Dreamscape

Design Producer for Mock-AAA Studio

Balldyseus

Passion Project, Sole Developer

Fill In The Blank!

Global Game Jam, Award Winning @NYU

EGD Collective

Student
Game Studio Program
2022-Present

2023

A game development fellowship program involving team-based learning and industry preparation

Most Dangerous Games

Developer Intern
Industry Internship
2024

First industry internship developing unit testing infrastructure and features for CapitalismCraft, a business management simulator

IndieCade

Climate-Jam Intern
Internship Program
2024

A summer internship program where industry-mentors guided me in the development of a 1-month jam, starting from conceptualization to release

EGD Collective

Special Programs Coordinator & Academic Advisor
Staff Member
2024-Present

EGD is a nonprofit dedicated to preparing students for the games industry, I am a volunteer staff member running external events and advising Game Studio Program students on their academics

Dreamscape

Design Producer
EGD's Game Studio Program
2024-2025

2023

A collaborative game project currently in development by EGD Collective's Mock-AAA Studio

2023

• Unity

Balldyseus

Sole Developer
Passion Project
In-Development

2023

A retelling of the Odyssey where Odysseus is now a giant ball named Balldyseus! A turn-based strategy game fusing Billiards with Fire Emblem mechanics.

2023

• Unity

FLASH MOB

Programmer/Designer
Game Jam
2025

2023

In a land devoid of fun, herd dancers through the level to spread the power of Boogie-Fever!

2023

• Unity

Fill in the Blank!

Designer/Programmer/Producer
Global Game Jam
2025

2023

A 3-4 player Party-Game where players compete to make the funniest sentences to fill blank speech bubbles!

2023

• Unity
• Star

Catherine-PICO

Sole Developer
Game Jam
2024

2023

A Homage to the game Catherine, but in PICO-8! Push and pull blocks to stack them into the requested shape!

2023

Decay & Watch

Programmer/Designer
Game Jam
2024

2023

Power On your old "Decay & Watch" system to blast through a horde of decaying zombies and get a high score!

2023

• Unity

CapitalismCraft

Developer Intern
Internship
2024

First industry internship developing unit testing infrastructure and features for CapitalismCraft, a business management simulator

2023

• Unity

Pick Yourself Up!

Programmer/Designer
Game Jam
2024

2023

When it's too hard to move your body and wake up, you must exit your body and force it to get up! Launch yourself around to try and reach the top!

2023

• Unity

Against The Tide!

Designer/Programmer
Game Jam
2024

2023

Experience the epic rap battle between the famous Dr. Rap against water! (like, the concept of water itself!)

2023

• Unity

Cornboy

Designer/Programmer/Artist
IndieCade Internship Program
2024

2023

You play as Cornboy on a bullet-hell battle against a forest so he can grow cash crops and make a profit!

2023

• Unity

Striking Hell

Junior Programmer/Designer
EGD's Game Studio Program
2023-2024

2023

A 3D retrowave platformer where you must use your sentient sword to fight back against Hell's oppressors and liberate it!

2023

• Unity

Joke's On You!

Designer/Programmer/Producer
Global Game Jam
2024

2023

The King's financial committee has declared that, due to budget-cuts, only one Jester will be able to keep their job! As such, each Jester will take turns doing an Impromptu Performance for the King!

2023

• Unity
• Star

Chick Chase

Designer/Programmer
Game Jam
2023

2023

A high-score game where you have to launch yourself to catch as many chickens as you can!

2023

• Unity

Opossom Ops

Programmer/Designer
Game Jam
2023

2023

You're an Opossum who has just escaped its cage in a pet store! Collect food pellets and avoid detection using physics-launching to make your escape!

2023

• Unity

Sling Bee

Designer
Game Jam
2023

2023

A high score based game where you sling your bee from flower-to-flower to keep them all pollinated!

2023

• Unity
• Star

Refold

Game/Audio Designer
EGD'S Exploration Program
2023

2023

Control a crumpled ball of paper that can transform into different origami shapes, each with different abilities!

2023

• Unity
• Star

EGD Collective

Student
Game Studio Program
2022-Present

2023

A game development fellowship program involving team-based learning and industry preparation

Dreamscape

Design Producer
EGD's Game Studio Program
2024-2025

2023

A collaborative game project currently in development by EGD Collective's Mock-AAA Studio

2023

• Unity

EGD Collective

Special Programs Coordinator & Academic Advisor
Staff Member
2024-Present

Currently a staff member running external events and advising Game Studio Program students on their academics

Fill in the Blank!

