Help Osiris, the God of life, protect your village against Seth, the God of storms, who summons waves of tornadoes. Deflect the tornadoes path by blowing on them so they don’t hit your structures.
Genre: Tower Defense, City Builder
Engine: Unity
Team size: 6 people
Duration: 2 weeks
Date: november 2024
Context
Sandstorm Defender is a game developed during the Volunteer Week Game Jam, organized by Ubisoft in partnership with the Direct Relief association. The theme of the jam was: “Weathering the Storm: From Preparation to Action to Reconstruction”.
I put together a team consisting of 2 Gameplay Programmers, 2 Artists, and 1 Sound Designer.
At the end of the jam, we were nominated in several categories.
My goals
The goal was to create a game that was both fun and eco-social impactful. As the sole Game Designer on the project, I was responsible for the initial concept and the overall game design, as well as balancing and level design.
I also took on the role of Producer, coordinating the team and overseeing the project's organization. Despite the jam lasting two weeks, we worked on the project in our free time alongside our studies. Thanks to good management, we were able to deliver a polished and complete game.
Achievements
"The game is fun and easy to understand. The difficulty level is just right."
"The game was fun and the concept is original."
"Very very good game, I'm amazed they done this in only two weeks!"
"Easy to play, the base building and upgrade loop is simple but quite engaging"
"A really interesting mechanic in the Tower Defence Game"
"Very creative and fun to play"
At the end of the jam, we were nominated in several categories: 1st place in Fun/Appeal, 1st place in Quality/Playability, 3rd place in Theme/Innovation, and 2nd place overall raiting.
The nominations were determined through votes and ratings from the other participants in the jam.
Screenshots
My Roles
Game Design
Game Concept
To fit the theme, we wanted to create a game featuring a defense phase against the storm and a preparation phase.
The player has to protect buildings that generate money, which can purchase upgrades and other buildings.
The player can blow on tornadoes to push them back, and upgrade their stats.
The game is linear, with designed tornado waves that gradually increase in difficulty.
Game Design & Balancing
I was responsible for the overall Game Design, providing documentation and scheme explaining the game's systems, mechanics, and design intentions.
I designed and balanced 6 types of tornadoes (enemies), 6 types of buildings, and 9 different shop upgrades.
I wrote the main story and all the dialogues.
Buildings balancing
Upgrades balancing
Buildings Types
Tornadoes Types
The game alternates between the Preparation Phase and the Defense Phase.
I designed a FTUE (First-Time User Experience) presented through the dialogue between two rival Egyptian gods, who explain the game mechanics. Their dialogue continue throughout the game, also helping to tell the story.
For the Level Design, I designed and implemented all the Defense Phases in Unity, including the spawning of the different tornado types. Their variety and difficulty progressively increase throughout the game to maintain an appropriate pacing and difficulty curve.
FTUE Timeline
Level Design & FTUE
Preparation Phase
Defense Phase
Producing
I took on the roles of Producer and Lead Game Designer, coordinating and managing the team while regularly organizing meetings to track everyone's progress.
I created a HacknPlan board to keep track of everyone's tasks and ensure the project was properly organized.
I also made strategic decisions based on the project's needs and deadlines.
Walkthrough
Credits
Game Designer
Ralif TAZUTDINOV
Game Artists
Andréas MARTINS
Raphaël LERAY
Gameplay Programmer
Daniel DEGOTT
Joachim LEGRAND
Sound Designer
Renaud GAILLARDON
