Genre:Action Platforming Shooter
Platform:PSP Wii
Role:Level Artist, Level Designer & Visual FX Artist (PSP) Lead Designer (Wii)
Summary
Death Jr: Root of Evil was a large part of my life for several years. Initially I started at Backbone to be the “Particle Guy”. From there I took on the task of building one of the primary levels for the game, “The World of Waffles”. It was a psychedelic level with human sized pinball machine, gigantic ball pits, and of course wally waffles. At one point you shrink down to travel through a kitchen as the size of a small mouse. It was probably the most fun I had building worlds in 3D and earned me several notable quotes across the spectrum of reviews. Working with one of the Level Designers I fell in love with the process of creating playable spaces. When an opportunity arose to move into the Design Team I jumped at it. From there I discovered a love for all aspects of play. My passion for Death Jr. was reignited when we had the opportunity to revisit DJ2 for a Wii Special Edition. Now a year later, I was placed in charge of the design team where we took a total audit of every level and looked for ways to improve the flow of the game. We added a new collection system that allowed the players to collect parts to upgrade their characters, and gave the players in level goals. We returned the way enemies attacked, as we had added Wii Motion controls to aiming, necessitating the enemies being more proactive.