Designer/Programmer/Producer
Global Game Jam
2025

2023

A 3-4 player Party-Game where players compete to make the funniest sentences to fill blank speech bubbles!

2023

• Unity
• Star

Joke's On You!

Designer/Programmer/Producer
Global Game Jam
2024

2023

The King's financial committee has declared that, due to budget-cuts, only one Jester will be able to keep their job! As such, each Jester will take turns doing an Impromptu Performance for the King!

2023

• Unity
• Star

Pick Yourself Up!

Programmer/Designer
Game Jam
2024

2023

When it's too hard to move your body and wake up, you must exit your body and force it to get up! Launch yourself around to try and reach the top!

2023

• Unity

Chick Chase

Designer/Programmer
Game Jam
2023

2023

A high-score game where you have to launch yourself to catch as many chickens as you can!

2023

• Unity

Sling Bee

Designer
Game Jam
2023

2023

A high score based game where you sling your bee from flower-to-flower to keep them all pollinated!

2023

• Unity
• Star

EGD Collective

Student
Game Studio Program
2022-Present

2023

A game development fellowship program involving team-based learning and industry preparation

Balldyseus

Sole Developer
Passion Project
In-Development

2023

A retelling of the Odyssey where Odysseus is now a giant ball named Balldyseus! A turn-based strategy game fusing Billiards with Fire Emblem mechanics.

2023

• Unity

Dreamscape

Design Producer
EGD's Game Studio Program
2024-2025

2023

A collaborative game project currently in development by EGD Collective's Mock-AAA Studio

2023

• Unity

Striking Hell

Junior Programmer/Designer
EGD's Game Studio Program
2023-2024

2023

A 3D retrowave platformer where you must use your sentient sword to fight back against Hell's oppressors and liberate it!

2023

• Unity

Most Dangerous Games

Developer Intern
Industry Internship
2024

First industry internship developing unit testing infrastructure and features for CapitalismCraft, a business management simulator

Fill in the Blank!

Designer/Programmer/Producer
Global Game Jam
2025

2023

A 3-4 player Party-Game where players compete to make the funniest sentences to fill blank speech bubbles!

2023

• Unity
• Star

Cornboy

Designer/Programmer/Artist
IndieCade Internship Program
2024

2023

You play as Cornboy on a bullet-hell battle against a forest so he can grow cash crops and make a profit!

2023

• Unity

FLASH MOB

Programmer/Designer
Game Jam
2025

2023

In a land devoid of fun, herd dancers through the level to spread the power of Boogie-Fever!

2023

• Unity

Decay & Watch

Programmer/Designer
Game Jam
2024

2023

Power On your old "Decay & Watch" system to blast through a horde of decaying zombies and get a high score!

2023

• Unity

Pick Yourself Up!

Programmer/Designer
Game Jam
2024

2023

When it's too hard to move your body and wake up, you must exit your body and force it to get up! Launch yourself around to try and reach the top!

2023

• Unity

Joke's On You!

Designer/Programmer/Producer
Global Game Jam
2024

2023

The King's financial committee has declared that, due to budget-cuts, only one Jester will be able to keep their job! As such, each Jester will take turns doing an Impromptu Performance for the King!

2023

• Unity
• Star

Refold

Game/Audio Designer
EGD'S Exploration Program
2023

2023

Control a crumpled ball of paper that can transform into different origami shapes, each with different abilities!

2023

• Unity
• Star

Chick Chase

Designer/Programmer
Game Jam
2023

2023

A high-score game where you have to launch yourself to catch as many chickens as you can!

2023

• Unity

Sling Bee

Designer
Game Jam
2023

2023

A high score based game where you sling your bee from flower-to-flower to keep them all pollinated!

2023

• Unity
• Star

Against The Tide!

Designer/Programmer
Game Jam
2024

2023

Experience the epic rap battle between the famous Dr. Rap against water! (like, the concept of water itself!)

2023

• Unity

Opossom Ops

Programmer/Designer
Game Jam
2023

2023

You're an Opossum who has just escaped its cage in a pet store! Collect food pellets and avoid detection using physics-launching to make your escape!

2023

• Unity

EGD Collective

Student
Game Studio Program
2022-Present

2023

A game development fellowship program involving team-based learning and industry preparation

Most Dangerous Games

Developer Intern
Industry Internship
2024

First industry internship developing unit testing infrastructure and features for CapitalismCraft, a business management simulator

Balldyseus

Sole Developer
Passion Project
In-Development

2023

A retelling of the Odyssey where Odysseus is now a giant ball named Balldyseus! A turn-based strategy game fusing Billiards with Fire Emblem mechanics.

2023

• Unity

Striking Hell

Junior Programmer/Designer
EGD's Game Studio Program
2023-2024

2023

A 3D retrowave platformer where you must use your sentient sword to fight back against Hell's oppressors and liberate it!

2023

• Unity

Pick Yourself Up!

Programmer/Designer
Game Jam
2024

2023

When it's too hard to move your body and wake up, you must exit your body and force it to get up! Launch yourself around to try and reach the top!

2023

• Unity

Cornboy

Designer/Programmer/Artist
IndieCade Internship Program
2024

2023

You play as Cornboy on a bullet-hell battle against a forest so he can grow cash crops and make a profit!

2023

• Unity

FLASH MOB

Programmer/Designer
Game Jam
2025

2023

In a land devoid of fun, herd dancers through the level to spread the power of Boogie-Fever!

2023

• Unity

Decay & Watch

Programmer/Designer
Game Jam
2024

2023

Power On your old "Decay & Watch" system to blast through a horde of decaying zombies and get a high score!

2023

• Unity

Chick Chase

Designer/Programmer
Game Jam
2023

2023

A high-score game where you have to launch yourself to catch as many chickens as you can!

2023

• Unity

Joke's On You!

Designer/Programmer/Producer
Global Game Jam
2024

2023

The King's financial committee has declared that, due to budget-cuts, only one Jester will be able to keep their job! As such, each Jester will take turns doing an Impromptu Performance for the King!

2023

• Unity
• Star

Opossom Ops

Programmer/Designer
Game Jam
2023

2023

You're an Opossum who has just escaped its cage in a pet store! Collect food pellets and avoid detection using physics-launching to make your escape!

2023

• Unity

Against The Tide!

Designer/Programmer
Game Jam
2024

2023

Experience the epic rap battle between the famous Dr. Rap against water! (like, the concept of water itself!)

2023

• Unity

Dreamscape

Design Producer
EGD's Game Studio Program
2024-2025

2023

A collaborative game project currently in development by EGD Collective's Mock-AAA Studio

2023

• Unity

Striking Hell

Junior Programmer/Designer
EGD's Game Studio Program
2023-2024

2023

A 3D retrowave platformer where you must use your sentient sword to fight back against Hell's oppressors and liberate it!

2023

• Unity

EGD Collective

Student
Game Studio Program
2022-Present

2023

A game development fellowship program involving team-based learning and industry preparation

EGD Collective

Special Programs Coordinator & Academic Advisor
Staff Member
2024-Present

2023

Currently a staff member running external events and advising Game Studio Program students on their academics

Control a crumpled ball of paper that can transform into different origami shapes, each with different abilities!

★ Won "Best Overall Game" award for EGD's 2023 Awards for their Game Studio Program• Was the project's Designer and Producer for a 4-person team,• Handled the creative direction, level design, audio, and project management• Game selected as consistent showcase demo for EGD and CCNY’s gaming pathways events• Worked in GameMaker for Level-Design

Concepting

I often enjoy crafting paper cranes, the habit morphed into a desire to make a game themed around the concept. I suggested the idea to my team: a game in which the player controls a crumpled paper ball that can shift into origami shapes, each with different properties. They liked it, we ran with it.

Different-Forms

We ran through many different game design concepts and eventually landed on a 2D platformer to fit out vision and skillset. I ideated many different forms for the player to shape, eventually narrowing it down to 3 (Ball for Speed, Crane for Gliding, Frog for Double-Jumping)

Level Design

Shortly after deciding on the player forms, i started drafting some level-design outlines on looseleaf paper. I wanted to make sure each form felt necessary and purposeful, with a strong emphasis on switching-forms in mid air. I wanted a steady learning curve for the player to start from using one form at a time to eventually using all three forms for a single jump.

