Bela
Baldwin
Game Designer
& Producer
Most Recent Project
2021 - 2022
Challenges
-
Development under COVID-19 conditions.
-
Intertwining of 3 entirely different thesis topics in one coherent game experience.
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Completion of a highly polished vertical slice with a hard deadline.
Design Post Mortem
-
Complex editor processes
-
Greyboxing with Unity ProBuilder
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Block out prototype to polished vertical slice development
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I practically applied advanced Game Design theory in development
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Overall gameplay suffered from enforced combination of stealth elements and meaningful gameplay choices (separate thesis aspects).
-
I succeeded in intertwining Gameplay, Level & Narrative Design in a coherent game experience.
Production Post Mortem
-
Project completed to a very high standard and on time
-
Game experience suffered from limited resources and lack of expertise, which forced early cuts in gameplay depth and code functionality.
-
I succeeded in maintaining the overall design vision and enabled the team to create a well rounded game by carefully managing expectations and efforts.
Awards & Recognition
-
Final overall grade: 1.7 (85-90%)
-
First bachelor project at campus Hamburg to have been created in a team, setting a new benchmark for future graduates.
"Bloodline - The Last Heir"
UE - Bachelor Project
Team Size
3
Roles
Project Lead
- Game Production
Game Design
- Game Mechanics Design
- Narrative Design
- Level Design
Miscellaneous
- Game Programming
- Voice Over
Scope
3 months development
Genre
3D Stealth
Platform
PC (Windows)
Earlier Projects
2019 - 2021
Challenges
-
Development under COVID-19 conditions.
-
Development by an alternating team with vastly varying individual levels of commitment.
-
Conceptualisation of a meaningful and positively framed narration, to be communicated through minimal exposition.
-
Creation of levels, which intertwine the narrative thread with conscious level design to maintain the player's clarity budget and decrease frustration.
Design Post Mortem
-
Rapid prototyping and regular playtesting feedback loops
-
Close collaboration with Lead Designer and other Designers
-
Narrative Director for 2D cinematics
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Topography creation with terrain tool
-
Highly polished 3D level design
-
I managed to help streamline the Level Design workflows with a fellow Level Designer through my expertise (meticulous version control, prefab utilisation, etc.).
Production Post Mortem
-
Gained valuable Producer experience and great insight into how to improve my people focus.
-
Team lost 4/13 team members total during both production cycles, due to intense workload and lack of early expectation alignment.
-
Project unfinished after two semesters of development, due to overscoping.
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The project received outstanding praise for its professional development approach, which I facilitated through my vision and expertise.
Awards & Recognition
-
Final overall grade: 1.28 (90-95%)
-
The game and its development was a feature story of the QUER magazine (issue 3, 2021) of the UE Hamburg.
-
I became one of the few students in the history of the UE to be awarded more than one scholarship, which I received for my game vision and leadership in this project.
"Valdao"
2020/2021: UE 4th + 5th Semester Project
Team Size
6-9
Roles
Project Lead
- Game Production
Game Design
- Game Mechanics Design
- Narrative Design
- Level Design
Miscellaneous
- Game Programming
Scope
Major personal project over 2 semesters.
(7 months development total)
Genre
3D Adventure
Platform
PC (Windows & iOS)
Challenges
-
Development of a visually polished game, with a focus on harmonising gameplay dynamics and visual aesthetics.
-
Creation of simple and yet engaging mechanics, which support the desired game flow.
Design Post Mortem
-
Diversified my design approach, by infusing my game vision through inspiration from a Disney art exhibition.
-
A highly polished game for the scope of the course. Maintains a coherent style, also due to my ability to communicate my design vision effectively.
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Lacks a certain "fun" element in its gameplay, mostly due to a lack of time for early playtesting and iteration of the core gameplay loop
-
First experience with mobile development
-
I successfully combined Gameplay, Level & Narrative Design in my first polished 2D game.
Production Post Mortem
-
I managed to minimise production overheard and streamline the development processes, keeping the project on track under high pressure deadlines.
-
Close to no issues during development, due to a very small and intrinsically motivated team.
Awards & Recognition
-
Final overall grade: 1.0 (95-100%)
-
The game was featured over 2 pages in the QUER magazine (issue 2, April 2020) of the UE BTK Hamburg.
"Guardian Angel"
2020: UE 3rd Semester Course Project
Team Size
3
Roles
Project Lead
- Game Production
Game Design
- Game Mechanics Design
- Narrative Design
- Level Design
Scope
Course Project
(1.5 months development)
Genre
2D Auto-Runner
Platform
Mobile (Android) & PC (Windows)
"True Colors"
2019: UE 2nd Semester Project
Team Size
3
Roles
Project Lead
- Game Production
Game Design
- Game Mechanics Design
- Narrative Design
- Level Design
Miscellaneous
- Game Programming
- Sound Design
- Lighting
Scope
Semester Project
(2.5 months development)
Genre
3D Walking Simulator
Platform
PC (Windows)
Design Post Mortem
-
Many mistakes were made...
-
I created the initial vision for the game, with the theme of personality development, which I maintained through excellently conceptualised core systems and the overarching narrative.
-
Gained very valuable insight into DOs and DONTs for evolutionary prototype editor processes
-
Writing of very poetic narrative, to fit the artistic aesthetic, in close collaboration with a second Narrative Designer
Challenges
-
First ever digital game development.
-
Transfiguration of a novel into a deep and philosophical gameplay experience.
-
Accurate representation of scientific standards of psychology in the overarching theme.
Production Post Mortem
-
The team suffered from excessive crunch, during final stretch, to complete the game.
-
I resolved internal conflicts constructively and kept the team focused on the overall production plan.
-
A very well structured development, despite many obstacles, which taught me a lot about people management and my philosophy as a Producer.
Awards & Recognition
-
Final overall grade: 1.18 (95-100%)
-
I became the first Game Design student in the history of the UE BTK to be awarded with a scholarship due to my vision and Game Design execution in this project.
" Design creates culture.
Culture shapes values.
Values determine the future."
Robert L. Peters
Bio
A well travelled former Professional Poker Player, who decided, after 7.5 years of tournament after tournament, that it was time for a change.
Now, Bela is a Game Design B.A. graduate and scholarship-holder
at the University of Europe for Applied Sciences Hamburg.
He constantly looks for opportunities to advance both his hard and soft skills, to improve as a professional as well as a human being. He is passionate about games as a medium, which enable designers to communicate their ideas and principles to a global range of recipients. The best games can only develop from a collaborative and interdisciplinary effort. Every development process needs to uphold a unified design vision, to fully empower each team. Whether as a creator or contributor, he is highly capable of
keeping that vision in focus.
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