Productions

Production 04Math Apocalypse

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01 Serious game · Educational

Math Apocalypse

A quirky wave shooter for third graders, built by a team of three in a fixed 8-week window. I was game designer and producer: I set up the pipeline, broke the work into deliverables, ran the standups, validated curriculum fit with a teacher and delivered a classroom build.

Role
Game Designer & Producer
Team
3 people
Timeline
May – Jul 2024 · fixed 8-week window
Built with
Unity 2D · C# · Trello · GitHub

I owned

  • Production: Trello, GitHub, standups, playtests and school outreach.
  • The design brief: zero setup, curriculum-aligned.
  • QA reports sent to engineering.

I worked with

  • Engineering: my teammates wrote the C# code.
  • A Salt Lake City teacher, for curriculum fit.
  • An elementary school contact who tested the build.
See the pipeline Watch gameplay
Math Apocalypse title art: a cartoon wizard faces angry red birds carrying math problems on scrolls.

02 Production role

Designer and producer on a team of three

I owned design and production; my teammates wrote the C# code. I set up pipelines in Trello and GitHub, broke big tasks into small deliverables, and ran daily standups to keep design, engineering and art aligned. That structure let us iterate fast and fold in feedback from several playtest rounds.

  • PipelineSet up Trello and GitHub, and broke large tasks into small deliverables.
  • CadenceDirected production timelines and daily standups across design, engineering and art to deliver inside a fixed 8-week window.
  • QualityVerified game quality against team standards by debugging extensively and submitting detailed reports to the engineering team.
  • ReachValidated curriculum fit with a teacher, pitched the game to a contact in the Salt Lake City school system and delivered a classroom build for teachers to try.

03 Creation process

Prototype to classroom in eight weeks

  1. Prototype

    A classroom game with no barrier to entry

    • Designed around the grade 3 curriculum.
    • Consulted a Salt Lake City teacher on classroom needs.
    • Ran production in Trello and GitHub.

  2. Alpha

    Core loop, enemies and look

    • Built scoring on accuracy and speed with a decay mechanic.
    • Designed two non-intimidating enemy types.
    • Made cartoon UI assets and animations.

  3. Beta

    Depth and playtests

    • Added stage progression with more varied problems.
    • Introduced the streak multiplier.
    • Playtested at the U of U Division of Games.

  4. Gold

    Into schools

    • Pitched to a contact in SLC elementary schools and shared a build for teachers to try.
    • Ran QA with detailed bug reports.

04 Watch

Every equation is part of the action

Get answers right to build multipliers and push into faster, harder waves. Slip up and you lose momentum, and maybe your run.

Walkthrough Gameplay

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