Audio

Use real-life paper to create most of the SFX. Had my first real attempt at composing a song. My only experience was a Music 101 course and whatever was on my Spotify, I tried my best to keep it simple and joyful and I think it worked out well

Playtesting

I quickly learned how difficult it is to create a tutorial level. Earlier iterations were way too hard and challenged playtesters too much when we presented them at CCNY's Unreleased Games Arcade. This was my first proper playtesting experience, and it was very valuable to understand how much more straightforward level-editing became after observing players' behaviors. With the finished product, I can say I'm quite happy with the elegance of the first two levels (since they had the most testing and have the cleanest difficulty curve I was aiming for) though the latter half of the game could have been greatly improved by further iteration, with too much chaos and unnatural placements for my liking

A high score based game where you sling your bee from flower-to-flower to keep them all pollinated!

★ Achieved top 5 placement in multiple categories:
    • 4th place Overall
    • 2nd place in Audio
    • 1st place in Usability/Accessibility
    • 5th place in Gameplay• Ideated, pitched, and led game design for 7-person team during 2-day game jam• Created detailed task lists for team members• Provided design guidance throughout development

Concepting

We were assigned teams and had the evening to meet and plan our idea, with a full Saturday to get it done. During our evening meeting, we brainstormed ideas, and I was inspired by Super Mario Galaxy's "Sling Pods" and interested in exploring a functionality similar to it. I explained my vision for the high-score game we ended with, using a poorly drawn MS-Paint image to convey my idea.

Project Management

The team liked the plan, so we got to work. Unfortunately, the game jam was announced after I was already scheduled to work on the day of the jam, so I spent the night making a game design summary and a task list for every team member to complete during the Saturday, minimizing any confusion that may occur while I was away.

You're an Opossum who has just escaped its cage in a pet store! Collect food pellets and avoid detection using physics-launching to make your escape!

• Served as sole programmer for first time on a team project• Ideated and programmed main movement mechanic• Programmed all other functionalities made by designers, alongside implementing all art-assets

Concepting

This was my first ever experience as a sole programmer for a project, so it was interesting to get my bearings with Unity. Shortly before this, I started to ideate the basis of a solo game I wanted to make, "Balldyseus." I expressed my curiosity about a ball-based launching mechanic, and my team was fond of the idea. We had some animal assets on hand, so we decided to theme the game around an Opossum escaping a pet store in a hamster ball

Programming

Programming went fairly smoothly, much of it was simply overcoming beginner-hurdles (Rigidbodies, impulses, line renderers, colliders, UI) Once the basic movement & pellet collection were done, the main challenge was figuring out how to cut out unique shapes for the level design in the game, which I figured out using ProBuilder. Afterward, the designer and I built the level, decorated it, added our Title Screen and Game-Over screen, and we had a finished product.

A high-score game where you have to launch yourself to catch as many chickens as you can!

• Led development of physics-based movement system iterating off of Opossum Ops• Adjusted our scope from a grander project to meet the deadline• Coordinated with art & audio to have a cohesive aesthetic

Concepting & Scope

Initially, this was meant to actually be "Balldyseus," and was a natural evolution of the gameplay seen in Opossom Ops. I pitched it to my team & created a detailed GDD for everyone involved. But due to time constraints and a realization we could not create the systems we needed for that game in a month, we drastically scaled the project down to keep the movement but create a high-score focus with a new theme on Farms

Programming & Design

I'm very fond of pixel art (if you could not tell from this website) so I was eager to learn how to create a pixel-art project in Unity. I carried over my Opossom Ops movement and refactored it for a 2D game, I created the basic design for the project, and since it wasn't all too complicated I got to spend a lot of time learning how to implement and use pixel art assets (from fonts to art to layering) and starting some experiments with visual feedback (some foreshadowing for my later fascination of Unity's FEEL asset)

The King's financial committee has declared that, due to budget-cuts, only one Jester will be able to keep their job! As such, each Jester will take turns doing an Impromptu Performance for the King!

★ Won "Best Use of Theme" award at NYU Game Center's Global Game Jam 2024• Designed a social game based off those found in "Jackbox Party Pack" that was highly entertaining to a wide variety of audience members• Led technical development while managing jam team members

Concepting & Scope

This was my first ever GGJ! As lead programmer still getting comfortable with Unity, I decided to create something that leaned more into real-life interaction rather than complex mechanics—similar to a Jackbox party game. With the theme "Make Me Laugh," we took it as literally as possible: one player is the king, others are jesters trying to make them laugh. The twist? The King can press X, Y, or B at any time to spawn a person, place, or thing that jesters must incorporate into their performance.

