Mama Roo
Role
Game Designer, Composer
Engine
Unity
Genre
3D Platformer
Platform
Itch.io
Year
2023
Design Pillars
Exploration,
Nature,
Vibrant,
Educational
The brief for Mama Roo was to create a game set in an Australian National Park, and that promoted national parks and provided educational content on Australian wildlife. We generated many concepts, and I pitched Mama Roo, a platforming game aimed at children with a focus on exploration and cute animals, which was the concept that the clients selected.
Throughout the process of developing this game we made sure everything linked back to the target audience and the client brief. I helped balance movement to make it as beginner-friendly as possible, I developed all music and sounds to have a cartoony and playful feel.
Between this game and Baldwin's Bear, I believe I have a good instinct for imaginative kids games. My design approach is less focused on "hardcore gaming" than a lot of my peers, and my ability to design casual-friendly, imaginative, and accessible experiences makes me a uniquely useful asset for projects like this.
These images are screenshots of the Gameplay Loops listed in the GDD. The first is the Core Loop of finding and collecting collectables, and the second is the overall Reward Loop of unlocking new areas.
You'll notice that the Reward Loop is more linear, focusing on unlocking once area at a time, while the gameplay within each area (the Core Loop) is much more open. The Core Loop starts with "Player sees goal", which refers to the fact that the order of the goals are largely player-driven. For this loop to work, we needed collectables and NPCs to stand out with vibrant animations and careful Level Design.
This player-driven exploration experience fits well with the aesthetic and target market of Mama Roo, and allowed players to become more immersed in the natural environment.