Matthew Archer, BSc
Game Jams
"Ur Flying's Okay" - Autumn 2015
The first Game Jam of my second year at University (and my first ever) was 'U.F.O' themed.
Working in Unity3D, I put myself forward to the 3D design side of things and made all of the assets myself (bar the asteroids) you see in the trailer, including the textures applied too.
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​My only regret is that the gameplay didn't necessitate more 3D assets for me to design and create, but my contributions were still valuable to the team effort.
For optimal viewing experience, consider watching on a desk/laptop system.
"Cube Cleanser" - Global Game Jam 2016
My first time taking part in a "Global Game Jam". The theme for this was "Ritual", so we decided on a game where the player was on a large terraformed cube and had to defeat as many attacking enemies as possible on each side to collect what they left behind to use in a 'ritual' to save their ailing mentor.
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This time around I did the 3D modelling for the trees and other things making up the environment, texturing on both the models and cube floor, the enemies and player fire projectiles.
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"Arcade Fusion" - Easter 2016
The fruit of my most noteworthy Game Jam - the theme being "Fusion" to tie into the opening of the newest building on campus at the time. Working in Unity3D again, I took the role of a 3D artist and made all of the models you see on screen (bar the asteroids again) from scratch in Autodesk Maya 2016.
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On top of that I also was in charge of the video editing for the gameplay trailer you can see on the right. Despite having the smallest team, we still managed to win a very close second place.
For optimal viewing experience, consider watching on a desk/laptop system.
"Giant Leap" - February 2017
This time I was grouped with five strangers of different talents, so we all had to quickly adapt to each other. Created in Unity3D as usual, this time around I did tweaking of all the models (as there were many external downloads) as well as all of the out-engine texturing.
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We managed to secure third place in the end, an especially impressive feat since we were the only team in the top three to not to be composed solely of Final Year Games students, in fact I was the only one on the team.
For optimal viewing experience, consider watching on a desk/laptop system.
"Mucus Man" - Global Game Jam 2018
My first Game Jam since moving back home after University. The theme was "Transmission" so I suggested we do a version focusing on something biological rather than electronic or radio like the other teams, which we did in the form of a sort of biohazard-esque game.
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For this Jam I did my usual 3D Modelling, Texturing (with in-depth UV Mapping this time), and Level Design duties, but also plenty of 2D Art for the UI, Menu Screen, 'Success' and 'Game Over' screens and even some recordings for voice and sound effects for the finished game, which was new to me.
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We had envisioned a much different layout of the world, which I designed as an entirely new map complete with more assets to give it a more full look and feel, and also with a more open and spacious level design more akin to real world urban streets. Unfortunately though, issues with collision in Unity forced us to stay with the more simplistic map we built for a trial of the game while we tested mechanics.
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"Home Wide Web" - Global Game Jam 2019
My second Game Jam in Bristol, with the theme "What does 'Home' mean to you?". In my team, we bounced plenty of ideas around before settling on one we could all get behind, which was definitely more "out there" than the other groups. We hoped out particular idea would demonstrate uniqueness next to our competition, as well as the concept of "home" being universal regardless of any differences or barriers.
Our game involves you playing as a spider, fixing up the house of your oblivious Human tenants to save the property being gassed if it continues in poor condition, while helping the residents with extra issues as you go.
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As the only 3D artist in our group of 7, I oversaw the entire creative side of this project. I created 3D Maya room scenes using some assets recycled from another project of mine, as well as those made from scratch, for 2D renders of those closed-room environments to be made for use in the game.
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One of the programmers tried their hand at the art side of things this time, so I delegated creative tasks to them - 2D art and animations for prefabs in Unity - and gave them help and advice as they went, resulting in their work going in tandem with my 3D scenes in the 2.5D finished product very effectively.
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Unfortunately, securing screenshots of this Game Jam's finished product in action has always been problematic, even now, as the device that ran and built the Unity project and Executable was running on MacOS, which I do not have access to at home or work. One is available on the Global Game Jam website page and the room renders are available in the slide deck photo reel - just to show my contributions.
"Airplane Graveyard" - Global Game Jam 2020
My third Game Jam in Bristol, with a theme of "Repair" this time.
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My team was one that was almost entirely new to me, having worked with one person both times prior in Bristol, and I took up my usual role as a 3D Generalist within the team - the only one in fact. We decided to create a game where you had to assemble and repair your damaged mode of transport and evacuate the area in a certain time window.
One teammate was pushing for procedural generation in an Archipelago setting, and another teammate built on that by suggesting the weather
Click on the game logo for larger size and better quality.
itself could have something to do with adding challenge and complexity to the game. It was suggested it could scatter repair parts and resources around the map's islands if you fail to escape in the given time in a fleeting tropical storm, putting you back at square one again.
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I came up with a narrative idea that incorporated three of the Diversifiers simultaneously. In this islandic setting, the teammate that opined weather use pushed for implementing real-world weather API's for our environment, for realism and the "And Now, The weather" Diversifier. I suggested we have it in the suggested oceanic setting, we could incorporate those API's as recommended, have it in the early 20th Century to implement the "Roaring 20s" Diversifier we were already quite keen on with the assets and some audio - and we could further both of those Diversifiers by basing everything on the story of Amelia Earhart - which added the "Unsung Heroines" Diversifier to the list too, while also bringing the prior two together within itself.
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With our game, the team managed to win the "Most Original Game" prize for the Weather API system, setting and general Diversifier use, which I was very proud of.
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