https://www.sandercock.dev/gallery-1 daily 1.0 2023-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/985087e4-979f-46dc-b1a9-e2e98accdc01/BBG.gif Work Bad Brain Games https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/8da80ddd-a52f-471f-aaf3-a0b737c8d71a/TX_Nerf.png Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/74bd2125-f32f-4dfc-bf75-aaeec33e43b1/TX_Transpose.png Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/669c9a3e-694b-446e-a73b-44454938bd87/TX_BOTU.png Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/a449a741-3e7c-45dd-b292-c4dff873b85a/TX_BOTU_InfinityForever.png Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/ccf8366d-23a9-4dab-887f-e55f4c2a8ddd/teller-falls.png Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/c277b91f-1daa-4963-8121-7e486963c9ef/TX_BOTU_Hologate.png Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/57f499d7-d884-4896-9726-dd8205911990/oops-all-golf.png Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/8cefbd32-988e-47c1-bb83-eab2bfec81a9/rua-3.png Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/1f8df371-04f0-400e-b488-42070bbc0b64/mega-blast.png Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/7441dafa-76c0-4b3b-817c-f52851ffe418/storm-casters-ultra.png Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/9b662262-0682-43f2-9ab5-90e3b1b0e8af/storm-casters.png Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/11d88bb4-34b3-4e97-af60-6b00292809d1/mega-jump-2.png Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/47224aa6-2e83-495c-85c0-c6d66fcd6140/monsters.png Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/64cd2bdd-a88b-4371-8a34-58d067b797c7/mega-run.png Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/06554086-eca1-44da-8547-ad2aa88df7e4/mega-jump.png Work https://www.sandercock.dev/nerf daily 0.75 2023-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/b91d0a03-84f6-46a5-b422-07c590f87331/E_f6e1oWYAU_fOD.jfif Nerf - Summary of Contributions I was the Lead Game Designer for Nerf Ultimate Championship. As such, I worked on the game from early concept through to final release (2022). This work included writing GDDs, contributing to funding applications, gameplay systems design, locomotion systems design, level design, weapon mechanics, matchmaking systems design, UI & UX, progression systems, monetization systems, and tutorial design. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/3d8f35ea-bd15-47c6-b753-db1bd3039c65/locomotion.png Nerf - Locomotion The goal of Nerf Ultimate Championship is to create a Nerf battle that wouldn’t be possible anywhere but VR. A key aspect to this design goal was a fast and fluid locomotion system, allowing players to jump, double jump, wall run, and mantel. This locomotion system gives players great mobility with a high degree of mastery, allowing them to seamlessly navigate our arenas while engaged high intensity Nerf battles. To achieve this, I planned and designed a robust locomotion character controller in collaboration with the lead engineer on the project. We built a tool that would allow myself and others on the project to fine tune every aspect of the players movement, in real time and over the network so we could dial in the exact feel for the movement we wanted to achieve. Each aspect, from running / walking / crouching to jumping, mantling, and wall running were all highly configurable. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/58459511-5e3c-4057-bd25-5a33f2f33735/Blasters.png Nerf - Bringing Nerf Blasters to VR The Blasters were also a key aspect of the game. We had to strike a perfect balance between fun VR gameplay and a honest representation of how Nerf Blasters feel in real life. We knew right away the Blasters had to “feel” like Nerf Blasters, we could not take any short cuts here. I designed a system to allow us to configure each Blasters dart flight characteristics so we could fine tune each individual Blaster in the game. For every Nerf Blaster, we build a robust configuration tool, driven by an underlying data set, so we could quickly and easily build unique configurations for each Blaster. We were able to adjust the drag force, drop force, and spread force for each dart fired from the Blaster. This allowed us to create a realistic dart trajectory, where the dart has some random variation to its flight like a real Nerf Dart and naturally slows down / drops / fly’s off course the further it travels from the shooter. This robust system allowed us to model each Nerf Blaster to have a unique feeling that was district, giving each of the 12 Blasters in the game their own personality players could master. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/67ee208e-1dd8-465c-9325-5f137c178510/wall-run.gif Nerf - Level Design The goal with each arena was creating a layout with as many routes to parkour along as possible. The more players mastered the locomotion, the more they’d start to discover new and novel paths through the environment. This led to very dynamic gameplay, where players would be able to out maneuver each other via mastery of the movement systems. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/e9ed2051-e816-4994-a468-b66599f4b376/LD-01.png Nerf - Level Design Cont. Like a skatepark, the goal was building the ultimately playground for players to express their freedom of movement. Players could chain together wall runs and jumping to fluidly move through the level. Players were limited to a jump and 2nd air jump, but the jump counter would be reset by doing a wall run. This meant players could effectively say ‘off the ground’ as long as they could connect a path through the environment. This also meant that our level design required a great deal of verticality, giving players as many surfaces as possible to wall run along and find their own unique lines though the space. