Passing the test!

I often get requests for asipring designers for examples of game design documentation. While there are some shown in Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design, there are many many more than I have created over the years. I have decided to post several of my game designs. Hopefully they will inspire and (or at least) amuse you. But rather than start with a design from a completed game, I'll start with one that got me a job instead.

A design test is where a team asks a designer to create an example of gameplay based on a set of criteria. There is usually a descriptive portion and a "draw what you mean" portion of the design test.

This test was from 2003 when Sony Santa Monica was interviewing me for a designer position on a little game called "God of War." They were looking for someone who could create boss fights and this is what I came up with: "Occulus, the sewer horror!" You can see why they hired me as it bears resemblance to a certain multi-headed boss I later designed for the game! Sometimes things are meant to be!

Two great things that taste great together!

One of the first handheld games I ever owned was the Nintendo Donkey Kong Game N' Watch a friend of mine brought back for me from Japan. I loved that thing and sadly had to sell it while in college for some rent money. SIGH.

Years later, I designed the hydra boss fight for the original God of War - It's a pretty well-loved level and pretty damn hard, but had some great visuals (Par for the course with the talented GoW team)

How do these two topics go together? Behold!

The mad geniuses at Swing Swing Submarine created Greek and Wicked - a mash-up of Old Skool tech and New School cool... and it is glorious!!

By the way, have you ever wondered what inspired the "Kratos in the jaws of the Hydra" sequence? Well, wonder no more.