Lead Game Designer

Overview

A totally real, totally non-canon, official Overwatch dating sim hosted by Cupid Hanzo! Developed by Psyop, written and published by Blizzard Entertainment.

My Role

I was brought back by Psyop to work with Blizzard on their own dating sim, Loverwatch. However, this time I was in a lead design position and had a lot more responsibility than I did on my previous dating sim endevour. I took care of all narrative and system implimentation using a script based Unity extension. I also handled much of the art integration while I led a small team of artists, animators, and engineers as we built the project from scratch.

Narrative Implementation

The narrative implementation process was a bit different this time around. Instead of assembling the narrative on Miro, I was given a first draft of the script that Blizzard wrote via Twine. I would then take the information presented (branching paths, dialogue, narration) and write it into the Unity script directly.

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I would meet with the Blizzard narrative team at least once a week to go over feedback I had, or changes they wanted me to make. Based on these sessions they would update the Twine file while I integrated the new drafts into the script.

I reprised my role for Hooked on You when it came to art implementation, but from a more directorial position. I still personally blocked out all character expressions, poses, and moods to capture the emotions of the characters. Since I already had a lot of work on my plate, I had to delegate large swaths of art implementation to my team. I created a google sheet that outlined each scene's line by line script and had dropdown tabs identifying where certain art should be implemented. This way I could be assisted by my team and still decide where things like emotes, moods, and asset pop-ins should appear.

ASSET IMPLIMENTATION SHEET EXAMPLE:

My main goal as a Lead Designer was to make sure the project stayed loyal to the narrative team's creative vision. I delegated work responsibly, while still allowing team members to have as much agency as possible.

Scripting

I had to write the scripts for each scene of Loverwatch from scratch using a Unity extension built for visual novels. I integrated an affinity point variable system that determined different endings for the game. I also wrote the code that determined story pathing and scene transitions. The biggest chunk of scripting work I had to do was translating all the narrative from Blizzards Twine drafts into Unity.

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