John Haley
Game Designer & Gameplay Programmer
Featured Work
Project Overview:
Duration: 4 Months
Team Size: 8+
Game Engine: Unity
Game Summary:
Cafe Cat is a casual 2D Time-Management mobile game about working at a Cafe for Cats after they have taken over the world! Try your best to keep up with the cat-o-strophic chaos by managing orders, taking tips, and growing your cafe.
Responsibilities:
Role: Lead Game Designer & Programmer
- Designed and Implemented Difficulty Curve and Testing Tools
- Designed Customer Types and Payment Algorithm
- Designed the In-Game Shop Upgrades, Prices, and Layout
- Implemented Analytics into the game through Dev2Dev
Project Overview:
Duration: 10 Months
Team Size: 15 – 20
Game Engine: Unity
Summary:
Croak and Dagger is a Narrative Hack and Slash Adventure game about a frog on a journey to save his kids with the power of a baby frog that can turn into weapons!
Responsibilities:
Role: Level & Narrative System Designer
- Designed and Implemented the Levels and Tutorials
- Implemented Key Features in game’s progression system
- Wrote and Story-boarded the Narrative & Dialogue
- Implemented the Narrative Systems using Yarn Spinner
Project Overview:
Duration: 2 Years
Team Size: 9*
Game Engine: Unity
Summary:
The Neurotech Games Team is an ongoing game development project to combine the field of cognitive neuroscience and game development. This allows us to make experimental games that have never been created before!
Responsibilities:
Role: Project Lead & Lead Game Designer
- Researched developments in cognitive neuroscience to design new and interesting game prototypes that can effectively use the tech
- Worked on a plugin and menu to combine an Open-Source Brain Computing Interface with the Unity Game Engine
- Lead a team of a variety of different fields to assist in game development.
December 2022 - February 2023
Project Overview:
Duration: 1 Month Team Bonding – 1 Week Development
Team Size: 6
Game Engine: Unreal
Summary:
Roots Corrupted is a Survival Horror game made for the 2023 Global Game Jam about saving a corrupted forest while being hunted by evil tree constructs as you try to revive the hearts of the Forest God.
Responsibilities:
Role: Gameplay Programmer & Level Designer
- Programmed and Designed Player Movement and Combat.
- Designed and Implemented the Maze-Like Forest Level
- Facilitated communication and project management in a Bilingual team
November 2022 - Recently Started Full Production!
Project Overview:
Duration: 1 Year
Team Size: 9
Game Engine: Godot
Summary:
Mushroom Kid’s Big Grass Sword is a narrative, physics-based, precision platformer that was originally a submission for the 2022 Game/Music Jam as Sword of the Morel and it’s about a little mushroom on a journey to save their village with the power of a long growing sword called the “Blade of Grass”!
Due to a monetary grant and high demand, we were able
Responsibilities:
Role: Project Lead and Lead Game Designer
- Designed the Overarching Level and Gameplay Mechanics
- Implemented the Player Controller and Elements of the Sword Mechanic
- Wrote and implemented the narrative through Yarn Spinner
Project Overview:
Duration: 48 Hours
Team Size: 7
Game Engine: Unity
Summary:
Obstacle to Lovers is a romantic comedy Visual Novel made for the 2023 GMTK Game Jam about the pipe and the bird from the mobile game Flappy Bird trying to get into a relationship. Dialogue choices are only unlocked depending on the user’s skill in Flappy Bird. Which creates an intense and hilariously charming experience.
Responsibilities:
Role: Game Designer & Narrative System Programmer
- Wrote and implemented the narrative through Yarn Spinner
- Configured and fine-tuned Flappy Bird Dialogue integration
- Organized Team decisions and spearheaded the brainstorming process.