Bamboo Bunch is a free-to-play MMO project started by Benxing Entertainment circa 2008, long before I started working for them. The game itself never made it out of the beta phase. However, some time after Hard-A-Port, the company began an open-ended reboot of the franchise, in the form of a mobile app or a series of mobile apps.
Thus began the arduous but quite enjoyable process of prototyping several game mechanics. As a small team of five developers, we would start in an over-the-shoulder exploration and hide-and-seek concept and gradually move toward a compartmentalized experience, consisting of infinite runner-style gameplay and that of a top-down puzzle solver. I was placed in charge of the top-down puzzle solving prototype, which was named Room Escape.
Thus began the arduous but quite enjoyable process of prototyping several game mechanics. As a small team of five developers, we would start in an over-the-shoulder exploration and hide-and-seek concept and gradually move toward a compartmentalized experience, consisting of infinite runner-style gameplay and that of a top-down puzzle solver. I was placed in charge of the top-down puzzle solving prototype, which was named Room Escape.
The plan was to create a large series of levels within four different environments, in which the player would have to solve spacial, Rube Goldberg-esque puzzles driven by "Control Panels" -- hubs at which the player would answer a simple quiz question to advance.
I wore several hats in the design and development of Room Escape. I designed several levels and puzzles that scaled properly in difficulty, create stage art assets where they may have been lacking, and design and implement the quiz UI mechanic.
I wore several hats in the design and development of Room Escape. I designed several levels and puzzles that scaled properly in difficulty, create stage art assets where they may have been lacking, and design and implement the quiz UI mechanic.
While Bamboo Bunch: Room Escape was never actually shipped to the App Store, I managed to learn a great deal about not only working with Unity, but about agile prototyping and development processes as well.