Doo-Daa (Game Design Thesis)

Play Doo-Daa on Mac and Windows at my itch.io!

Dada RPG made from trash!bobby4apples.itch.io/doo-daa

Coming to Steam soon, wishlist now!

Doo-Daa on SteamPlay as a cat astronaut marketing Earth to strange aliens in this narrative Dada inspired RPG, made entirely out of traditional collage.

Doo-Daa is my Senior Thesis made from a Unity game concept Vivisection from 2024-2025, which was published as a full game in May 2026. Made in RPG Maker MZ 2003. Doo-Daa is published alongside of an artbook detailing the references and artists from the Dada and Surreal Movements that inspired this work.

Play as astronaut cat Ulysses and deliver informational pamphlets marketing Earth to the residents of an alien planet inspired by the 1920s Dada movement. Nearly every asset in the game was made using traditional collage from books and magazines trash picked off of the streets of Brooklyn.

Doo-Daa has showcased at: Boshi's Place 2025, PAX East 2026, TooManyGames 2026, Leftfield MCM Comic Con 2026, and Wonderville 2026.

Doo-Daa Art Book

IntroTestAnimation.mp4

(Below) Ulysses face sprites.

Doo-Daa Spaceship

2025-2026

In game screenshots and tilesheets for the tutorial section of Doo-Daa.

RPG Maker MZ 2003, Photoshop

(Below) In game computer animation found in the spaceship.

Stratacut Claymation, Photoshop, SAM (Software Automated Mouth)

ComputerAnimation.mp4

(Below) Computer face sprites.

(Below) Dada character face sprites.

(Below) Examples of in-game collage dialogue.

Dada Forest

2025-2026

In game screenshots and tilesheets for the tutorial section of Doo-Daa.

Traditional Collage, Digital Collage, RPG Maker MZ 2003, Photoshop

(Below) Examples of in-game live action video interactions with paper characters.

NEWDestroyBouba.mp4

NEWDestroyClaudeNOAUDIO.mp4

NEWDestroyHunter.mp4

NEWDestroyKikiNOAUDIO.mp4

(Below) Félicette + Ulysses sprite.

Félicette Puppet and Stop-Motion Animation

2025-2026

A stop motion film about one of the characters that can be found in the forest.

Traditional Collage, Stratacut Claymation, Dragon Frame stopmotion animation, Photoshop, SAM (Software Automated Mouth)

NEWFelicetteMovieSquareFix.mp4

(Below) Félicette face sprites, Item sprite sheet.

(Below) Inn-game Bride, Jellyfish, and Rotating Head animations.

Cyanotype Photography, Collage, Dragonframe stop motion animation, Photoshop digital animation.

NEWBrideAUDIO.mp4

NEWHeadAUDIO.mp4

Dada City

2025-2026

In game screenshots and tilesheets of the Dada City in Doo-Daa.

Traditional Collage, Digital Collage, RPG Maker MZ 2003, Photoshop

Jelly.mp4

(Below) Item sprite sheet.

(Below) Chiptune, Warp, and Twine Animations found in game.

Traditional illustration, collage, Photoshop digital animation, Dragonframe stopmotion animation.

NEWChiptuneNOAUDIO.mp4

NEWWarp.mp4

NEWTwineAUDIO.mp4

(Below) Character sprite examples:

Surreal City

2025-2026

In game screenshots and tilesheets for the Surreal section of Doo-Daa.

Traditional Collage, RPG Maker MZ 2003, Photoshop

(Above) Puppet Metronome Character found in Game with accompanying video.

Wire, Cardboard, String, Fabric, Buttons.

(Below) In-game live action video interactions with the Puppet Metronome character.

NEWMetronome1AUDIO.mp4

NEWMetronome2AUDIO.mp4

Endings

Almost every character in Doo-Daa can be made the president, and have a unique ending featuring a small story and 3 images. There are around 25 unique endings requiring different conditions to find, each represented by a different artstyle and medium.

Some media featured in this select slideshow includes collage, colored pencil, Kid Pix Studio 1995, Electric Zine Maker, MS Paint, Photoshop, watercolor, live photos, sketches made on post-it notes, and more.

DooDa-2.mp4

"This project is a triumph. The amount of care, attention, and dedication to craft you have placed in and around this project is clear, and it has resulted in a game that feels both well established and unique. Despite the conventional means (game engine, quest design, progression), the game feels deeper than the sum of its systems. Every character interaction, every new section of the map, every cutscene pushes the player to experience “just one more.” The pacing of the dialogue and skill unlocks feels natural and also works to add an unexpected level of replayability. There’s so much to explore that it almost feels like a fresh playthrough will result in completely new content, even if that isn’t actually the case."

Doo-Daa Post Mortem Presentation

May 2026

Once Doo-Daa was published, it was released to a panel of Pratt faculty judges, who gave feedback on their experience playing the game following my post-mortem presentation (video seen here). Below are some quotes from those faculty:

"This game is utterly delightful. You’ve created something that feels deeply personal and incredibly reflective of your voice as a designer. Every medium and artistic choice felt intentional. The cutscenes were especially exciting to discover; each one made me want to see more. There’s such a strong sense of curiosity and playfulness in the world, and it brought it out in me, too."
"As someone who loves Dadaism, this genuinely felt like “Dadaism: The Game”. I think players already familiar with the movement will immediately recognize and appreciate the references and influences, while players unfamiliar with it will still come away having learned something through the experience itself (which again, feels very aligned with your intention.)"