ButtonMash

Level/Systems Designer

About the game

ButtonMash is a 2D action/puzzle platformer with a core mechanic focused on gaining/losing movement abilities. At the open, the player can only move right, but gains the abilities to jump, move left, shoot, use a grappling hook-like projectile, etc. as they successfully traverse the level.

I joined the project as a level designer after the concept was finalized, so my work primarily focused on building the gameplay spaces. The most important aspect of this was arranging the various power-ups to satisfyingly challenge a player—making sure there were plenty of path options and time with each new ability before getting a chance to gain the next one.

Post-Mortem

The driving force behind this project was, “Let’s build a complete game over the summer and release it before classes start again in the fall.” In that regard, it went pretty well. Because the development was slowed by technical difficulties, we had to cut some things back, but we released a fully-formed game, so I think we met our goal. And from the feedback we’ve gotten, it’s a pretty solid game experience!

In terms of what we could have done differently, we should have foreseen those technical difficulties—trying to use an engine none of us were familiar with (Godot) in hopes of expanding our toolbox—and instead used an engine we were all comfortable with. That would have resulted in less cutting and maybe even allowed us to expand on the initial concept.

Project Information:

Team Role: Level/Systems Designer

Engine: Godot 3 (C++)

Team Size: 6

Project Timeframe: June-August 2021

Team:

Thomas Charlton: Producer

Pat Fagan: Programmer/Systems Designer

Justin Bissonette: Environment Artist

Camden Emery: Character Artist