Project Management & Presentation

Beyond the technical work, I served as the main designer/producer, keeping everyone updated on tasks and tracking our progress. We completed the game on time, and during the post-jam showcase, audience members had a blast with the social aspects—playing with friends and making each other laugh, with many enjoying multiple rounds! The judges ultimately selected our game for the "Best Use of Theme" award.

Coding for a Rapid-Project

Though the concept wasn't too complicated, as a beginner coder I still faced challenges. I initially tried building a methodical, modular system for player counts and colors. This approach, while simple to me now, consumed too much time without leaving enough for testing and polishing. I eventually realized how much time I was wasting building the project for long-term development when all that mattered was getting the concept done for the jam. I started over with quicker, linear code that simply made the game function—which for a 2-day jam, was really all that mattered.

A 3D retrowave platformer where you must use your sentient sword to fight back against Hell's oppressors and liberate it!

• Served as both junior designer and sole audio programmer for 40-person development team• Designed and implemented a complete audio management system for a 3D game• Implemented a rotating slash wall mechanic & UI functionality• Helped design numerous parts of the game, including core abilities and enemies• Communicated across multiple development disciplines (design, programming, audio)

What's Studio Aspen?

Studio Aspen is a mock-AAA studio ran for EGD's Game Studio Program where roughly fifty of the program's students must work together to make a game over the course of the school year. The program is split up into Design, Programming, Art, and Audio teams, each with their own leads, and an Executive Producer at the helm

The Living Sword

One of the main ideas was having the sword and main character be "separate" - the sword being alive with its own opposing will, centered around blood (feed blood to the sword, or it takes yours). I was interested in exploring gameplay to show this separation, like creating "blood-points" that would attract your sword to control the attraction like a rubber band, or splitting the sword and character into two halves. Ultimately the team kept things straightforward, just keeping the blood mechanic and expressing the disconnect narratively

Enemy Design

Our general philosophy was the platforming came first and combat came second. Following this, I aimed to keep my enemy designs simple and focused on being useful for platforming, with a hamburger that forces the player to wonder if they should kill them for blood or use them to platform to great heights, and a similar popcorn enemy that can be shot and popped by the player to generate a shockwave.

Level Design

A goal for the project was to give each level a strong incentive to speedrun and try and reach the end as fast as possible. With this, I pitched a grading system and a level-design philosophy based around branching paths that vary in difficulty, skilled players that go for harder paths can beat levels quicker.

Programming For a Large Project

Alongside the Design-Team, I was also a part of the programming team. I was the sole audio programmer, so I was in charge of designing our audio system and implementing it throughout the game. I also assisted with some other unrelated tasks, such as UI elements and rotating slash walls. Unlike the the more disposable code I used in other smaller projects, here I learned how to integrate my code with a team of others and creating documentation and tests for every pull request to ensure my created-systems are easily understood by my team.

Outcome

Due to a variety of reasons, the game did not come anywhere near what we were hoping for, the scope was simply too large for what we could handle as a bunch of students learning how to coordinate a project this big. But although the game itself had many problems, I feel as if the experience gained as students in cross-team collaboration was far more valuable than our product.

Play as Cornboy in a bullet-hell battle against the forest so he can grow crops and make a profit!

★ Achieved #2 ranking for Gameplay and #7 Overall among 48 entries• Received guidance on game-development from industry professionals in IndieCade's Climate-Jam Internship Program• Mentored a new developer in Unity fundamentals and game development practices• Designed and Implemented area-control and bullet-hell inspired gameplay• Created all visual assets and utilized Unity's FEEL Asset for any "juice" effects and visual feedback

Concepting

Developed as part of IndieCade's Summer Climate Internship, Where I got to develop a climate-themed jam under the guidance of IndieCade mentors. While brainstorming the concept, I eventually had a funny image in my head about making a point on climate change by having the user take over land with corn with some over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek tone. With this I knew I wanted some kind of area control mechanic, and I felt inspired to take the core mechanic from Paper.io and incorporate it into a bullet-hell. I created my basic GDD and got to work

Development

Once I let Kaya finish the foundation, I moved into the main developer seat to handle the harder tasks, particularly the attack-patterns and the cornfield mechanic. The paper.io-like cornfield creation was a challenge to implement, and after days of finally getting it to work, we playtested it and realized it's not all too fun in a bullet-hell setting, so we chose to scrap the whole thing and change the game so that cornboy draws the cornfields like a paint brush.