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1618497259178-6XJGK9GR6YAVBQL5L519/20140301_Trade-151_012-2.jpg Nerf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1607694583486-2PQT0LQ193RL7MCB6DX4/20140228_Trade+151_0046.jpg Nerf https://www.sandercock.dev/contact daily 0.75 2022-03-29 https://www.sandercock.dev/transpose daily 0.75 2023-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/a19b1852-7c9d-40c0-898b-a4ef2461cb94/screenshot-03.jpg Transpose - Summary of Contributions I was the Lead Game Designer for Transpose. As such, I worked on the game from early concept through to final release. This work included writing GDDs, contributing to funding applications, gameplay systems design, locomotion systems design, level design, time manipulation mechanics design, UI & UX, progression systems, and in-level tutorial design. Transpose is a single player puzzle game, where players must manipulate time and space to complete puzzles. It challenges players to solve increasingly complex physics puzzles as they explore an extraordinarily surreal world. A key aspect of Transpose was capturing the players movement in the real world and playing that back over time in VR via a complex character rig. Players will work with copies / replays of their past actions, needing to think ahead of how they’ll work with their future self to complete an objective. Given the complex nature of this core mechanic, there were many design challenges I had to overcome to bring this game to completion. I worked to design all aspects of gameplay and oversaw level design on Transpose, carefully balancing the difficulty of each level and overall progress to ensure new concepts were introduced to players in a gradual way. As players progressed, each level worked to build upon the former, teaching players all of the mechanics they’ll need to know to master the world of Transpose without the need for dedicated / heavy handed tutorials. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/993273a1-4435-4368-9b94-62f53c651da0/Review-01.png Transpose https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/1929ac1e-e8c9-469a-b93b-72805c7ad489/Review-02.png Transpose https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/962f41c0-7454-45cb-9a59-3c16993616e0/Review-3.png Transpose https://www.sandercock.dev/botu daily 0.75 2023-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/853d45ce-a686-4272-babe-e6445be84fdc/screenshot-01.jpg BOTU - Summary of Contributions I was the Lead Game Designer for Blasters of the Universe. As such, I worked on the game from early concept through to final release. This work included writing GDDs, contributing to funding applications, building prototypes, designing gameplay systems, weapon functionality, enemy behavior design, bullet pattern creation tools design, level design, enemy spawning tool design, boss battle design, UI & UX, progression systems, and tutorial design. Blasters of the Universe is the first of its kind, bringing the bullet hell genre into first person VR. Intense gameplay is heavily reliant on physical movement, requiring the player to duck, dodge, twist, turn, and maneuver their way through tons of enemies and hundreds of bullets. There were many design challenges to overcome on this title. Translating the bullet hell genre into VR required the creation of a complex 3D bullet pattern system. I designed this system and the patterns that it generated. This was combined with a enemy spawning system I designed that allowed me to carefully plan out enemy movement and patterns to push players to fully utilize their room scale play-space. This was a ‘stand in place’ style VR game, as in the early days of VR locomotion was fairly uncommon. I designed a unique boss battle for each level. Each had their own systems to push players to the limits of their ability. As players progressed, they’d unlock new items and upgrades for their guns that could be individually equipped so players could create a gun that perfectly fit their own personal play style. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/26214c03-3ca2-4a3e-8249-5fadb57c066f/bullet-patterns.png BOTU https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/1648592643288-2WEPT9IA0INA1ZZZVLN4/no-move-smaller.gif BOTU https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/1648592701409-NB25VHPFXQZ8MN286AG6/move-smaller.gif BOTU https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/1648592748687-A3SW0Z2Q6XKMR83YB0LL/bullet-patterns-smaller.gif BOTU https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/022a18ed-39da-4e9e-8383-1ed9f7b28e58/Review-01.png BOTU https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/f0fb4a75-0487-49f5-a57b-a88b0ea151ca/Review-02.png BOTU https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/052bcdd5-2786-49c7-9bac-509a54f323a3/Review-03.png BOTU https://www.sandercock.dev/botuif daily 0.75 2023-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/9f1f92fa-b7ae-4443-9b92-05c727f88cdd/Still_4.jpg BOTUIF - Summary of Contributions I was the Lead Game Designer for Blasters of the Universe; Infinity Forever. As such, I worked on the game from early concept through to final release. This work included writing GDDs, contributing to funding applications, building prototypes, designing gameplay systems, weapon functionality, enemy behavior design, bullet pattern creation tools design, level design, enemy spawning tool design, boss battle design, UI & UX, and tutorial design. BOTU; Infinity Forever is a new game in the Blasters IP. This title was designed for the SynthesisVR freeroam VR system. This meant players would be co-locating in the real world while playing the game. This posed a number of challenges including important safety