Dumpster Baby
My senior capstone game about building community.
Project:
Video Game built in Unity
Date:
February 2024 - Ongoing
Role:
Designer | Producer
Dumpster Baby is the senior capstone game for my major, Games + Simulations, while attending Miami University. The capstone consists of three classes totaling 12 credit hours, one class taken each of my last three semesters before graduation. The first class during the spring 2024 semester began with ideating a totally brand new idea that had not been worked on in any other class and forming groups. The final project culminated in a vertical slice showcased at our department’s end of year expo. The second class during the fall of 2025 consisted of the bulk of the game’s production, with the midterm project being an alpha build, and final project a beta build. The midterm alpha build was also shown off and playable to attendees of GDEX 2024 at the Miami University booth. The final class during the spring of 2025 will focus on polish, marketing, and conclude with publishing the fully finished game. This will also be the final semester before my graduation.
The game is built in Unity featuring an isometric camera view as players explore and meet NPCs to befriend and learn their story. The player helps them out with various tasks as they get to know them better before asking two of them to be roommates. The game is made with a focus on its aesthetics and narrative, driving home an uplifting message to players that community is an incredible force of good.
The dev team consists of Angel Hardy as team lead and artist, Leah Stewart as artist, Josef Arnold and Sam Bowsher as programmers, and myself as designer and producer. The game also features Sophie Arcusa as composer of its soundtrack.
My role in the project consists of game and level design, while also coordinating team efforts around the project. I played a key part in drawing out core gameplay loop features from what began as Angel’s broad idea, opting for a character driven story as the heart and driving force of the game. I am the main contributor for the level design, from the white boxing stage to polished models. I am the primary writer for the macro plans of the quests/arcs each of the four NPCs undergoes throughout the course of the game. I am also the team's producer, coordinating team efforts by organizing meetings, writing meeting notes, keeping track of deliverables, creating out of game resources (such as business cards and posters), and watching for scope creep all to get the game in on time and without crunch.
The game will be entering its final third of production this spring 2025 and I cannot wait to share it with you when it’s finally complete. Please check out the official website and discord for more information and updates on the game.
Check out the Dumpster Baby official website here.