Moops!
Platform : iOS
Client : Red Radiant Media
My Role : Design, Programming (Minigames and Frontend)
Description : Critters have overrun the peaceful town of Moopville and the Moops are fleeing their homes! This is your chance to help rid the land of these pests!
Take control of our heroes, Flunk & Dunk (our local pest controllers) as they take to the hills and beyond to rid the land of the critter infestation, from the lush green plateaus of Meadow Canyon to the vibrant metropolis of Barrel City, explore a full 3D world and help the Moops inhabitants along the way.
Turn Flunk & Dunk into the heroes of Moopville by squishing, catching, trapping and popping the pesky Critters in an all out extravaganza of fun! Along the way, collect Mooty, uncover secret items, as the Critter infestation grows all around you and the mystery of their origin is uncovered.
- Beautiful 3D cartoon world
- over 18 levels to explore
- 5 Mini-games to play
- Play as brave boy Moops or feisty girl Moops
- Amazing soundtracks and audio effects
- Earn in-game currency to spend on cool stuff
- 8 fantastic whackers and 11 fancy dress costumes
- Achievements and leaderboards
App store link : Moops
Inspiration for a game design can come from anywhere. And it’s always best when it doesn’t come from… another game. This particular concept is inspired by perhaps one of the most brief yet well known exchanges from Father Ted, in which Ted attempts to explain the nature of depth perception to Dougal using a pair of toy cows.
“These cows are small, but the ones out there are far away…”
I love the fact that in so few words, less than 10 seconds, the viewer has been given enough information to fill in as many blanks as they like to compound humour. Because, undeniably, there is a bizarre shred of logic behind Dougal’s confusion.
With that sketch in mind, I’m sure many of you will get the gist of this concept long before the magic happens. Here’s a compilation video of demonstrations and set pieces. Enjoy!
Small Far Concept Sketch from Chicknstu on Vimeo.
I come up with a lot of concepts, most of which get left abandoned and unfinished on my hard drive. This one, I’m particularly happy with, but I’m still trying to make up my mind if there’s much mileage in the idea. Is it just an interactive optical illusion, or is there more to explore? This is why I’m sharing it with everyone. If you have any suggestions or thoughts for further directions, I’d love to hear them.
Thanks for watching. Please share if it makes you smile.
Stu xxx
Freewheelin’
Platform : iOS and Android
Company : Arnold Clark / Chunk Games
My Role : Game Design, Level Design, Programming
Description : Part of the ‘Arnold Clark Schools Challenge’, which saw thousands of students try their hand at coming up with a game concept for mobile platforms. The entrants were whittled down from their thousands to a top ten, which were then voted for by the public, and then we turned the winning game into a reality!
Stay on the twisting, hurdling, tricky track for as long as you can, pick up boosters and pump up your tyre for exra strength, but look out for those nasty Totafaces who’ll stop you in your tracks. Riding the renegade Freewheelin’ tyre is just like a metaphor for life…
…sort of.
Show off with stunts and tricks for extra points and kudos, leap the gaps, cut the corners and roll your way into the big leagues with this addictive adrenaline-pumping roller-coaster.
App store link : Free
Android Version : Free
Sticky Sheep
Platform : iOS
My Role : Game Design, Level Design, Programming
Company : Chunk Games
Description : These sheep have been baaa-d and refuse to do as the sheepdog tells them, so now it’s time for drastic measures. Don your trusty canine crash helmet and get ready to ram some rams! Sticky Sheep combines the familiar gameplay style of mini-golf, with unique change-ups. Use bumpers, turbo-paths and more to bounce and bash the sheep around each stage to get them to their targets.
Get the sheep on target in each level, it sounds simple but it gets tricky quick! You’ll have to deal with all sorts of sheep and obstacles including black sheep, rams and even volatile radioactive sheep! Round up the sheep across a variety of different worlds, each one increasing the challenge as you go along. Collect all the coins scattered around each stage for maximum points and always be on the look out for ‘extra shot’ tokens.
App store link : Free Version
Scottish Game Jam 2012
I’m still coming down from this weekends Global Game Jam, Glasgow leg (Which is dubbed Scottish Game Jam). I was there last year as a judge. This year, because I wasn’t involved with any of the sponsorship, I could go as a participant.
It’s the same kind of feeling you get after being at a music festival. Lots of people come together and forget that the real world exists just for a few days, united in their love for a culture or scene. In this case, that’s the culture of the game developer, and the love of the craft, creativity and passion videogame creation. An opportunity to try something with no pressure, no need for ‘commercial success’, and a universal positivity that resonates through everyone involved, from the participants, to the industry vets, the media, and even the spectators. It’s hard to get back to normal.
The theme was a picture of a snake eating its tail (Ouroboros) Our game (or emag), which we called Game Over weP weP, was a traditional side scrolling shooter which you ‘un’play backwards. You start dead, you come back to life, travel backwards through a level sucking bullets out of enemies, gaining health and losing points, before arriving safely at the beginning. It’s an insane concept, we knew it wasn’t going to work, but the beauty of the Jam was that we could try it anyway, and take it as far as we could in 48 hours!
It presented more challenges than we’d first anticipated, but the ultimate test was when we took a video of the game and reversed it (so you’d be seeing it forwards). Lo and behold, it looked like a normal game! So we knew we’d achieved what we set out to do.
It actually ended up being shortlisted for a prize in the design category, probably simply for our audacity to try something so unique, regardless of the fact that it made little sense. And that’s the beauty of a jam. You can do this kind of thing, and this is perhaps the only criticism of the Scottish leg of GGJ. Unlike the other legs, it does introduce a competitive element, and this might discourage people from trying some of their more insane concepts in favor of safer ones, fearing it might jeopardize their chances of winning (Not that I’m suggesting for a second that anyone did think like this!).
Needless to say, it’s hard not to return to reality with a loud *thump* when it’s all over! But the experience is something that sticks with you afterwards, you carry it with you, and try and make the real world, and your real life, more like it was for those few days.
Kudos to my lovely team! Same time next year all. x
Link : Global Game Jam Page
Get Billy to London 2012
Platform : Web
My Role : Game Design
Company : Chunk Games
Description : Billy and his sidekick Stan are desperate for tickets to the London Olympics. To get them Billy must pay his own way and learn lessons in earning, saving and sometimes losing cash!
You play Billy. You earn pocket money by taking Stan for a walk, delivering papers, running to the shops and helping with shopping. In Billy’s mind these aren’t mundane tasks though – these are Olympic events! Running to the shops is the 100m sprint, throwing a stick for Stan is the javelin, a paper round is hurdling and carrying shopping bags is weightlifting.
Of course birthday money for Aunt Maureen is going to help too but watch out, there are always unexpected costs in life and all that running’s going to mean new trainers!
Link : Play it online here
Link-Em Bamboo
Platform : PC and Web
My Role : Design, Programming, Art (Except the logo and the Panda!)
Company : Indie
Description :Link-Em Bamboo is a frantic, cute, and addictive puzzle game that’s impossible to put down. Link the bamboo pipes together to score big points, and appease the vicious panda boy. Bigger chains score more, but be careful not to get carried away. You’re under a tight time limit!
The entire game is controlled with the mouse. Click on the Bamboo pipes to rotate them, and form unbroken chains. Bigger chains score bigger points!
Link : Play it online here
