters | Mysite

Project Description

I was the main (and only) designer for “Energy Eaters”, a serious game about teaching children of age 8-10 to become more sustainable inside their own house. This project was simultaneously developed alongside project “BeeYou”, so I was part-time switching between projects during a 5-month development period.

As mentioned, I was the only designer on a team of 5 people. So, my contributions mainly include working out nearly everything related to the game design (with the exception of UI/UX design). All my work and ideas are compiled and can be found in the game design document. I was also in charge of the level design.

My Contributions

Game design: The team created a concept for a serious game where a player can either solo or in multiplayer run around a big mansion which is overrun by three mischievous monsters trying to suck out the energy from within. I was in charge of fleshing out this concept adding both fun gameplay mechanics and educational elements inside an engaging gameplay loop.

Mechanics: I fleshed out the rules of the game by setting up the general mechanics of the game and consider what the players can do, but also how the monsters need to function and how the big mansion would play into all of it.

Gameplay footage

Electricity minigame spawned by a monster

The core game mechanics I've worked on include:

The player - Their controls and the freedom and limitations.

The monsters - their behavior and limitations, how they would evolve over the course of the game.

Minigames - The monsters are able to spawn these within zones which sap energy out of the house and make the monsters grow over time, but they give currency on completion.

The house and zones - The level design.

The shop - where a player could use their currency gained from minigames to purchase upgrades.

Cassette tapes - Acting as collectibles and bridges the story and serious elements.

First concept of the game with monsters, minigames and zones

Dynamics: To create a more engaging gameplay loop, I looked at how to add complexity to the existing aspects of the game that were in place and designed them to grow and expand over the course of the game, while avoinding the player to enter the “valley of despair”. The dynamics I considered for the game consist of:

Monster growth - Monster grow bigger and develop different behavior to create unique actions and also make them feel unique.

Complex minigames - Minigames become harder as the monsters grow and require more actions to finish.

An expanding shop - Will include more options for the player to choose from which can help them in various ways to fight off the monsters.

Zones - Close off once they are depleted of energy and how this will influence player decision making.

Enemy growth

Experience: Or the “Aesthetics”, details the emotions that we want to evoke in the player while they are playing the game. The game mixes educational elements that teach our players to be sustainable inside their own house with game elements which include growing complexity and competitiveness.

Level design: I worked on concepting the level design for the mansion and building it inside Unreal 5. The idea of a huge and fantastical mansion with elements you can find inside a regular house merged with magic was a hit concept with both the team as well as the target group, and the level design needed to reflect this.

Greybox level - Unreal 5

I created a ground plan for the level that considered the different rooms inside the house, the events that could be spawned inside and the overall navigation from moment to moment.

I jumped into Unreal Engine 5 and began construction on the greybox version for the level. I tested to make sure that the level was actually usable in the framework of our game and make sure that both the players as the enemy monsters would be able to navigate it. Finally, I’ve decorated the each room based on the room and dominant element.