Trials of Midnight | Courtney Manbeck's Portfolio

Development Info

• Role: Design Lead and Programmer
• Company: MassDiGI
• Tools Used: Unity, Visual Studio Code, Microsoft Excel, Plastic SCM
• Duration: May—August 2021
• Team Size: 6

Project Info

• Genre: Strategy
• Platform: Android, iOS
• Project Status: Launched

Links

Website
App Store
Google Play
Design Bible

Game Description

In this board-based deckbuilder roguelike, take on the role of Midnight, a lost nightmare trying to escape a child's dream world. With nightmare minions at your disposal, battle your way through legions of dream protectors!

The goal of every level is to defeat all dream enemies on the board. Recruit nightmare minions at the cost of your own life points, or sacrifice them to gain health back. Defeat is to be expected, but with each loss, you'll gain more powerful minions to help you progress further on your next attempt.

Contributions

Decided on the core gameplay loop as the game design lead
Communicated with teammates on both the art and programming teams to ensure our vision was united and achievable
Used spreadsheets and exponential equations to calculate stats such as entity attack and health, the player's level-up rate, and the difficultly curve as the player progresses through dungeons
Programmed essential features, including random dungeon generation, enemy and minion spawn patterns, player experience and leveling up, and the save system
Documented a design bible so that people unfamiliar with the project can understand why the game was designed the way it was
Organized and led playtesting sessions with volunteer players from outside the company

What I Learned

Since we were making a strategy game, the design process could be complicated. We needed to make sure that players could win with multiple strategies while ensuring that no single strategy was overpowered. Ultimately, I feel that the game's design was successful in that aspect—after the game was released, players would debate over what the best strategy was, and each person's playstyle was capable of victory. I also learned what the game development process was like for artists and programmers alike. Teamwork and communication was vital to the success of the game.

Key Learnings:

A game developer needs to analyze other games on the market and understand the nitty-gritty of what makes them successful. I learned that strategy games need to teach the game to the player in an intelligent way, or else the player can quickly become confused by all the rules. Studying other mobile games taught me how developers can get their players invested in their game, which is vital to success in an oversaturated market.
Consider how different players will approach the game. While playing Trials of Midnight, some players swore that defensive minions were the key to victory, while others disregarded them as completely useless. Different players will choose different strategies, and my aim as a designer was to give players agency to decide for themselves how they liked to play. Listening to players' opinions pushed me to think beyond my own perspective.
Communication and team organization are paramount. From the start, our team had an ambitious vision. It was important that we established that all of us were willing to work to achieve this vision. We were honest with each other about what we believed we could accomplish, and we felt comfortable giving each other feedback. Daily check-ins, weekly goals, and an organized kanban board ensured that all teammates stayed on track.