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Jabberwocky (unreleased)

Platform:  Xbox 360, PS3

Tools: Proprietary - Visual Level Scripting Tool; Universal - Maya, Excel, text files

Duration: 28 months

Team Size: 10; Last 6 months - 50

Role: Game Designer - Avatar and enemy mechanics

Metacritic: NA (unreleased)

I worked for over 2 years on Jabberwocky. This was my introduction to combat mechanics, and as such, I learned much on this project. The gameplay goals that I mainly dealt with were:

  • To give the player an AI companion (Jabby) that seems alive and doesn't frustrate
  • To give the player a combat move set that is meaningful and expressive
  • To keep the player tied to the action through timely splits and animation
Featured
We wanted to deliver a companion you felt was real.
We wanted to deliver a companion you felt was real.

Much of the design process involved an intimate understanding on the mechanics each enemy would push on, the gameplay loop with and without Jabby in play, and the gameplay loop when the main avatar had earned the "tools' necessary to defeat the enemy on his own. To do this, much thought was put into:

 - How we would make Jabby helpful, but not all-powerful, allowing the player to feel a sense of competence but also a sense of care for him.

 - How Jabby would handle any given monster, and what would be asked of the player at any given point in the loop with that monster.

 - How to bring Jabby in and out of play via narrative or gameplay means in order to sculpt an encounter or emotional beat.

Featured
Monster designs considered both the avatar and AI companion.
Monster designs considered both the avatar and AI companion.

Monsters were designed in one of two classes: 

- Monsters who the main character could fight on his own needing no help from Jabby.

- Monsters who the player would need Jabby's assistance in defeating (at least until certain conditions were met).

By the time Jabberwocky was cut, we had completed a fulfilling vertical slice that excited many who played it. We had succeeded in creating an AI companion who wasn't frustrating, and was helpful in combat. Coming out of the vertical slice, we felt we had good direction on where to go to then improve the sense that Jabby was alive. To this day, this is the most fulfilling project I've ever worked on.

The cinematic teaser trailer Blur created for the game. 

All imagery and videos © DISNEY and their respective owners