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Game Maker Portfolio

Lukas Isaksson

  • LinkedIn – Professional experience and network.
  • GitHub – View my code and development projects.
  • Itch.io – Explore my personal game prototypes and releases.

Gravity Shift

Project Overview

I created this game as a work-test for Fancade. It was built in their app using a visual scripting language and completed within a week. [Play it here].

Design Goals and Limitations

  • Implement a gravity-shifting mechanic.
  • Deadline 1 week.

Key Decisions

Initially, gravity shifting was one-directional to simplify inputs, but playtesting revealed players expected bidirectional control. Adapting to this feedback improved clarity and usability. Kept it simple and easy to navigate with a side-facing orthographic camera.

Core Mechanics

  • Gravity-shifting gameplay: Players navigate levels by changing gravity across two axes.
  • Spikes: Prevent landing in specific areas, adding challenge to level design.
  • Falling blocks: Heavy blocks that move with gravity, requiring strategic positioning.
  • Breakable blocks: Shatter with sufficient impact, emphasizing the gravity mechanic.

Sokoban VR

Project Overview

This was a 3-month team project to develop a Sokoban-inspired VR puzzle game. I worked as the team lead and was responsible for coordinating tasks, designing core systems, and implementing gameplay mechanics.

My Contributions

  • Team Lead: Organized workloads, ensured smooth communication, and kept the project on track.
  • System Design & Programming: Designed and implemented game mechanics and systems using C#.
  • Visual Effects: Created and optimized shaders and VFX using Shader Graph to enhance the VR experience.

Design Focus

  • Core Goal: Translate classic Sokoban mechanics into an immersive VR experience, emphasizing intuitive controls and spatial awareness.
  • Challenges: Balancing VR interaction complexity while keeping puzzles engaging.
  • Decisions: Simplified controls to avoid motion sickness, optimized shaders for smooth performance, and ensured clear visual feedback to guide player actions.

Mini Game Design

Design Goals and Limitations

  • No timers or stressful mechanics; maintain a wholesome, relaxing atmosphere.
  • Complement the theme of caring for creatures and crafting remedies.
  • Serve as an alternative to the common fishing minigame.

Concept and Rationale

Fishing felt out of place, so I explored a minigame tied to flowers and plants, aligning with the game's crafting mechanics. I wanted something cathartic and satisfying without frustration, so I brainstormed alternatives to match-3 puzzles and landed on a sorting mechanic.

Mechanics

Players sort flower petals by hue, progressing through three stages: unsorted, partially sorted, and fully sorted. The activity provides resources for crafting medicines or completing quests while reinforcing the calming gameplay experience.

Bloomblebee

Project Overview

Bloomblebee is a solo project created in Unity over five weeks, focusing on exploration and relaxation.

Goals and Limitations

  • Built with Unity in 3D.
  • Clear start, finish, win/lose state.
  • Relaxing and intuitive gameplay with clear guidance.

Key Design Decisions

Initially planned as a space shooter, the concept shifted after learning about the "tend and befriend" response. The game became about a bumblebee exploring a forest to collect nectar, prioritizing relaxation over combat or time pressure.

  • Removed enemies and timers to align with a calm, exploratory tone.
  • Focused on level design and atmosphere, using unique "rooms" and flower placement to guide players naturally.
  • Opted for ambient nature sounds instead of music for a relaxing environment.
  • Included an optional tutorial to teach mechanics without hindering experienced players.

Core Mechanics

  • Players control a bumblebee in a 3D forest with keyboard/mouse or gamepad.
  • Objective: Explore, collect nectar from flowers, and uncover secret areas with rare nectar.
  • Scoring: Players are shown their nectar count and the total available at the level's end.

Unreleased Project at Plucky Bytes

Project Overview

I worked as a game designer at Plucky Bytes for a short-term project before the studio was closed by its parent company. While the project remains confidential, I can share insights into my role:

My Contributions

  • Collaborated with the lead game designer to design and prototype a distraction mechanic to achieve a specific player dynamic.
  • Gained experience working with an extended version of the Godot game engine.

Content and Level Design at Fancade

During my time at Fancade, I worked on content creation and level design for several projects. While I’m uncertain whether my contributions made it into the final releases, I was involved in prototyping and exploring new ideas for gameplay and levels.

Drive Mad

  • Created and blocked out new levels that followed the established design sensibilities.
  • Developed voxel-level art to match the game's visual style.
  • Experimented with new mechanics and gameplay ideas to enhance the experience.

Snek Left

  • Designed and implemented new levels to add variety and challenge.
  • Prototyped potential new gameplay mechanics for the core gameplay.

DinoBros

  • Designed puzzle levels that introduced core mechanics to players in a gradual, intuitive way.
  • Created progressively challenging puzzles to encourage players to apply learned mechanics and engage with the game's deeper systems.

Upphovspersoner:

Skapad med en bild av moreidea - "Colorful burning clouds in heaven and birds flaying"

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