Brain Agents
An action adventure game that incorporates trauma relief techniques.
Overview
Website: https://www.brainagents.org/
Engine: Unity
My Role: Assistant Game Designer
Summary of Responsibilities
• create and iterate on level designs
• document and analyze game design
• log issues and document technical processes
• program additional gameplay elements
• collaborate with teammates to implement and iterate on gameplay ideas
Developed by Night City Games, I joined the Brain Agents team in March 2021 as a level designer. I was able to have a large impact on the overall structure of the game and created many levels which were well received by players.
An educational game targeted at middle school and high school age students, Brain Agents first began to roll out to school districts in Wisconsin and Illinois in October 2022. It currently has several thousand active players in the region.
← Brain Agents Trailer
Changing the Game
When I first joined the Brain Agents team, a few levels had already been created out of a planned total of 30 levels. However, I noticed that many of the levels:
• lacked verticality despite the game being in a 3D space
• were structured as straight lines and didn't offer as much of a sense of exploration as one would expect in an adventure game
In the levels which I designed, I took a different approach (see Crop Production).
Restructuring Effort
I also noticed issues with the difficulty progression and complexity of the levels in the game. The game itself is structured into different level segments named "mission groupings" which each have a unique theme (Medical Bay, Waste Management, Research Lab, etc). However, gameplay-wise, these groupings didn't have much in common. The main challenge to the player in the game are various "hazards" such as lasers, moving platforms, or drones. I led an effort to restructure the game and incorporate the principle of isolation into the mission groupings. This allowed the game to have a more consistent pacing and for each mission grouping to feel more cohesive.
Document Slideshow →
Table used as part of the plan to reorganize the levels to fit a cohesive gameplay feel and introduce good pacing
Crop Production
I worked on a variety of missions throughout the game, but the Crop Production mission grouping is one in which I was the main designer for all levels. In these levels, I pursued different ideas such as the entire level being a puzzle or less linear gameplay.
Conceptualizing a Level
One such level was Mission 20, which is set in a greenhouse. While most of the game has typical sci-fi environments, this level had a greener and more open appearance which synthesized with the more non-linear gameplay. In every level in the game, you have a single end goal, but I was able to add more exploration by having the player build a bridge to the end goal in this level. The mechanisms which are necessary to build the bridge could be hidden anywhere, which allowed me to create an open environment with unique puzzles.
Iterating on the Design
As with any level design process, iteration was key. After playtesting, peers and players liked the concept and the many unique gameplay ideas, but sometimes got lost. I then added more techniques to guide the player, such as:
• stones leading to key areas of the level
• hints from non-player characters
• camera shifts at the end of cutscenes which pointed towards
the way to go
• a cutscene which plays each time the player interacts with one of the bridge mechanisms showing the current state of the bridge
• design changes that sectioned the level more
← Design Thinking in Mission 20
Team Player
While developing Brain Agents, I worked extensively with my fellow designers as well as with the director, the programmers, and quality assurance testers. I also participated in meetings with the client company, STRYV 365.
Workflow and Feedback
GitHub workflow practices such as issues and project boards were mainly used in the development of this game. Part of my role included playtesting the game and documenting issues found in both my and other designers' levels.
I also received a lot of great feedback from my peers, the director, and the clients which I incorporated into the aspects of the game that I worked on and made the player experience all the better. I have also received feedback from public playtests which was analyzed and incorporated into the game design.
An Example of Gameplay Changes Made Based on Feedback →