considerations to ensure players did not run into each other while playing. Building upon the existing work of the original BOTU, we designed new bullet pattern tools and enemy spawning tools to take advantage of the wireless 360 experience untethered VR has to offer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/1623cde1-86d3-4be1-96b2-0d3dbe0ea5c5/with-doors.gif BOTUIF - Design Challenge; Continuous Throughput In order to hit our needed throughput targets, I designed a system that allowed us to seamless move groups of 4 players through a large tracked volume. Players would be carefully guided through a series of levels, physically walking to the next location as the game progressed. This was all done while the players were in VR, seamlessly being guided through the large playspace with the use of carefully planned animations and trigger points. When a group completed a level, they would be directed towards the next area. Only when the area was clear of the group, would the next group of players get the go ahead to progress. This carefully orchestrated progression ensured players would finish each level of the game at a specific time and end the whole experience with an epic boss battle. This allowed us to continually send new players into the experience and ensure different player groups would never collide with each other, all while hitting specific throughput targets. This system was so successful, players would often be very surprised when they took off their headsets and where in a completely different location than where they started. This hidden re-directed walking would be the key design inspiration for our next out of home game Teller Falls. https://www.sandercock.dev/botuif-1 daily 0.75 2023-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/f50b7d92-52dc-4bfe-ad37-2a73ca3ea116/BOTU_Shooter2.png BOTUHologate - Summary of Contributions I was the Lead Game Designer for Blasters of the Universe; Arcade Edition As such, I worked on the game from early concept through to final release. This work included writing GDDs, contributing to funding applications, designing gameplay systems, weapon functionality, enemy behavior design, bullet pattern creation tools design, level design, enemy spawning tool design, boss battle design, multiplayer design, UI & UX, and tutorial design. BOTU; Arcade Edition is a multiplayer redesign of the original Blasters of the Universe for the Hologate system. The process to adapt the original Blasters to work for a co-op multiplayer environment required us to redesign many aspect of the game. I designed new enemy targeting systems, enemy behaviors systems, health and revive systems, bullet pattern tools, redesigned boss behaviors / battles, and created new tutorials. This also required a full rebalance of the weapons and enemies, to better support a more casual arcade environment. I created all new gameplay patterns for the enemies to support the new 4 player experience. Although this game takes advantage of many of the art assets from the original release, nearly all of the underlying systems needed to be redesigned / updated to support a networked multiplayer environment and take full advantage of the features the Hologate platform has to offer. https://www.sandercock.dev/allgolf daily 0.75 2023-11-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/4680eea3-eacc-43f8-af05-3b2d905d3c21/Oykdqo.png Oops All Golf - Summary of Contributions Oops All Golf was a 72hr game jam project completed by myself, Richard Thorogood, and Nathaniel Dias. The concept of the game is a mash-up between golf and kart racing. Players need to be the first to reach the goal to win. Controls are that of a golf game, where players control their shot power and shot direction. The twist is, unlike traditional golf, everyone can shoot any time they want including while in the air. Players race across the course, trying to hit their opponents and send them flying off the course in a frenetic real time golf race We reimagined the “ball” as the character itself and when you come to a stop you’ll see the ball split in half and the character inside pop out. I came up with the concept for the game, worked on the character controller, and worked on the level design(s) of the courses. Completed within 72hrs for the Toronto Game Jam. Project was online multiplayer build in Unreal Engine 4. Available to download / play on itch.io https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/89f901f1-e492-4886-8728-b6fe0430032a/QyjS4a.gif Oops All Golf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/882742ac-e91e-4a34-beba-02f13c50f3fe/cdXn0s.png Oops All Golf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/982ed3c7-d01c-49ee-bbd4-4f3339530619/INb3oz.png Oops All Golf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/2f56616b-97a8-42eb-a705-81d38d3644ca/RJaN76.gif Oops All Golf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/fe27b5cf-fdf6-4f38-8e00-1623bab11390/U3nLif.png Oops All Golf https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/15dcde05-8a0c-43dd-b1c1-941476cb1d55/bJVfVv.png Oops All Golf https://www.sandercock.dev/tellerfalls daily 0.75 2023-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/0586ec3f-8563-43bd-8324-d3dea1ee3ccf/4.jpg TellerFalls - Summary of Contributions I contributed to the pre-production of Teller Falls as a Game Designer. I helped design the redirected walking systems, the scare systems, built early prototypes, and work on the funding applications for CMF and Ontario Creates. When the game was ready to move into production, I handed off the project and remained available to help with anything as needed during its production. https://www.sandercock.dev/rua3 daily 0.75 2023-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/f0c1d8f0-5cec-420f-870e-3987615fea39/Screenshot_4.png