The Draft
Project Details
Team Size: 20
Engine: Unreal
Languages: Blueprint, C++
Hardware: HTC Vive
Roles: Project Lead, Level Design
The Draft is a virtual reality fighting game that combines top down squad tactics with first person melee combat. In it, players play as both a strategist, commanding units from above, and soldiers, fighting pitched battles sword to sword. The game was created as a capstone project for my masters program.
My Duties:
Lead a team of mixed disciplines in creating a new gaming experience on cutting edge technology.
Design and build all in-game play spaces and tutorialization.
Handle all pitch meetings, investor updates, and financial balancing for the team (all simulated by professors).
Find a way to make sword combat “feel real” in virtual reality.
Project Leadership:
My administrative work as project lead included:
Running our regular meetings and stand ups
Aligning the goals and work of design, art, and programming
Planning long term schedules and milestones in Jira
Creating the demo presentations that would earn us funding to continue our project
Maintaining the morale of the team
I have been told I really shined in the areas of presentation and morale.
According to one professor, an industry veteran from EA, I have "an incredible ability to listen to even the most idiotic or inane criticism, honestly consider it, and convey that interest back to the speaker." Additionally, I was consistently complimented on my ability to convey information succinctly while maintaining the interest and attention of the audience.
A different industry veteran, a one-time head of Iron Galaxy Orlando, commented similarly about my final capstone presentation. He said I managed to explain the challenges of designing for VR so successfully that he learned new techniques by watching it. He also mentioned that current industry professionals, watching the live stream of the presentation, had made similar comments on the stream feed.