Becoming a Mentor

I asked my friend Kaya to join the jam, he's been interested in starting game development and thought this would be a good opportunity for him to get started with Unity, as well as good experience for me in learning how to teach somebody. He ideated the attacks & handled the foundation for the game, creating the player with health & movement along with the basis for attacks that can damage and kill the player, as well as implementing UI & the pause menu + title screen.

Aesthetics & FEEL

I created all the art, which was a fun and interesting experience as I had never taken on a leading art role in a project up until this point. I also added a lot of juice into the UI and interactions using the FEEL Unity asset, an incredibly invaluable asset that I had recently studied and learned how to use

Experience the epic rap battle between the famous Dr. Rap against water! (like, the concept of water itself!)

• Achieved #11 in Enjoyment and #29 Overall among 84 jam entries• Created a "unique comedy experience"• Handled all technical development outside of UI, alongside the initial concept of the project

What Even is a Game?

In my eyes, a game is a means to eliciting an experience into the user. An emotion, a memory, a meaning. For this project, my goal was to deliver the experience of Dr. Rap. Need I say more?

When it's too hard to move your body and wake up, you must exit your body and force it to get up! Launch yourself around to try and reach the top!

• Crafted a rage-game meant to simulate the disconnect of person's body and will as they struggle to wake up• Aided in the initial concepting for our mouse-controlled movement and was the sole programmer for all future iterations from our Designer• Was the Level-Designer for the first two-thirds of the game• Adjusted our scope from a grander project to meet the deadline

First industry internship developing unit testing infrastructure and features for CapitalismCraft, a business management simulator.

• Established and implemented a comprehensive unit testing foundation for an existing codebase• Created test suites covering a wide variety of GameObject behaviors and interactions• Developed new UI features and events• Integrated into a professional development workflow

Context

MDG is owned by Eric Cheng, an ex-Google Software Engineer who left to start this indie studio. I helped his team develop CapitalismCraft, a business-management simulator with tongue-in-cheek comedy mocking the downsides of capitalism.

Send-Off

At the end of my internship, I helped MDG showcase their projects at AnimeNYC, giving me experience in showcasing and advertising a project commercially.

Unit-Testing & Studying an Existing Codebase

I was tasked with creating the Unit-testing foundation, setting up the testing environment and designing test-suites to verify every GameObject behaves correctly under various scenarios. This gave me a strong understanding of unit-testing in Unity and insight into the project's code structure, providing valuable knowledge for my future coding endeavors. I also helped develop new features, primarily focusing on UI functionality and implementing new events.

Power On your old "Decay & Watch" system to blast through a horde of decaying zombies and get a high score!

• Recreated an authentic Game & Watch aesthetic and game-feel• Focused on the Game-And-Watch Experience more than the gameplay-experience, opting to remove features like keyboard controls to force the usage of the "system"

A Homage to the game Catherine, but in PICO-8! Push and pull blocks to stack them into the requested shape!

• Used PICO-8 and Lua for the first time and crafted my first project within 24 hours• Adapted 3D puzzle mechanics to a 2D environment, tweaking the objective from climbing to building patterns to keep the mechanics interesting in a new dimension

A turn-based strategy game themed around the ancient tale of The Odyssey! Except Odysseus is now a giant ball! Roll yourself around the stage to prevent encroaching enemies from reaching your territory

• Conceptualized and implemented a unique hybrid of billiards, pinball, and turn-based strategy gameplay• Showcased at multiple playtesting events, iterating based on feedback• Implemented a grid-based enemy movement system with A* Pathfinding• Managing ongoing development while maintaining project scope and juggling other responsibilities• Created all art assets, alongside visual feedback using Unity's FEEL Asset

Concepting

For my Classical Mythology class, I reworked The Odyssey into a game called 'Balldyseus' for my final project. The name got me thinking about ball movement mechanics, and I got interested in asymmetrical gameplay - one player moving discretely while another moves freely. The rest kind of fell into place: billiard movement for the player against discrete-moving enemies. Instead of enemies attacking Balldyseus directly (which felt awkward), I made it turn-based where you defend a point from enemies reaching it.y and made the game turn-based.

