Snow Trouble


Controller Scheme
Game Design | Programming | Project Management
A team-based snowman-building party game created over a
4 day period and randomly assigned groups.
Players connect their phones to the network for use as controller (D-Pad and single button).
Press button to spawn a snowball. Roll the ball on snowy terrain and stack to create a snowman.
Score points for your team by making snowmen and add carrot and tophat decorations.
Made with Unity and Happy Fun Times Plugin.
Design Process
Snow Trouble was conceived during Sheridan's design week challenge
(a program-wide jam with randomized teams across all years). In a team of 12,
we first conceived a physical game with 4 core ideas:
Tagging, Set Locations, Roles, Mobility / Immobility
We were then split into teams of 4 to create a digital game interpreting these ideas.

Physical
playtesting!
Conception
We developed the idea of creating a freeze-tag style game, translating
mobility and immobility within a digital context. We used the pun
"role" vs "roll" to create a flexible core verb.
In a team-based environment, we wanted players to use the same
mechanic in differently. Within a strategic context, players could thus
roll the snowball to score points, or launch snowballs
and operate in a more aggressive role.
Over the course of the week, I learned how to used the Happy Fun Time
plugin by doing research and experimenting in Unity. During the 3rd day,
I compiled each members' code to create a cohesive game loop.
We playtested throughout the week, iterating on our physics, level design
and game feel to create an engaging play experience.

The original level design.

An early
iteration.
Development
Snow Trouble was well-received during our playtests with
other students. As intended, players were able to
adapt different playstyles based on their preferences.
Design experts from outside Sheridan chose to shortlist the game
after reviewing the games resulting from design week.
Result
Snow Trouble was a very successful project due to lessons I learned
through previous projects and the time management learned from early
design week challenges.
In turn, having defined design prompts and being persona-oriented
from the onset of the project helped create us design and polish appropriately.
While we definitely needed more than 4 days to fix bugs and refine other
design aspects of the game, this was an overall great design experience,
highlighting the importance of short but engaging game loops and
flexible verbs and systems.
Design Lessons

A screenshot from the our final iteration at the end of the week.