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CHYMA AND THE TOLL OF TIME
ROLES
Lead Mechanics Designer, Level Designer,
UI Designer, Testing Liaison
DESCRIPTION
Chyma and the Toll of Time is a 3D Puzzle game based around recording player movement to be in two places at once.
MECHANICS DESIGN
As lead level designer for Chyma, I had three major roles. The first was ensuring the quality of each of our game's puzzle elements and making sure they serve to either enhance or subvert our core mechanic, the Rungback(which allows Chyma to record and playback his movement).
My second responsibility was making sure that each of these mechanics, and their corresponding UI, were thoroughly documented so that they could be easily utilized by both programmers and artists. My main goal when creating documentation was to include as much relevant technical information as possible for programmers while also presenting a clear visual direction.
Finally, I oversaw level designers by making sure that each mechanic was utilized properly within levels, and that all of their effects were tutorialized over the course of the game.
Being lead mechanics designer really helped me to develop my design skills, as well as communicating with other disciplines in person and through documentation.
LEVEL DESIGN
The Level Design process for Chyma was really fun. I got to design 9 puzzle box levels that ended up in the final version of the game, as well as designing countless more that didn't make the final cut. Throughout this process, my fellow designers and I kept thorough documentation of our level design process so that we could compare notes and work toward a fulfilling level progression.
One of my proudest accomplishments was designing a level called Maze Prophet. Early in development, I designed this level with the intention of subverting our Sandstone Platform mechanic by adding filling the level with them to make players have to use them in ways they wouldn't normally. This concept ended up too visually busy and had to be scrapped for the final version.
I knew the concept for this level had promise though, so I iterated on it. The level eventually turned into a platform challenge that utilized the Sandstone Platforms in a unique way that fit well in the overall level progression. This project taught me a lot creating level designs that are cohesive with the game as a whole.
