About BattleClaws
About BattleClaws
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BattleClaws is a local multiplayer arcade party game developed first on PC and then on the Nintendo Switch. Players compete against each other to grab the most prizes and score as many points as possible before time runs out.
Team Size: 4
Primary Roles: Lead Gameplay & Systems Designer, Producer
Tools Used: Unity, GitHub, Visual Studio - C#, Jira, Google Docs, Blender, Instagram, Steam, Nintendo Switch Devkit
Timeline: September 2023 - present
Primary Responsibilities:
Primary Responsibilities:
Designing the core gameplay loop and mechanics.
Maintaining the Game Design Document and other documentation.
Creating diagrams, workflows and mockups to communicate ideas.
Developing iterative gameplay prototypes.
Designing and implementing the game's UI.
Testing and balancing the games core systems.
Organizing and overseeing external playtests.
Gathering and collating unbiased and actionable playtesting data.
Notable Achievements:
Showcased at a number of gaming conventions to date including Dublin Comic Con, The Irish Gaming Market and Gamerfest.
First project developed on a major console.
Featured in media coverage by RTE, Geek Ireland and Phoenix FM.
BattleClaws Trailer (August 2025)
BattleClaws Trailer (August 2025)
Concept and Ideation
Concept and Ideation
Progression Flow
Progression Flow
I came up with the concept for BattleClaws during a college assignment in which we were asked to create a game with the following requirements:
Couch co-op / Local Multiplayer
Streamlined Controls
Fast-paced gameplay
Elements of Randomization
I really liked the idea of setting the game inside of a claw machine because they are naturally intuitive to use and rely on just a Joystick and a single button for a control system.
I also took inspiration from "Hungry, Hungry Hippos" which is a 2 -4 player tabletop children's game in which players must press a small lever to make their "hippo" catch collectables in the center of the board.
The winner of the game is the hippo who "eats" the most!
BattleClaws is essentially the combination of these two concepts.
Systems Design
Designing the Player Select Screen
Systems Design
Designing the Player Select Screen
During early development, I tried to implement a "Hidden Tutorial" in my approach to the Player Select Screen.
I wanted to give players a chance to familiarize themselves with the controls, and I needed a lobby where they could all get ready to play.
Design Goals
Design Goals
I wanted to teach the player:
How to collect and drop objects.
That there are different types of object.
To identify and customize their claw.
To identify and change their status (Ready / Not Ready)
That all players must have the status of "Ready" to start the game.
Early Concept of the Player Select Screen
Early Concept of the Player Select Screen
How It Works:
How It Works:
There are two types of collectable object in the scene.
One for customizing your avatar.
One for indicating that you are ready to play.
There are two "drop zones" that react differently to objects received.
The drop zones spit the object back out if the type does not match.
Players Join the game by pressing A and then use the collectable objects to change their status or customize their appearance.
All joined players must be in "Ready" status in order to start the game.
Information about the controls is communicated through the UI.
Early Prototype of the Player Select Screen
Early Prototype of the Player Select Screen
The Results:
The Results:
I am proud of this prototype, but playtesting revealed a number of issues.
Players didn’t always make the connection that dropping the collectable in the right place changed their status to "Ready".
When a drop zone spit back out a collectable, players often assumed they were doing something wrong, and subsequently ignored the drop zones altogether.
The fixed camera angle made it hard for players to determine which player was which, even when they successfully customized their claw.
Objects in the scene could obscure the UI, and the player status indicators.
Players had no way to drop out of the game if they changed their mind.
I decided to go back to the drawing board, but I had collected a lot of valuable feedback from players, which heavily informed the next iteration of the design.
Systems Design
Iterative Prototyping
Systems Design
Iterative Prototyping
Developing The Next Iteration
Developing The Next Iteration
First, I organized a design meeting with the rest of the team to brainstorm ideas and discuss player feedback. Discussing the initial design as a team helped me to identify any pain points that I might have missed when combing through the player feedback alone.
Armed with the constructive criticism from our players and my team, I could determine what was successful about the initial design, and what wasn't working for players.
During our next design meetings, I conveyed this information back to the lead programmer and they created the below visual mockup of what the next prototype should look like.
The decision was made to focus strictly on achieving:
Intuitive Controls (Joining / Leaving / Starting the Game)
Visual Clarity (Identifying / Customizing the Player Character)
Improved Player Select Screen
Improved Player Select Screen
The Results:
The Results:
The redesigned Player Select screen is a big improvement:
Players can easily and intuitively join or drop out of the game, following recognizable button prompts instead of text.
More screen space is dedicated to the character models and the Player Numbers, which makes it much easier to tell which player is which.
The different customization options really shine when viewed up close.
This iteration saw a lot of collaboration and I really enjoyed the process of building on top of the previous work, and planning out the finer details.
Systems Design
Scoring System and Arena Design
Systems Design
Scoring System and Arena Design
The scoring system and arena design both went through dramatic changes in order to improve the level of player interaction, and allow for natural emergent gameplay.
Early Prototype Scoring System:
Early Prototype Scoring System:
There are four different "types" of collectable. These are differentiated by colour.
Points are awarded when a player drops a collectable into a matching Dropzone.
Collectables are given a random points value (range) when scored.
Improved Scoring System:
Improved Scoring System:
There are four different "types" of collectable.
Collectables are differentiated by Category, Colour and Shape.There is only one Dropzone, which has it's own mechanics for gameplay variance.
The Dropzone awards a set amount of points when players score with the correct collectable type. This changes periodically throughout each round.
Early Arena Concept Art
Early Arena Concept Art
Early Prototype with Multiple Dropzones
Early Prototype with Multiple Dropzones
Current Build with Single Dropzone
Current Build with Single Dropzone
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