ENTROPY

"Disorder is inevitable, but we choose to fly, towards beautiful possibilities."

My Role On This Project

Recovering from severe RSI/Carpal Tunnel I took a step back from programming on Entropy and assumed a new role as a full designer and producer.

I guided our small team, keeping us focused on our central goals and ensuring that we got work done quickly in the short 72 hour game jam environment. I also wrote the poetry that appears at the beginning of each level, that expressed the message of our game.

My Game Development Process

I take to heart the idea of iterating rapidly, exploring possible directions of taking the game and constantly testing in order to find the best game. Great games don't come from grand visions of a perfect game that is then implemented to the exact details of a document. It's a struggle, navigating the unknown and searching for bits of light that lead to a stronger game.

This idea guided the development of Entropy. We had the central mechanic of grappling, and a theme/story goal of creating an emotional journey. And from that starting point I guided us towards these goals while exploring our options. I decided not to have abilities for greater elegance, and to keep a stronger connection to our abstract theme. and I kept us focused on making the grappling as fun as possible by giving it extended range and grapple time.

While the world is chaotic, and the end is inevitable, we charge onwards towards a life that is better. There are millions of other complex and diverse people doing the same thing, some faster some slower, and we need others in order to rise ourselves.

Putting The Game On Steam

Getting our game on steam was a challenge, but was one of the most rewarding and cool things I've ever done. With the help of a publisher friend I helped get our game on Steam and gained a great understanding of Steamworks.

With our game on Steam we got over 5000 players and 98% positive reviews. But most important to me, we got comments from all around the world sharing the moving experience they had playing our game. How it made them stop and think about the struggles in their life. This meant the world to me, and showed me the real power the games that I design have.

I want to create experiences that change lives for the better, even if it's just a small moment of reflection or a rush of joy.