RUA3 - Summary of Contributions I worked as the lead level designer on the project, working to bring the feeling of the original robot unicorn attack forward for the third installment of this beloved brand. I also worked on the blueprint scripting for the game, working on character, controls, camera, and a number of UI systems. https://www.sandercock.dev/scultra daily 0.75 2023-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/463545f1-9c80-4c93-b555-94c62c3940ca/stormcasters-iphone4-ad-landscape-02.jpg SCUltra - Summary of Contributions I was the lead level designer on Storm Casters Ultra, as such I built many of the levels in the game, defined the vision of the levels, and led the team as they produced levels. I was also responsible for scripting much of the game, leading the F2P conversion of the game. Scripting was done in a custom engine built on Cocos2D. I was also responsible for running user testing on the game, gathering feedback and incorporating the learnings back into the level(s). https://www.sandercock.dev/stormcasters daily 0.75 2023-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/98d231fe-a370-405e-8cde-0919ef381b92/stormcasters.jpg StormCasters - Summary of Contributions I was the lead level designer on Storm Casters Ultra, as such I built many of the levels in the game, defined the vision of the levels, and led the team as they produced levels. I was also responsible for scripting much of the game, working on the character, controls, camera, and the majority of the progression and UI systems. Scripting was done in a custom engine built on Cocos2D. I was also responsible for running user testing on the game, gathering feedback and incorporating the learnings back into the level(s). https://www.sandercock.dev/monsters daily 0.75 2023-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/c9e1b2c3-36e2-424d-b900-24801bebf89f/9c521f23f6c43509ad9f6dd6c5aa5a4d.png monsters - Summary of Contributions I led the level design for Monsters, Inc. Run, building many of the levels in the game. There were 3 unique worlds in the game, each with their own complexities for the level design. Difficulty increased as players worked their way through each of the worlds as well, adding in additional mechanics and systems for players to contend with. As the lead, I was also responsible for managing the level design team, reviewing work and approving final levels. I was also responsible for running user testing on the game, gathering feedback and incorporating the learnings back into the level(s). https://www.sandercock.dev/megablast daily 0.75 2023-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/e03a0757-434e-488b-9564-e32be14133e7/Screenshot_1.png megablast - Summary of Contributions I led the level design for Mega Blast. As the lead level designer, I was responsible for making unique patterns that would fit into the pattern spawning system, designing the traps players would encounter, and planning the difficulty progression of the levels. I also worked to review and guide the level design team on their work. In addition to level design, I worked on blueprint scripting for the game. I build much of the character controls, camera controls, interactions, and many of the UI systems for the game. Unfortunately, the game was never released. https://www.sandercock.dev/megajump2 daily 0.75 2023-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/c12d1d95-2b00-4571-aba6-678787b076dc/megajump21.jpg megajump2 - Summary of Contributions I led the level design for Mega Jump 2. This involved creating many ‘patterns’ for the players to work through as they blasted upward. Game was that of an endless jumper, where collecting a gem, coin, or power up would propel the player further up. If they missed one of the collectibles, they’d fall and lose. I also work on scripting the game, working on the character, controls, power ups, progression systems, and the majority of the UI. I was also responsible for running user testing on the game, gathering feedback and incorporating the learnings back into the level(s). https://www.sandercock.dev/megarun daily 0.75 2023-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/2f785a1f-660f-4d3f-bd60-3ffe9a53bf67/91xfM2fwgrL.png megarun - Summary of Contributions I was the level designer on Mega Run, responsible for designing the majority of the levels in the game. Mega Run contained about 40 unique levels all together. The game was broken down into a series of worlds which players needed to complete to unlock the next world. Each world would introduce new mechanics for players to master. As the Sr. Level Designer, I also oversaw other level designers' work on the game, reviewing levels and approving final output. I was also responsible for running user testing on the game, gathering feedback and incorporating the learnings back into the level(s). https://www.sandercock.dev/megajump daily 0.75 2023-12-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/2f785a1f-660f-4d3f-bd60-3ffe9a53bf67/91xfM2fwgrL.png megajump - Summary of Contributions I was the level designer for Mega Jump. This role involved creating many ‘patterns’ for the players to work through as they blasted upward. Game was that of an endless jumper, where collecting a gem, coin, or power up would propel the player further up. If they missed one of the collectibles, they’d fall and lose. I was also responsible for running user testing on the game, gathering feedback and incorporating the learnings back into the level(s). As the team grew, I also worked to onboard and manage the other level designers. https://www.sandercock.dev/badbraingames daily 0.75 2025-09-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c3b0f791339641f9a2a356/31a2937d-a529-4520-a887-3664f920cb3d/Screenshot_1.jpg