Wildermyth is an  tactical RPG currently in development by indie company Worldwalker Games. The two visiting speakers, Nate and Annie, are the lead programmer and lead art director, respectively. They have built the game from the ground up, down to the physics engine, because Unity just wasn’t cutting it. I learned a lot from their insights on how to get in the industry, and how challenging, yet rewarding creating a game from nothing is.

This semester has been both interesting and stressful. I helped create games for an actual company, who sought out the university’s Senior Production class to develop minigames for the educational mobile app they are in the midst of creating. As a Senior,  I did not quite think that this class would help me very much, but I did have a few insightful moments with the visits from the guest speakers, especially those in the games industry. It was good to meet with them and speak to someone face to face had experience in the industry, and had tips about how one could go about getting a job in the market. This class was relaxing  and it was great to see works and hear the processes of real people in the workforce, and how they succeeded after graduation, and it was even more useful with the interaction with these people.

Developed by indie company Playdead, Limbo is a 2-D puzzle-platform game. In this game an unnamed young child must navigate a hostile environment rigged with traps, and teeming with monsters in order to find his sister. The game is a well thought out minimalist style, including everything from the art to the controls. A black and white world confronts the boy, and the player has to navigate the eerie, dangerous world without any tutorial text or voice, only able to jump, grab, and run. It accomplishes the goal set by game director Arnt Jensen, who wanted to move away from the corporate style of AAA games,  and create something much more artistic and subjective. Playing through the game evoke many emotions, and a great empathy for the boy struggling and clawing to find his missing sister.

Five Year Plan