wade@darktreemedia.com |
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A wanderer stands peering to the west, then briefly to the east before looking back at the map. They are lost. Another earth dweller has ventured deep into the wilds of Dark Tree Media. The forgotten, overgrown, and other oddity side-projects that were, perhaps, neglected for a reason.
Proceed with caution, wanderer. |
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Made with: Unity / C#
Genre: mobile / puzzle / strategy Role(s): mobile game design, level design |
In Development
independent solo project |
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XM-13: Deadly Assault
Made with: Unity
Genre: 3rd person mech Role(s): marketing / trailer |
Spring 2013
student team project |
In the Spring of 2013, the producer of Frozen Pond asked if I'd be interested in making a trailer for the alpha build of XM-13, and I said "sure!". I in no way had any hand in helping them create the game outside of this trailer.
Check out the trailer HERE (YouTube).
Check their game out HERE (external link).
Check out the trailer HERE (YouTube).
Check their game out HERE (external link).
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Turtle Island
Made with: Game Maker: Studio
Genre: Edutainment Role(s): Game designer |
Spring 2013
independent solo project |
Created this game in one hour while sitting in mythology class. It tells the story of how the earth was created based on the Great Lakes Native American Tribes mythology. Sort of.
Click to download! 2MB, no install needed.
Click to download! 2MB, no install needed.
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Untitled Roguelike
Made with: Game Maker: Studio
Genre: Roguelike Role(s): Game designer |
Last seen: 2013
independent solo project |
I was experimenting with random area creation. I also spent a lot of time on random blood particle effects coming out of a severed hand. What fun!
There really is no current point to the game. Red squares are enemies, and you lose more limbs the more you run into them.
Click to download! 5MB, no install needed.
There really is no current point to the game. Red squares are enemies, and you lose more limbs the more you run into them.
Click to download! 5MB, no install needed.
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Mysty Screensaver
Made with: Game Maker: Studio
Genre: Screensaver Role(s): Scripter |
Last seen: 2013
independent solo project |
So I was watching the old Windows '95 Mystify Your Mind screensaver (you know the one) and thought hey! I could make that! So I sat down one evening and basically recreated it in Game Maker. It's kinda borked, but it's functional!
You can even change how fast new lines are created by pressing the up/down keys!
Click to download! 2MB, no install needed.
You can even change how fast new lines are created by pressing the up/down keys!
Click to download! 2MB, no install needed.
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Made with: UDK (Nov 2012 build)
Genre: non-linear exploration / adventure Role(s): environment design, level design |
Spring 2013
student solo project |
Robert's Key Quest was created for a level design college course. It is a polished single level that contains many of the elements that need to go into a successful level including:
• landmarking
• clear objectives
• environmental storytelling
• differences in kind
Click here for more info, screenshots, and download.
• landmarking
• clear objectives
• environmental storytelling
• differences in kind
Click here for more info, screenshots, and download.
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Made with: UDK (Nov 2012 build)
Genre: multiplayer Role(s): level design |
Spring 2013
student solo project |
No, I didn't map the amphitheatre between Spokane and Seattle. It is a small capture the flag multiplayer map intended for a 3rd person camera system. The sides mirrored with slight power-up tradeoffs that make it a balanced map for both teams.
Click here for more info, screenshots, and download
Click here for more info, screenshots, and download
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Enter the Castle
Made with: UDK (Nov 2012 build)
Genre: linear adventure Role(s): level design |
Spring 2013
student solo project |
The purpose of this map was to demonstrate how to guide the player where I as the designer wanted the player to go. Not with restrictive walls or explicit text information, but with audio and visual cues such as NPCs all going to a specific place, torches leading the player forward, and other landmarks giving the player something to move toward.
Click here to download! 460 MB, requires installation to play.
Click here to download! 460 MB, requires installation to play.
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The Morning After
Made with: UDK (Nov 2012 build)
Genre: environmental storytelling Role(s): environment design |
Spring 2013
student solo project |
The Morning After was created for a level design college course. Its purpose is to setup a story or situation that the player can figure out just by walking around in the environment without any dialogue.
