Games | Bella KoeungZambrana

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Phe: Desktop Pet

Have you ever wanted a buddy on your computer? Well, look no further! Phe is the perfect companion who has been designed with adaptive technology to change and grow alongside you! There are an array of activities you can do with Phe, like feeding, petting, playing and even talking to them! Phe is ready to be your friend forever :)

Phe Banner

Phe Gameplay Intro

Phe Gameplay Talking

Phe Banner

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For this project, I approached my team with the idea of creating a cute, unsuspecting game that would twist into something scary and unsettling as players progressed the game. Inspired by games like KinitoPet, Tamagotchi, and Shimeji, we decided to disguise the game as a desktop pet. To separate ourselves from similar games, we wanted the game only take place on the player's computer. This was

a game design and technical challenge because we were limited to what we could access or change on a player's device. However, figuring out those challenges felt like a huge accomplishment and I hope it surprises those that play.

Beyond the Gate

Welcome to the Garden. A place where souls and parts of their old lives reside. As a Reaper, it is your job to help bring these souls to rest and set them free in the place beyond the gate. However, this is no easy task as their minds have become scrambled, and pieces of their memories are missing.

Beyond the Gate was created in Unity as a project for my Experimental Game Design class in spring 2024. The original concept of the game was quite different and I came up with to try to fit the 2024 Global Game Jam’s theme, Make Me Laugh. The player would play as an old man at the end of his life who wanted to reminisce about his past. Some moments would be sad but some would hopefully

make the player laugh. The overall message and theme of that game seemed too sad for the jam so I put the idea in the back of my mind and worked with my group to make Richard the Raccoon. The concept stuck with me through the next assignment, which would focus on environmental/spatial storytelling and wayfinding. The first iteration was a simple point-and-click side scroller that I solo-developed in Godot. With more time to develop the idea, I decided to focus on death. I wanted to explore the thoughts and feelings someone may have felt at the end of their life depending on how they lived their life or how they died. To allow the player to explore that, I thought it would be fitting if they unscrambled a soul’s mind by solving puzzles. This iteration served as a demo/proof of concept.

Beyond the Gate Title

Beyond the Gate Interaction

Beyond the Gate Notebook

Beyond the Gate Title

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Beyond the Gate Proof of Concept World

Beyond the Gate Proof of Concept Puzzle

Beyond the Gate Proof of Concept World

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The final assignment was to create a more developed and bigger game. I liked the demo I created and I wanted to explore the world and characters more so I continued with it. I recruited 5 other team members that helped with the other characters and their stories, programming, music and art.

Igneous is Bliss

Stranded in space, you must land on alien planets, excavate rocks, use geologic testing tools, and then cross-reference the results in a cluttered and strange textbook to identify what resource the rocks go into. Careful though! Some rocks are alien eggs that can seriously damage your operation systems. Will you be able to return back home?

Igneous is Bliss was originally created in a 48-hr game jam. The theme was "Terra Incognita", which I interpreted as Unknown Earth. This lead me to the game idea of digging and identifying unknown rocks. To help identify the rocks, my teammate suggested that we create a textbook that player's would be able to scan through and pull out the important information they needed to learn of the rocks'

identity. We didn't want to just hand the player's the information though so I hid the information within the walls of text of real and fake rocks facts. The game was made in Unity and all art assets were created with Medibang Paint Studio.

Igneous is Bliss Banner

Igenous is Bliss Map

Igenous is Bliss Lab

Igneous is Bliss Banner

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Other

Richard the Racoon in: "Cheer, Not Jeer!"

Richard the Raccoon is dreading his comedy act and he has one tough crowd. If the audience doesn't like him, they'll throw projectiles so drag Richard's limbs around to dodge them! Help Richard put on a show-stopping act and tell the funniest jokes you can!

Team: Christopher Vallarta (Director/Game Design/Background Artist), Kiran Koch-Mathews (Gameplay Programmer/Game Designer), Sean Jacob Alcordo (Dialogue Programming), Lakota Eckman (Writer), Beck Payne (Writer), Allan Tan (Music), Sydney Finkelberg (Prop Artist), Bella Koeung-Zambrana (Character Artist)

Bottled Up!

Ran Munehara is a high school student who is secretly a magical girl. She uses her powers to help others by combating the physical manifestations of their inner demons with her pink yoyo! Sometimes, her magical life and real life is hard to balance. Follow Ran through her life, challenges and friendships.

Team: Christopher Vallarta (Director/Level Designer/2D Art + Animation/3D Modelling + Animation/Texturing), Bella Koeung-Zambrana (2D Art + Animation/3D Modelling/ Texturing), Brent Goldstein (Game Programmer), Anshe Hsiao (Game Programmer/UI+UX Design), Alexie Chin (Narrative Design/Character Design), Ibrahim (Audio Design)

Solesborn

Fight through a gauntlet of bosses in a poorly balanced pseudo-bullethell, slashing up the foes who stand in your way! The catch? You're pitifully tiny and weak. A single hit is all it takes to end you and your journey. But death is not the end. Your quest for more footwear is too strong to just give up like that.

Team: Christopher Pugliese, Jay Idema, James Piesco, Bella Koeung-Zambrana, Christopher Vallarta, Emily McNee

Big Farma

You're our new CEO of Big Farma! Continue to grow the business, all while balancing your worker’s happiness, the Executive Board’s happiness and your customer’s happiness. It’s not easy when they all want different things.

Team: Aiden Crossfield (Game Programmer/Game Designer/UI+UX Designer), Andrew Barr (Game Programmer/Game Designer), Luke Summa (Game Programmer/Game Designer), Allan Tan (Audio Designer/Music), Bella Koeung-Zambrana (2D Artist)

BELLA KOEUNG-ZAMBRANA