This semester I am happy to join Accidentally Games for the Production 3 class as the User Experience programmer. We are building a unique first person shooter that mimics the style of film noir. It is entirely in black and white which makes for a striking experience, but can be a little disorienting for new players, and new developers. 

The Game Studio Capstone at Champlain College is a rigorous two semester process. First teams of 4 to 6 develop a game for one semester. Teams can either choose to be competitive or exploratory. Competitive teams attempt to move onto a second semester of development with a larger team. My team, Legal Bootleggers, chose to be explority. Without the pressure of competing for a slot in the second semester we were able to spend more time building an innovative web based platform. 

I was in the privileged position of being on a team last semester that was planning on being one semester only. Unlike other devs, who were devastated to see their games cut, I knew from the beginning that I would ultimately be moving on from Legal Bootleggers. I think that knowledge allowed me to commit more fully to my new team as I’m not grieving broken dreams. 

When I saw Scorch’s presentation I instantly knew I wanted to be a part of what they were doing. Their presentation was captivating with striking visuals and flawless voiceover. Scorch demanded my attention!

The recruiting process for production 3 can be quite stressful. The first phase, which lasts a week, involves direct recruitment. Each team can recruit a certain number of students who are guaranteed to be on their team. In the second phase, remaining students are placed on teams through a draft. I was nervous about being in the open draft since that meant I would have no say in which team I was placed on. When scorch offered me a guaranteed slot I jumped at the opportunity. 

I wanted to be the Network Programmer on Scorch, but they decided to go in a single player direction, so I decided I wanted to stay with them anyway and work on UX instead. I was the UX programmer on Blackout and found that working closely with QA and art is a niche that I find fun and rewarding. I think as a programmer, it can be easy to get lost in the weeds and forget what really matters: the player. If your user is disoriented, confused or just bored it doesn’t matter how beautiful your architecture is. 

I am excited to spend a semester as a member of the wonderful Accidentally Games. 

Please check out our Itch.Io page where you can sign up as a tester