The props are untextured, but I still think it works well.
download coming soon
The props are untextured, but I still think it works well.
download coming soon
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Made with: Game Maker: Studio
Genre: notgame / graphic adventure Role(s): game design, art direction, GML scripting |
Winter 2012
student solo project |
High-Score Hero was created for an advanced topics class wherein we were given three months to think outside the box and work on experimental game ideas to push the envelope of what is considered a game.
What this ended up being is a game inside of a game that dealt with the internal struggle of the main female protagonist and her mental and physical pains. The player must play through a night in the life of this young woman and learn of what is unravelling in her life by exploring their surroundings.
Click here for more info, screenshots, and download.
What this ended up being is a game inside of a game that dealt with the internal struggle of the main female protagonist and her mental and physical pains. The player must play through a night in the life of this young woman and learn of what is unravelling in her life by exploring their surroundings.
Click here for more info, screenshots, and download.
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Shape Story
Made with: Game Maker: Studio
Genre: graphic adventure Role(s): non-verbal story design |
Autumn 2012
student solo project |
This project was for an "Interactive Narrative and Character Creation" class. Its purpose, similar to The Morning After, is to tell a story without any dialogue. This takes it a step further in that it is telling a whole story, not just showing an area where something happened without sound, faces, or dialogue.
Click here to download. 2MB, no install needed.
Click here to download. 2MB, no install needed.
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Prepare For Battle
Made with: ChatMapper
Genre: Dialogue-driven adventure Role(s): dialogue |
Autumn 2012
student solo project |
This project was for an "Interactive Narrative and Character Creation" class. Its purpose is to plan out and execute many conversation trees and handle different situations based on what the player chooses to say to different NPC's. I gameified the conversations a bit to make it interesting.
The art I used in the game was lifted from the googles. This game's icon is from Crusader RexTM.
Click here to download. 507 KB, ChatMapper required.
The art I used in the game was lifted from the googles. This game's icon is from Crusader RexTM.
Click here to download. 507 KB, ChatMapper required.
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MXC Obstacle Course
Made with: Valve Source SDK (Source Engine 2009)
Genre: first-person adventure Role(s): level design |
Summer 2012
independent solo project |
Spent a few days recreating three similar obstacle courses as seen in on the TV show MXC: Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (YouTube link). Of course, there are headcrabs and zombies thrown in for good measure. The three courses I included in this map are:
• Log Drop
• Door Jammed
• Rotating Surfboard of Death
Click here to download the map. Requires Half-Life 2: Episode 2 installed. Just drop the bsp in the /maps/ folder, open the game, open the console, type "map mxc14", hit ENTER.
• Log Drop
• Door Jammed
• Rotating Surfboard of Death
Click here to download the map. Requires Half-Life 2: Episode 2 installed. Just drop the bsp in the /maps/ folder, open the game, open the console, type "map mxc14", hit ENTER.
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Mr. Pike
Made with: Game Maker 8.1
Genre: Side-scrolling adventure Role(s): game design, level design |
Last seen: Summer 2012
independent solo project |
An ordinary man has a boring job and life, but decides to change all of that...
Made in 2 days for the 2012 "Change of Plans" 48-Hour Game Jam. A spiffed-up version was worked on for a couple more days to smoothen out the experience. All of the art and code was done in Photoshop and GML respectively, and heavy use of the freeware sfxr program for sound effects.
Click here to download Mr. Pike (spiffy edition)! No install needed. 2 MB.
Click here to download Mr. Pike (original game jam edition)! No install needed. 2 MB.
Made in 2 days for the 2012 "Change of Plans" 48-Hour Game Jam. A spiffed-up version was worked on for a couple more days to smoothen out the experience. All of the art and code was done in Photoshop and GML respectively, and heavy use of the freeware sfxr program for sound effects.
Click here to download Mr. Pike (spiffy edition)! No install needed. 2 MB.
Click here to download Mr. Pike (original game jam edition)! No install needed. 2 MB.
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Made with: UDK (Oct 2011 build)
Genre: 3rd person / puzzle / action / adventure Role(s): lead designer, art direction, kismet scripting |
Spring 2012
student team project |
Tasty is a 3rd-person action adventure made in UDK with a team of 8 people.
