Auxilia - Third-Person Arena Strategy Game

Overview:

During the production of Auxilia, I served as the Gameplay and Sound Designer, collaborating with a team of developers to design and implement features across multiple milestones over a five-month period as part of AIE’s Major Production.

Platform: PC

Game Engine: Unity

Duration: Five Months

Team Size: 8

Roles:

Game Trailer:

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Project Roles:

  • Designed strategy-based combat systems and mechanics that aligned with the project’s vision of a third-person, action-oriented game.

  • Developed a movement system that maintained the intended arcade-style third-person control scheme, and created a combat system centered around AI-controlled armies, whose movements were directed by the player using the custom movement mechanics.

  • Produced level designs in both 2D diagrams and implemented them as fully realized in-engine levels.

  • Added depth to combat by designing a formation mechanic that allowed players to configure their soldiers into four distinct setups, enhancing tactical decision-making.

  • Continuously analyzed and refined key systems—such as troop spawning and formations—throughout development to improve player flow, ease of use, and strategic potential, while staying on schedule with project milestones.

  • Collaborated with the development team to evaluate project scope, advising on which features (including my own) should be cut or revised to meet deadlines. Helped establish contingency plans for features affected by time constraints.

  • Heavily edited and repurposed Creative Commons sound effects and recorded voice lines to ensure they matched the artistic style and tone of their associated assets.

  • Iterated on audio assets that did not meet the project’s quality standards or intended emotional impact—refining, replacing, or reworking them until they aligned with the desired feel.

Post-Mortem:

I gained experience from working on the Auxilia project, and had to solve a lot of problems not only as a designer but also as a teammate. The team never had any personal issues between members, but during the beginning of the project there was a decent amount of disagreement on what we were going to make. Many of the artists were wanting to do an action-based game of some-kind, whether that was a racing game or an actual third-person action game. I, the designer on the team, wanted to try and make something with strategy that would have allowed me the chance to design elaborate systems and mechanics that were more complex than that of a generic racing or action game.

During the initial stages of the game development process, I advocated strongly for a specific vision centered on strategic mechanics, including armies and formations. However, as the team leaned toward a third-person action game, I faced the challenge of aligning my ideas with the majority's direction. To foster collaboration and avoid imposing my vision, I agreed to a compromise, integrating my proposed mechanics into the action-oriented framework. This decision preserved the core elements of my design while adapting to the team's chosen genre.

The production phase proceeded smoothly, with the team collaborating effectively throughout the project. However, upon reflection, I realized that while the strategic mechanics functioned technically, they did not fully deliver the engaging experience I had envisioned. This experience taught me a critical lesson: game mechanics must be tailored to the specific genre to maximize their impact. In future projects, I will prioritize maintaining the integrity of the creative vision by either aligning mechanics with the chosen genre from the outset or advocating for a more cohesive design approach. These insights will guide my approach to game design moving forward.

Note: All screenshots and the video reflect the work of the entire team (Programming, Art, Design, FX, SFX, etc).