I made this sketch in two nights, as part of a general quest to find a form of game design which is comfortable enough to be a form of play in itself. As it turns out, Unity makes 3d exploration game creation into just such an activity.
Bill Graner
Organic, Efficient
I just submitted my proposal for Brand New Colony, for the Fox Fellowship. Download it here.
Why ants? While reasearching how to get ahold of some ants as reference pets, I realized just how little I know about them. There are sites–– an entire online world of enthusiasts–– about ant keeping, and I haven’t been a part of it. So why am I pursuing this as a thesis topic?
After all, I have plenty of hobbies and passions of my own which I’ve been involved in for years: social dance, musicianship, coffee, filmmaking, and classic video games. Why not do something stemming from those?
Also, I’ve defined some of the characteristics that have been laced throughout my past work: an acknowledgement of the context of the work, generally featuring a ragtag team of creative friends who follow their dreams and do it “their way” –– so why doesn’t any of that apply? After all, I’m currently working with Vaguely Spectacular, which is a sort of Bad News Bears organization, but I continue to think of my ant project as separate from that. Have I been drawn in by the desire to make a masterpiece, and therefor cast it as the work of an individual? I should likely focus instead on the orchestration of the organization to create the piece, as Jamie did with Spectre, since that’s a central passion of mine as well, it turns out (the art of producing).
So, next design brainstorm: Themes or subjects from my past which could win out over ants. And after that: Organizational structures which could win out over the lone wolf paradigm.
My first stab at an ant walk cycle animation in Maya. :) So far, just the legs.
The HSI Corporation has just completed the alpha release of their revolutionary Human-Seal Interface. Do you have what it takes to strike a deal with the seals?
Suits is a facebook strategy game in which each player is a middle manager for a classic Bond-movie-style evil organization. As a team of managers, you work together to complete a nefarious plot to take over the world, while also stabbing each other in the back in order gain favor over your peers in the organization.
Players conspire to send henchmen on missions throughout the world, with the ultimate goal of placing a deadly laser on the moon while earning the most kudos points with the Boss. Remember, it doesn’t matter who does the work, as long as you get the credit.
A combination of shared and personal mission goals leads to complex strategies. Will you be a team player or a backstabber?
I worked with Sean to design the game system for Suits. It was a challenging and intriguing problem to design a game which is simultaneously cooperative and competitive, allows for asynchronous play, doesn’t penalize the team for individual inaction, and provides an engaging level of strategy while remaining accessible as a Facebook title.
The world map, and your henchmen.
Send your henchmen on nefarious missions.
Suits
2010 (In Production)
Facebook Game
My Title: Game Designer, Producer
Team:
• Lead Designer: Sean Bouchard
• Game Design: Sean Bouchard, Bill Graner
• Producer: Bill Graner
• Software Development: Joey Kohn, Kevin Lee, Rhett Farney,
Brian Valdillez, Josh Martin, Patrick Monroe, Elliot Lee
On a quiet winter night, Joseph Wheeler stares up into the snow and tries to recall the nine moments that shaped his 73 years of life. Travel through Joseph Wheeler’s memory and relive those nine moments, choosing how his life will be remembered.
Game description and images courtesy of www.spectregame.com.
Spectre is a recombinant narrative platformer, a game that tells the story of an individual’s life. The landscape before you is not a physical world, but 73 years’ worth of Joseph’s memory: moments of joy and fear, light and darkness. As you navigate through his specific recollections, similarly themed events will glow bright. If you succeed in these moments of play and follow a glowing path, you will find a theme uniting his experience, and uncover a little more of his fading memory. If not, your nightly story will end in confusion.
With over a hundred memories linked to fifty-two different ending themes, there are many possible narratives to discover in Spectre. Each session of play represents one fifteen-minute summary of Joseph Wheeler’s past, one piece of a life-long puzzle. Different stories will highlight different facets of his experience and personality, leaving the player with a compelling, if never entirely complete, impression of the man, his place in the world, and what he sees when he stares upwards into the endlessly falling snow.
Encountering the memories of childhood
As the sound designer for Spectre, I created all sound and music for the game, with the notable exception of the theme song/overworld music, which was composed by Jamie Antonisse. I worked closely with Jamie and the artists to develop the unique atmosphere of each minigame vignette. I also directed, recorded, and mixed the voiceover for the game. Spectre was my first sound design project, and I relied on skills I’d acquired as a filmmaker and game designer creating audio for my own projects.
Lost in a book
Spectre
www.spectregame.com
2009
Flash Game
My Title: Sound Designer
Tools Used: Garageband, Pro Tools, Flash, Quicktime Pro
Team: Vaguely Spectacular
Download for PC and Mac
Go ahead, give it a try!
W, A, S, D to move. Q and E to fly up and down. Up and Down arrow keys to deform the landscape near you.
Try making some white peaks and some green grass!
Download for Windows
Download for Mac
-Bill
Yay! Congrats to everyone who showed at IndieCade. It was a blast!
I like to think that my work as audio designer helped to tip us into the “honorable” distinction. ;)
-Bill
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