This team excercise built a lot of hard-learned lessons into me:
•Scope, scope, scope
•Know when to kill an idea if it isn't working
•To not punish players for finding interesting ways to complete your level
•UnrealScript's hierarchy system is a maddening nightmare
Click here for screenshots, download link, and developer info
This team excercise built a lot of hard-learned lessons into me:
•Scope, scope, scope
•Know when to kill an idea if it isn't working
•To not punish players for finding interesting ways to complete your level
•UnrealScript's hierarchy system is a maddening nightmare
Click here for screenshots, download link, and developer info
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Made with: Game Maker 8 / GML
Genre: puzzle / strategy Role(s): game, level, and puzzle design, menu systems |
December 2011
student solo project |
Water Power is perhaps one of my better examples of strong game design, vision, and branding all coming together in one package. Featured in the 2011 DigiPen demo reel, Water Power's liquid simulation puzzles in a pixel world was a blast to work on.
Click here for screenshots, download link, and trailer
Click here for screenshots, download link, and trailer
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Made with: Game Maker Studio / GML
Genre: tower defense / strategy My role(s): level design, scripting |
Spring 2011
student solo project |
I was tasked to create a strategy game in a month, and thus Protect the Papaya was born! It is a tower defense game made in Game Maker Studio.
Click here for screenshots, download link, and trailer
Click here for screenshots, download link, and trailer
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Made with: Game Maker 8
Genre: Side-scrolling platformer Role(s): game design, level design, menu systems |
Autumn 2010
student solo project |
Wake Up Rokuko is a collection-based platformer. In each of the levels, you must collect enough blood cells and find the exit to move on. Completed in 2010, I spent a total of 1 month working on the game.
Made using Game Maker, I designed the game, levels and menu systems (level selection, too!). The last level did not get enough playtesting and is near-impossible, but can you find the 5 secret hearts?
Click here to see gameplay trailer, screenshots, and download.
Made using Game Maker, I designed the game, levels and menu systems (level selection, too!). The last level did not get enough playtesting and is near-impossible, but can you find the 5 secret hearts?
Click here to see gameplay trailer, screenshots, and download.
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Made with: LemEdit
Genre: action puzzle Role(s): level design, puzzle design |
Summer 2008
independent solo project |
Custom Lemmings Level Pack #1 is a package of 6 custom Lemmings maps I worked on as a solo project. Each level explores a new idea and requires the player to build on each idea to complete each succeeding level.
Made in DOS using LemEdit over the course of a couple months. Each level was created from scratch with stock Lemmings art assets.
Click here to see screenshots and download.
Made in DOS using LemEdit over the course of a couple months. Each level was created from scratch with stock Lemmings art assets.
Click here to see screenshots and download.
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Saturday Night G-Man
Made with: Valve Hammer SDK
Genre: music video Role(s): camera scripting |
Last seen: 2005
independent solo project |
Great waste of time or greatest? In 2005 I thought it'd be a pretty sweet idea to have the G-Man strut to "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees. "That'll NEVER get old" I told myself.
Click here (youtube) to see the G-Man in action.
Click here if you want to download the map for yourself (includes vmf mapsrc).
Click here (youtube) to see the G-Man in action.
Click here if you want to download the map for yourself (includes vmf mapsrc).
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Made with: WorldCraft/Hammer 3.5
Genre: dungeon crawl Role(s): game design, level design |
Q4 2004
independent solo project |
Dungeon Death is a first-person action dungeon crawl set in various chambers of a castle. Explore the expansive underground labyrinth to try and escape the clutches of your captors! This is by far the biggest project I have undergone solo. I worked on this game between 2002 and 2004.
Click here for a short post mortem, screenshots, and download.
Click here for a short post mortem, screenshots, and download.
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Made with: WorldCraft / Hammer 3.4
Genre: first person multiplayer Role(s): level design |
24 October 2004
independent solo project |
An indoors and outdoors map with lots of areas to explore and get lost in. Had a lot of fun making this and creating dozens of original textures for the project.
Click here for more info, screenshots, and download.
Click here for more info, screenshots, and download.