Luck, Skill, & Player Agency

To fix the player's lack of agency - where they'd just aim, fire, and wait for their next turn - I added a system where you can swap between 'attack-mode' to hurt enemies and 'bounce-mode' to propel yourself off collisions. The player can switch between these at any time.

Playtesting & "Bounce-mode"

Players struggled with understanding 'Bounce-Mode'. They'd focus only on its ability to push enemies, missing its movement potential, and didn't realize they could swap modes after launching. I got stuck trying different tutorials, but eventually realized the problem was the gameplay itself being a bit too abstract to grasp. Now I'm testing a simpler version where bounce-mode is a limited-use ability that automatically switches back to attack-mode after collision, plus clearer UI. This has been far more successful during tests.

Coding For Long-Term

A major difference from my game jams was the need for maintainable code. While my jam projects only needed to work, this game required longevity, forcing several complete refactors as I improved and learned better practices (Inheritance, Observers, Encapsulation).

Finding the Right Framework

While I liked the minute-to-minute gameplay, I struggled with creating a cohesive experience with replayability and long-term goals. I prototyped a roguelike version that offered randomization and abilities, but realized this created massive design and balance challenges. Worse, the pleasure of mastery disappeared since players couldn't replay levels to improve their performance. I'm reverting to a traditional level-based structure with pinball-style scoring to grade levels and encourage mastery.

A collaborative game project currently in development by EGD Collective's Studio Aspen, a Mock-AAA studio comprised entirely of students

• Selected as Design Producer for EGD's largest Studio Aspen team to date (~80 members)• Leading and coordinating a team of ~20 designers for a large game project• Managing communication between design team and other departments• Working with my team to develop and maintain the GDD used by the entire studio• Organizing and facilitating regular design reviews, feedback sessions and Playtests

What's Studio Aspen?

Studio Aspen is a mock-AAA studio ran for EGD's Game Studio Program where roughly eighty of the program's students must work together to make a game over the course of the school year. The program is split up into Design, Programming, Art, Tech Art, and Audio team, each with their own Producer, and an Executive Producer at the helm, with several project managers assisting underneath him

Documenting For A Studio

This was my first time managing a major GDD. Since we only met weekly, having a clear, centralized reference for all departments was crucial to prevent information bottlenecks. Given that this was a studio-wide document, one of my core principles was to make sure everything in this document was detailed, neat, and descriptive, using references, flowcharts, and images to help the understanding of every department

Tools & Workflows

Throughout the project, our team used Jira for project management, iterating on our system until we landed on our current method, where design team creates the initial tasks, then adds them into the GDD to mark them as ready for review, which is then followed by programming, playtesting, and art/audio. Producers work together to plan sprints and we have weekly meetings & scrum forms for all studio assignees to have a clear flow of information

Foundation

One month before Game Studio Program began, Producers and PMs laid the foundation for our game's design, art, and narrative. Our Executive Producer conceived a roguelike where players build a persistent world one tile at a time, battling waves of enemies that get progressively bigger as the world-size increases. I filled in design gaps, created challenges for my future designers to solve, and developed starter concepts including player abilities and enemy types for us to start implementing.

Learning How To Lead

The biggest takeaway was learning to produce, lead, delegate, and build trust with my team. With limited production experience and suddenly managing 20+ people, I faced plenty of challenges. I constantly iterated on team structure—how do you split design work among so many people while keeping everyone communicating and seeing the big picture? Initially, I shouldered too much responsibility, letting my team create general ideas that I'd later refine and format for the GDD myself, which I later realized hurt my team far more than help itI spread myself too thin across task management, reviewing work, GDD maintenance, and juggling everything with school, and I couldn't provide proper individualized feedback, which limited people's ability to iterate. This led to an understanding that I needed to delegate more significant responsibility. Eventually, I split the team into smaller groups with dedicated leads responsible for specific parts of the game. This freed me to focus on management and feedback, while giving my team greater ownership of their work and allowed them to take a more active role in planning with other departments.

Power On your old "Decay & Watch" system to blast through a horde of decaying zombies and get a high score!

★ Won "Audience Choice" award at NYU Game Center's Global Game Jam 2025• Aimed to showcase my growth from last year's Joke's On You!, designing another social game based off those found in "Jackbox Party Pack"• Led technical development and design iterations while managing jam team members

Power On your old "Decay & Watch" system to blast through a horde of decaying zombies and get a high score!

