Game Jam in Japan

Final Screens

During the game jam in Japan, I collaborated with students from my school and a partner school in Kyoto. The theme was "Communication Across Cultures," which inspired us to create Hero Duo, a fighting game featuring a unique boss named Godfoot—a blend of the American Bigfoot and the Japanese Godzilla. Players can switch between two characters: Eagle, a powerful eagle with a shotgun, and Taro, a samurai with a katana.

Making the Game

I was responsible for designing the user interface (UI) and working with two other team members on character design.

Our mini character design team consisted of:

Myself (fluent in English and some Japanese)
A Japanese student (fluent in Japanese and some English)
A deaf American student (fluent in ASL and English)
With the support of an ASL translator who knew English and some Japanese

The experience was both challenging and rewarding. Communication was a key aspect of our project, given our diverse language skills. We used whiteboards to draw and brainstorm ideas, often playing a sort of charades to convey concepts due to our limited language overlap. This hands-on, visual approach helped us effectively collaborate and create engaging character designs.

Learning Experiences

Technical Skills: I gained valuable experience working with our developer making everything compatible in Unity, enhancing my technical skills in game development.
Team Dynamics: Collaborating under tight deadlines with a small, multicultural team taught me how to manage communication barriers and leverage each team member’s strengths.
Cultural and Language Skills: The experience allowed me to improve my Japanese and learn some American Sign Language (ASL), enriching my cultural and linguistic understanding.

Game Jam in Japan

UX/UI

Character Design

Illustration

Product Design

Timeline

Project Year

Role

Software

The Final Prototype

Final Screens

Making the Game

Learning Experiences

Thank you RITxKCG