'Clown Simulator 2024' was my entry for Global Game Jam 2024. This project was developed over the span of a week in a small two-person team. I served as the sole programmer, whilst my partner was responsible for all art aspects of the game.
The game was a 2D sidescroller based on the jam's theme, "Make Me Laugh". The concept was for the player to control a clown at a child's birthday party, navigating a simple level to collect a series of clown-themed items (like balloons, pies and horns) and storing them in a UI-based inventory system. The ultimate goal was for the player to use these items in the correct sequence at the end of the level to successfully perform a clown show.
As the sole programmer on the project, I implemented all gameplay systems in C# and Unity. The core features I built were:
2D Player Movement: Wrote the C# script for basic left-right movement to navigate the 2D sidescrolling environment.
UI Inventory System: Built a UI-based inventory system that displayed collected items and allowed for item selection using the arrow keys.
Item Collection System: Implemented a simple trigger-based system for collecting the clown-themed items upon collision.
The cover art and player character sprite were designed by my teammate.
Language: C#
Engine: Unity
Core Concepts: Rapid Prototyping, Collaboration, UI, Collision Triggers
IDE: Visual Studio
Tools: GitHub
This project's challenges were less technical and more about the realities of team dynamics and creative differences. It provided a powerful lesson in professionalism and perseverance.
Creative & Conceptual Differences: A significant challenge was that I was not personally passionate about the initial game concept. This taught me a valuable lesson in separating personal creative differences from my professional responsibility, and the importance of committing to a team's chosen direction.
Managing Sole Responsibility: While the project was a two-person team, my partner was unable to contribute to the project beyond the initial art assets. This meant I became the sole developer responsible for the project's success. This was an isolating experience and a hard lesson in what happens when a team's workload becomes unbalanced.
Despite the creative friction and lack of team support, I made the decision to see the project through and deliver a functional product. This project was a difficult but crucial lesson in perseverance, demonstrating to myself that I can build and deliver functional systems even under less-than-ideal circumstances.