Esophaguys is a multiplayer party game about old folks with long necks. Developed in Unity, it began as a student project during my final year at Sheridan College in the Bachelor of Game Design Degree. The game won the Level Up Student Game Showcase 2022, the largest student game showcase in Canada. It is in the process of being expanded, polished, and published for online distribution.
I am responsible for the following:
Game Design - original concept and gameplay design
Production - team management and scheduling
Animation - character animations
Audio - music and sound effects
Please view the official website to learn more and see the latest updates on the game:
Game Design
Esophaguys was slowly formulating for years in my head. The earliest depiction of an Esophaguy dates back to my high school art class. One day in college, during a game production class, I pitched a game concept to my professor and peers. Once the design was on paper, it just needed executed.
The game is a culmination of passion projects and an homage to the type of games l was brought up with - Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee, Castle Crashers, Eggmania. It is silly, easy to play, and hard to master. It is best enjoyed with a small group of friends.
Mechanically, I was inspired by Heave Ho, Gang Beasts, and the like. These games really capture the spirit of difficult-to-control-physicsy-fun. The character controller is the core mechanic in these games. It is the same in Esophaguys. Putting the player in different scenarios and environments brings the fun out of the unique character controller.
Producer
As producer, I gained valuable insight in team management and project planning. I facilitated discussions among team members, resolved conflicts, and directed the team in the game's vision. Creating and maintaining schedules, granted me understanding of the inconsistencies of the game development pipeline.
People skills are of utmost importance in this role, and I learned how to help different teammates with different issues. Some people respond well to a certain stimulus, while others require a another method. By maintaining group cohesion and a positive team spirit, I helped everyone give their best to the project.
Sample Gantt Chart used for Esophaguys:
Sound Designer
As sound designer, I created and implemented all of the audio in the game. During this process, I became acquainted with the entire game audio pipeline, from recording, mixing, and editing to scripting and implementing in Unity.
Esophaguys features a unique soundscape, one composed entirely of mouth noises and a single instrument, the jews-harp. As a design challenge, I decided on two major limitations:
All audio must be recorded by myself and remain unadulterated
All audio must be produced only with my mouth and a jew's harp
These restrictions pushed my creativity and produced a distinctive sound for our game.
By using FMOD, I was able to create 3D sound effects, based on the players' positions. In addition, sounds are appropriately randomized, so Esophaguys sounds a little different with each play session.
FMOD project:
Artist
As artist and animator, I created character concepts, animations, and provided art direction.
I used by previous knowledge in physical media art and graphic design to create wonky characters that suited our game's main mechanic: stretching your long neck.
By using Spine, I created 2D animations that made the player's movements feel fluid and natural.
Spine Project:
