Team Badgers on Bikes
By Rose Briggs (Programmer) and Cooper Bulmash (Lead Artist)
Team Badgers on Bikes bonding in Unity Hall.
What’s that in the sky? It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No… it’s definitely a bird… it is James Bird!!
Going into the home stretch of SIP, team Badgers on Bikes is knee deep in production as we continue to push towards the beta build of our game Drop off Dragon! We are working out kinks, fixing bugs, and finalizing our last levels while we get more and more feedback from playtesters both inside and outside the program. Our game has come a long way in the last couple weeks and we are all incredibly excited to see where it will go in the coming two weeks before release!
One of our keys to keeping our development cycle moving is our team dynamic that thrives on bad jokes. We have a handful of running bits and jokes that have snowballed over the course of the whole internship, developing into the entire soul of the team. We have handled some of the most difficult roadblocks with ease by keeping each other’s spirits high and picking one another up when we stumble. This team dynamic has made the process of production great since giving feedback feels less like criticism of work and more like encouragement to make the piece as good as it possibly can be. Keeping it lighthearted and fun reminds us that this is a creative process and sometimes things need to be reworked.
Many ideas for how things in the game should work have come out of these inside jokes! For example, a joke character we came up with early in development named Skele-Tony came back recently as the collectables scattered around the level. Additionally, we made in universe versions of each team member which later became part of a credits cinematic. Adding both these elements and several of our other jokes to the game has gone a long way in adding soul to the world it takes place in! A family of Jane Wax here, a laughing Jake mirror there, and suddenly there is life and personality to the world and it is more than just an empty platforming challenge.
We are all so lucky to have this opportunity here at MassDiGI and are incredibly proud of the work we have done so far! With our release date rapidly approaching we are very excited to show you all what we have been cooking up with Drop off Dragon!!
Finally, a word from our producer James: “Bird.”
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Team Alley Cats
By Dan Lu (Producer)
“Big Cookie”
Do you hear meowing? Screeching? Sounds of equal joy and despair? If you do, don’t worry about it—that’s just a regular production day for the Alley Cats team, who are working on a puzzle platformer called Licky Thief.
Licky Thief is about a leopard gecko, named Gecky, who breaks into this rich hawk’s mansion to steal back ancestral gecko artifacts. It’s made up of several short levels where you play as Gecky, using your tongue as a grappling hook to bypass several heist-style security measures (spotlights, lasers, cameras, and more).
Gecky is a character we’ve all put our hearts into, and I’m not just saying that as the lead writer. I can see this from the way one of our programmers gushed after implementing a (completely useless yet precious) mechanic that allows Gecky to make a talking motion. The artists are also having lots of fun adding to the worldbuilding, from pouring hours into perfecting a comic cutscene to coming up with fun level props for environmental storytelling.
As the team’s producer, I have had the pleasure of watching our team dynamic evolve from nervously cordial to tight-knit and deeply collaborative. There are fake rivalries that lead to funny banter; a programmer and an artist switched places for half a day, resulting in MS Paint art assets that will live forever in our hearts (though not in our game).
We have a daily icebreaker ritual where we try to ask a new hypothetical question every day, and we try to spend at least one of our three daily breaks playing a game together like Gartic Phone or OpenGuessr. We have so many inside jokes that mundane words like “big” or “small” might send any one of us down a spiral of despair. To many outsiders, we may seem like we have all lost our minds. But that is the beauty of production.
As we enter the final stretch of development, stress levels are definitely mounting. But I feel relieved and very grateful for my team’s cohesion and determination to uplift each other and reach our goals. Unfortunately, one of our team members dropped the (red) ball when he was too scared to order the Big Cookie. It’s okay if you don’t know what that means. You probably don’t want to anyway.
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After a lot of time and effort two past MassDigi Game Challenge winners, GigaSword (2021) and FloraFiora (2016) have finally launched. Please play them!
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If you’re in or around Worcester this summer, come by WPI Unity Hall 235 on July 31 between 4:30p and 8p to check out the limited debut of MELT, an immersive experience realized at WPI this summer in collaboration with MassDigi and Joe Square Art.
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Hamster Ball Blitz a free, fun fighting game, is available for download now on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Dash, roll, and bounce your way to becoming the (c)hampion!
Chester the Hamster needs your help in this year’s (c)Hampionship Games! Silly but strong, he just might have what it’ll take to beat the best fighters in the cage! Come join Chester on his journey through the tournament to become the number one Hampion!
The mobile game was created during the 2024 MassDigi Summer Innovation Program (SIP) by students Liberty Henry from Emerson, Jay Ignatowski from WPI, Austin Hyatt from WPI, Corinne Doucette from Mass. College of Art & Design, Rose Yang from Tufts and Ben Zakharenko from Berklee.
Watch the trailer here and download Hamster Ball Blitz today for iOS and Android!
And, special thanks to WPI IMGD as well as Northeastern, NSF and The Venture Forum.
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No Party in Paradise, a free, fun puzzle game, is available for download now on the Apple App Store and Google Play (coming soon).
Join three little cherubs on a heist through heaven as they attempt to sneak into a hell party! Swipe through a maze of hallways and bushes to shatter vases and collect gems that will fund the entrance fee to the party. Avoid getting caught by the creatures that guard the paths, and utilize different mechanics as you make your way to heaven’s golden gates!
The mobile game was created during the 2024 MassDigi Summer Innovation Program (SIP) by students Emilia Krum from WPI, Austin Szema from Northeastern, Sol Heo from RISD, Lan Kung from Smith, Lara Lewis from Northeastern and Ben Zakharenko from Berklee.
Watch the trailer here and download No Party in Paradise today for iOS and Android (coming soon)!
And, special thanks to WPI IMGD as well as Northeastern, NSF and The Venture Forum.
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Uh Oh, AI! a free, fun match-3 game, is available for download now on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Artie the AI robot is on the verge of flunking out of art school! However, he’s got a clever plan: “borrow” a little inspiration from his talented peers to boost his sinking grades. Help Artie ace his classes by matching tiles and breaking obstacles to scan classmate’s pieces and create AI masterpieces!
NOTE: No art was stolen in the making of this game. We’re not bad, we just draw that way!
The mobile game was created during the 2024 MassDigi Summer Innovation Program (SIP) by students Sean Parks from Rhode Island College, Allie DiGesse from Northeastern, Angie “Raeda” Baird from WPI, Byung Hun Lee from Northeastern, Chonlada DiMascolo from WPI and Ben Zakharenko from Berklee.
Watch the trailer here and download Uh Oh, AI! today for iOS and Android!
And, special thanks to WPI IMGD as well as Northeastern, NSF and The Venture Forum.
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What comes next
By Liberty Henry, Emerson College ’24
On Wednesday of this past week, we had the pleasure of having an showcase at our Boston location. There, we had Northeastern students, professors, and the occasional industry professional, community member or visitor stop by and play our games, alongside the games made from this year’s partner program involving the lovely students from UAE.
Working with such talented and hardworking people for the past few months has been amazing. I don’t think I had anticipated getting as close with everyone in the program as I am, and for that, I will be forever grateful. I’ve loved watching everyone fall into familiar grooves with each other, relationships clicking into place, and even watching our quietest and shyest people open up and blossom. I can’t say for certain how or when we will work together after SIP, but if I ever need an artist who can work under pressure, a programmer who will make me laugh, or a lighthearted musician, I know I have a good cluster of people to choose from.
As we head into the final week of SIP24, we are happy to announce the names of our three games; Leaf’s Hamster Ball Blitz, Oh-Pee-Chee’s Uh Oh, AI!, and Necco’s No Party In Paradise. We are tremendously excited to share our games and wrap up the program.
