WINSLEY’S GUARDIAN (DEMO)

Roles and Responsibilities

  • Creative Director

  • Lead Game Designer

  • Lead Narrative Designer

  • Lead Programmer

  • Producer

  • Marketing

Project Details

Genre: Action-Adventure Game

Engine: GB Studio

Team Size: 3

Duration: Jun 2023 - Nov 2023

Platforms: Gameboy Color & Analogue Pocket

Winsley’s Guardian was a 2D, action/adventure game based on a real world story about the loss of a child.
A story that a father wanted to tell their current daughter about her guardian angel. For the Gameboy Color.
The story would have followed Winsley Spencer as she grows up and learns about her guardian angel, her late older sister, throughout her life. Inspired by Link’s Awakening and Earthbound.
I was originally hired on as a Pixel Artist but eventually became Creative Director and Lead Game Designer.

Lead Game Designer

My Contributions

  • Learned a brand new engine and then created the playable prototype within 1 day of becoming the lead

  • Created a living design document

  • Developed and iterated on all 5 boss fights

  • Designed all levels and UI in the demo for the artist to translate into gameplay screens with the hardware restrictions of the Game Boy Color

  • Responsible for the overall gameplay direction

First Boss Fight: The Mischief

Creative / Narrative Director

My Contributions

  • Led and mentored a small creative team and gave regular feedback to help ensure growth within their respective roles.

  • Adapted a real world story of the loss of a child and weaved it into plot and the gameplay to create an emotional experience

  • Handcrafted and scripted each cutscene within the game engine

  • Maintained and organized materials, led meetings, and presented regular updates to the CEO and the entire team.

  • Created a workflow pipeline that prioritized and distributed work effectively that raised productivity by 45%. 

These cutscenes in particular are not available in the demo and were part of the larger game, showcasing the life of Winsley.

Kickstarter Campaign Manager

My Contributions

  • Developed the Kickstarter campaign for the full version of the game

  • Created the full Kickstarter page within 1-2 months

  • In collaboration with the rest of the team, designed the various benefit tiers for the Kickstarter backers to support

  • Designed support tier images in Adobe Photoshop (see images)

Raised $4,627 with 62 potential backers before the full game was cancelled by the creator

The game is available as a demo.
Click below to download and play in a GBC emulator or Analogue Pocket

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