• Worked with a friend to create my first game in an isometric perspective• Created a herding-system based off bird-flocking behaviors• Worked through a variety of sprite-layering issues for an isometric perspective

Concepting

During our brainstorming session, we grew attached to an image in our heads of a boring, black and white world overcome by the power of dance that spreads across the globe. We aimed for simple herding mechanics focused on crowd control and avoiding hazards, with my friend taking a lead on the design and art while I acted as the sole programmer

Bird-Flocking

Programming was mostly familiar, except for the crowd mechanics. I wanted them to move as a unit while keeping individual behaviors. Simple approaches failed, so I studied bird flocking algorithms and similar solutions. Once that was fine-tuned, the remaining challenge was creating consistent isometric perspective with proper layering across all objects. It's still imperfect in some areas, but adjusting pivot points solved most issues.

A nonprofit organization dedicated to aiding students like me in preparing for the games industry. It has been instrumental in my growth in hard skills related to development and soft skills related to teamwork & leadership.I am currently the Design Producer for this year's Studio Aspen Project, which is a mock-AAA studio currently involving roughly 80 membersThis section is focused on my Game Studio Program experience, related is my experience as an EGD Staff Member

• Worked on game jams and projects with a range of team sizes, from indie-like teams of 4-8 members to larger long term projects with 40-80 team members• Gained experience in leading roles and junior roles in many disciplines, including design, programming, production, art, and audio• Attended numerous lectures, workshops, & networking events to better understand game development and it’s industry• Showcased my projects at several EGD events

Exploration Program

The EXP Program is designed for first-year students to better understand what they want out of the games industry. EXP students were placed into small groups of four, where we worked together over a year to complete various games, letting us better grasp the game development process. We developed several tiny projects in our first semester, followed by our larger project, Refold, for our second semester, which later won "Best GSP Game" for the program for that school year.

Aspen Design Producer

This year's Aspen team has roughly 80 members, making it one of the largest the program has had up to this point. For this year’s project Dreamscape, I was selected as the Design Producer, where I’m leading a team of roughly 20 students to design the project. Through this, I’ve gained invaluable experience in design, project management, teamwork, leadership, and project documentation

Aspen Designer/Programmer

For my second year at the program, I joined "Studio Aspen," EGD's mock-AAA studio where roughly fifty of the program's students must work together to make a game over the school year. The program is split up into a Design, Programming, Art, and Audio team, each with their own leads, and an Executive Producer at the helm. This year I was part of both the Design and Programming team working on Striking Hell.

Game Jams

I’ve worked on several game jams through this program, including Sling Bee, Opossum Ops, Chick Chase, Against The Tide!, Pick Yourself Up!, and Decay & Watch.For Global Game Jam 2024 my team developed Joke's On You! which went on to win the "Best Use of Theme" award at the NYU Game Center. For Global Game Jam 2025 my team developed Fill in the Blank! which went on to win the "Audience Choice" award at the NYU Game Center.

A nonprofit organization dedicated to preparing students for the games industry. I am currently volunteering as part of the program's staffI am currently the Special Programs Coordinator & Academic Advisor for the program, planning and managing external events alongside offering academic guidance to studentsThis section is focused on my staff experience, related is my experience in their Game Studio Program

• Was the Hospitality Lead for our yearly gaming convention (Waffle Games 7.0), which involved training & managing our Registration, Facilities, and Catering teams.• Managing EGD’s GDC presence, planning and executing our yearly Student Meet Up and Tourism Day• Academic Advisor for Game Studio Program, keeping students on track to graduate and succeed in their desired discipline• Facilitating partnerships with external organizations, planning and executing one-off events

Waffle Games 7.0 Hospitality Lead

Waffle Games is EGD's yearly public games convention, featuring exhibitors, speakers, an open games library, free waffles, and more! I was selected to be the Hospitality Lead for the event, which involved managing, training, and assisting our Registration, Facilities, and Catering teams. I also aided in the procurement of guest speakers and exhibitors and helped ensure all hospitality tasks were completed as expected.

Special Programs Coordinator & Academic Advisor

Currently serving as Special Programs Coordinator & Academic Advisor for the organization. This position has me coordinate and manage one-time collaborations with external partners alongside our presence at GDC. I also serve as an academic advisor for those in our GSP program, where I track the classes and credits taken by my assigned students, offer guidance, and ensure they are on track to graduate.