Joseph Murphy
A graduate game designer based in Glasgow, Scotland
Bio
Video games are my passion. From my first time playing my Playstation, to the countless hours spent playing online with friends, I've always enjoyed looking at video games from every angle possible. They are a form of art, and every moving piece fascinates me.
From developing games in collaboration with Rockstar North, to doodling ideas for small projects in my notepad, I love nothing more than tinkering with new ideas to find what works and what doesn't. Passion and creativity are at the very heart of game design, and that's exactly what motivates me!
SUMMARY
VERTICO is a 3D free-running platformer developed in Unreal Engine 4. It was created as a 3rd year project at Glasgow Caledonian University. In the game, you play as Maia, a mercenary looking to take down Booble, a dangerous and antagonistic corporation.
DESIGN
On this project, I was the lead designer, responsible for creating the level design and movement mechanics. I worked closely with two other designers on the project.
We knew immediately that the movement system was going to be the most important part in making the game feel good to play, so we focussed heavily on ensuring every movement felt responsive and natural.
PREPRODUCTION
As this was a univeristy project, we were asked to create a concept pitch, prototype and vertical slice within 12 weeks. Following this, we then had another 12 weeks to deliver a tightly focussed finished product.
SUMMARY
SHROOM INTERNAL was created as part of Global Game Jam 2023. You play as an evil druid, killing innocent mushrooms and plants to claim the tree as your own.
This was my first ever Game Jam. The experience taught me a lot about prioritising work in a small time frame, creating a smaller, more solid experience, and most importantly, the significance of sleep!
DESIGN
The theme of GGJ23 was "ROOTS". Our team decided that we would take this theme and use it as the setting for our game; the inside of a tree, with the player working their way towards its roots. The team decided that our game would be a bullet-hell roguelite.
DEVELOPMENT
Once our programmers started to piece together the core game mechanics, our team of designers worked on different aspects of the game, including enemy types, player attacks, pickups and overall level layout.
Ultimately, a lot of features were cut from the game, but the team decided that we would continue working on SHROOM INTERNAL until we had a small, refined experience we could consider complete. Watch this space!
Check out the loop I created for SHROOM INTERNAL below. This was my first time using FLStudio.
SUMMARY
Puzzles of the Sunstone is a 2D co-op platformer which has the players work together to solve puzzles. This game was created in Unity for a 2nd year university submission
DESIGN
I was one of two designers on this project. We opted to use simple storyboards to demonstrate the general path to completion for the player. The artists had a particular style in mind, so as designers, we focussed heavily on the player journey, and used the storyboards mostly to explain progression, rather than how the game should "Feel"
DEVELOPMENT
The game was made in 12 weeks as part of a univeristy module. Along the way, I worked with the other designer to create a series of increasingly complex puzzles. We managed to storyboard our favourites and refine the game.
The project was praised by lecturers for its focus on cooperation, and the fun pressure placed on the players with a time limit of 60 seconds.
Here's a trailer for the game
Education
HNC - Computer Games Design, West College Scotland
BSc - Computer Games Design, Glasgow Caledonian University
"It should be the experience, that is touching. What I strive for is to make the person playing the game the director."
Shigeru Miyamoto
Get in Touch
Interested in working with me? I'm excited to hear about opportunities to show my dedication!