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Build, playtest, and revise
By Lan Kung, Smith College
We are now on our final stretch as we enter our last few weeks of SIP! It feels as if just yesterday we were in the beginning phases of development and it has been an incredible experience to see our games come together. With most of the features and mechanics implemented, we are now polishing our games and preparing them for the long-awaited publication. All of our teams have been doing an incredible job implementing the tech and art in a cohesive and fun way.
The artists within my own team, Necco, are currently busy refining in-game assets, adding more complex animations, and creating stunning splash arts. Meanwhile, our programmers are tirelessly testing game features (including character movement and an endless mode), fixing bugs, and ensuring the game is compatible on all devices. Despite the tiring work load, seeing everything come so far within the 2 months we’re provided is nothing but rewarding.
Being the Lead Designer for Necco, I have mostly worked on UI/UX Design while developing both my artistic and programming skills. This program has also given me the opportunity to develop soft skills by giving us the environment to practice communicating, giving constructive feedback, and collaborating with a diverse group. Throughout this process, SIP24 has become a tight-knit community of people that support and help each other overcome hurdles with our collective knowledge and skills.
This week SIP was joined by Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science students to playtest our upcoming games. It was a pleasure to see everyone enjoying our games.
If you’re interested in playtesting our games, don’t forget our Demo Night on July 16th in Worcester! All three teams– Necco, Leaf, and O-Pee-Chee – will be present.
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Team dynamics & the art of communication
By Yousuf SH Mohammad, Khalifa University
Imagine the following scenario, your team is discussing a hot topic regarding player mechanics/movement for a video game project. After conducting a brainstorm session, the team generates three mechanical concepts; A, B, and C. Let’s say you really like concept (B). What I have witnessed in the past is one of the following ways, someone would word out their “opinion”:
- Concept (B )is absolutely the way to go, as it fits the game’s Vibe the most.
- Concept (B) is great as it’s realistic of what the player could actually do.
- Concept (B) seems to be the most realistic to apply to the player, for reasons X, Y, and Z.
Notice how the first one uses absolutist language, which makes what they say seem to be a fact rather than a discussable opinion. From what I have witnessed in the past, such behavior kills the mood of discussion and either turns the team aggressive against you if they hate the idea, or simply makes them accept it with low motivation to actually apply the concept into the game. Furthermore, notice how there is no clear reasoning behind the first statement, whatever “fits the game’s vibe the most” means.
As for the second one, it adds an extra layer of depth to the reasoning behind choosing such a concept, but it still lacks the details that would make the team actually engage in a fruitful discussion about what would exactly make them agree/disagree with you. What I mean is, the responses you would receive from your team for if you spat out the second statement, would look like something in the lines of: “but what if we applied concept (C) instead, it too looks reasonable”. Notice how their response is equally unfruitful.
As for the third statement on the viability of concept (B); it should be how someone would word out their suggestions. It has all the elements of reasoning that could spin out a fruitful discussion, in case someone disagreed with your reasoning (X, Y, Z). Also, notice how it has a flavor of “elegance” or “etiquette” by using words such as “seems”, or perhaps you can use something similar such as; “appears to me”.
Going back to my experience with ESIP, my team got into an argument trying to decide the art style of our game. One side suggested a specific style, providing reasons such as ease of implementation, compared to the expected level of detail for a background, for a desert themed, endless running game. The other side proposed a different art style on the basis of influence from previous games they played (so it looks “cool”). Won’t get political, but it turns out that the second suggested style, which our team settled on, wasted two weeks of painful, and slow art development, until we realized our mistake, and switched to the more viable, easier to implement art style. If the pushing party had traced back the logic behind their choice, we would have been in a better place art wise. But we are healing, and going strong!
In conclusion, whether concept (B) is actually the best doesn’t matter if the team doesn’t understand the logic behind the acceptance or rejection of such concept. You would find people passionately pushing for an idea just because it sounds/looks cool, without thinking of the consequences of its application. Furthermore, put in mind the added thought of “working for a purpose”, when your team understands why it’s implementing such feature into the project/game.
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