Game Design
Sascha Gradecak
A passionate game and level designer, game producer and SFX creator.
Game Design
Sascha Gradecak
A passionate game and level designer, game producer and SFX creator.
Main Projects
Froggy Frisk 2021
Froggy Frisk 2021
Play as a frog who's late for his date and has to hurry to make it in time before his crush loses her interest! Do so by using your tongue to swing through the level and get there before the time runs out. Collecting flies will add a short amount of time to the timer.
As a solo project, I developed the game from the ground up. This included designing the game mechanic and levels, SFX, music and programming with minor assistance:
Game Design
Level Design
Production
SFX
Mimo 2019
Mimo 2019
As the player, your role is to move the platforms and propel the character, a cute slime named Mimo, through a magical forest which he got lost in. Mimo can stick to the platform, which you orientate, then launch him around where he will bounce around trees branches and mushrooms. In your journey of bringing Mimo back to his home village and family, you can collect parts of his family photo, which will be revealed at the end of the game.
Game Design Came up with game mechanic and integrated it amongst other mechanics, as well as polishing the game.
Level Design Created various levels from structure to interactable objects, such as mushrooms and key collectibles.
Production In charge for time keeping, delegation of tasks, as well as setting weekly project milestones to present to the rest of my peers.
SFX Created all sound effects used within the game, from recording to editing.
Path to Tranquility 2021
Path to Tranquility 2021
Enjoy a relaxing hike up a mountain whilst interacting with other hikers on the way and help them out with their struggles.
This simple walking simulator was made with the instruction to have an accessible game with a custom controller allowing differently abled people to acces the joy of gaming.
Level Design Assisted in creating of level layout / pathing. Furthermore modelled the map and livened it up by creating other 3D assets to decorate the scene.
Production Distributed roles and tasks across all team members. Kept track of progress and changes with a Game Design Document. Also led weekly meetings with the team and held presentations to higher ups.
SFX Composed music for the main menu and background music within the game.
Game Jams
Food Factory
Food Factory
Duration 5 Days
Game Design Helped designing and refining the game mechanics
Production Distributed roles and tasks across all team members, held daily meetings to check on progress and co-ordinate with everyone
SFX Composed main menu and game music
Gastronaut
Gastronaut
Duration 2 Days
Game Design Gave feedback and helped finalise the game mechanic
SFX Made all sound effects for the game
Joe Mama's Kitchen
Joe Mama's Kitchen
Duration 5 Days
Game Design Helped designing and refining the game mechanics and give the topic "Seasons" a special spin
SFX Made majority of sound effects used within the game
Level Design
The Extra Mile
I was tasked to sketch up a level design for a walking simulator based in a forest. In this game, the player is subconsciously led down the correct path through certain checkpoints to collect notes, which is the objective of the game.
Whilst sketching up a simple map would've done the job, I preferred taking an extra step. This involved modelling and rendering an example layout of the level, with certain key locations to visually aid the ideas behind my design choices.
The idea was to start of by guiding the player with relatively obvious hints in the direction they have to go, and progressively make it more subtle from location to location.
These contextual clues begin with wooden planks on the ground leading the player down the correct path, but become more obscure in later check points. This would be achieved by using windstream VFX and spacial wind SFX, as highlighted on the provided map.
Furthermore, the ideas was to use glowing particles to replicate fireflies, to highlight key locations where the pages are hidden, to avoid the player accidently overlooking them.
I love taking a visual approach like this, as not only is it easier to communicate ideas with the client, but also help myself break down the task and think of quicker and better solution for the given project.
How it started vs how it's going
A lesson I have learned is that you will never get the best result by just jumping right into something and sticking with the first thing you come up with.
From pen and paper...
From pen and paper...
For me, a proper design process starts with a good old pen and paper, some mind-mapping and brainstorming. When looking for that perfect idea, it is important to consider different takes on the kind of design you are trying to create.
...to testing mechanics...
...to testing mechanics...
Once I have a full concept in mind, I start prototyping, creating and testing the mechanic. At this stage, I experiment with what I find to be enjoyable, and what aspects do not work with the plan in mind. This part is also important to test and tweak the feature and how it may interact with other components in the complete game.
...to testing mechanics...
Once I have a full concept in mind, I start prototyping, creating and testing the mechanic. At this stage, I experiment with what I find to be enjoyable, and what aspects do not work with the plan in mind. This part is also important to test and tweak the feature and how it may interact with other components in the complete game.
...to testing mechanics...
...to final version.
...to final version.
This process has always allowed me to consistently create my vision for the game and gradually improve the game from start to finish.
Constant testing, feedback and communication is key to a successful game.
About me
I have always had an interest in eSports and gaming, which led me to pursue a degree in Game Design and Development at London South Bank University to which i graduated in Summer 2021 with 1st Class (Hons) BA.
Within my studies, I took a particular focus to retro and arcade style games, choosing to study and write an essay on Pac-Man's correlation with the Addiction Pathways principle. Inspired by its use of simple mechanics, emergent strategies form which keep people entertained through strategising and achieving high scores. I strive to make this type of gameplay a reality within all my projects.
I'm accustomed to the role of authority within my teams, acting as Course Representative at University and performing the role of producer in the majority of my team's projects. Naturally as producer, I found it important to understand the different aspects of each role and assist in all facets of the games development. Ultimately, this honed the skills needed to create my final individual game project (FroggyFrisk).
Inbetween my work in Game Design, I tend to unwind by taking part in physical activities such as swimming and paddle tennis. I've also always enjoyed painting, participating in several art contests back home.
