Don't be Squared
At the end of 2014, I joined SuperHippo (also known as Nutaku Publishing at the time) as a Game Designer. After working primarily on level design at Atypical Games, this was an opportunity to take on a broader range of responsibilities and become more involved in the overall game development process.
One of the first projects I worked on was Don't Be Squared, a colorful runner game that was already in development when I joined the team.
My responsibilities included supporting the development team with their ongoing tasks, following the main design direction of the project, and creating new levels. Since the game was already taking shape, I had to familiarize myself with its existing mechanics and design decisions rather than starting from scratch.
This was an interesting change from my previous experience. I was still working directly with gameplay, but I was also becoming more involved in how different parts of a game fit together. It wasn't just about creating individual levels anymore. I had to consider how those levels worked within the broader gameplay experience and how the design decisions made by the team influenced the final product.
One of the things I appreciated most about working on Don't Be Squared was the team. I had the opportunity to work alongside some great people, and I learned a lot from them about the different stages involved in bringing a game from development to release.
Until then, much of my experience had come from modding, personal projects, and the level design work I had done at Atypical Games. At SuperHippo, I started getting a broader understanding of how a game progresses toward publication and how the different disciplines involved in its development need to work together.
Another important part of this experience was learning more about game economy.
As a Game Designer, I began to understand how a game's economy is created and controlled through its gameplay. The way players earn and spend resources, the rewards they receive, and the progression they experience are all connected to design decisions that influence how the game feels and plays.
This was a particularly interesting area for me because it introduced another layer of thinking about game design. Mechanics and levels were still important, but I was beginning to see how progression and economic systems could influence the overall player experience.
Marketing & User Acquisition
Another interesting experience I had with Don't Be Squared was getting involved in the game's marketing and user acquisition efforts.Although I was working as a Game Designer, I also had the opportunity to communicate directly with advertising networks and publishers, negotiating Cost Per Install (CPI) rates for promoting the game.
It was quite a different experience from designing gameplay mechanics and levels. I was now getting involved in the commercial side of mobile gaming, where bringing players into a game comes with a cost, and understanding that cost is an important part of making the product successful.I enjoyed the opportunity to explore this side of the industry. It gave me a better understanding of how game development, publishing, and marketing connect, and how decisions made outside the development team can influence a game's performance.
Looking back
Looking back, Don't Be Squared was an important project in my transition from Level Designer to Game Designer. It allowed me to work more closely with other disciplines, understand more of the development and publishing process, and explore aspects of game design that would become increasingly important in my later work.
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