YUME
Mobile hidden-object game about an alien trying to discover her home planet.
DESIGN PHASE
The initial idea for YuMe was inspired by a trip to a planetarium, where I was able to visually see how small we are in comparison to the rest of the universe. Our world is so caught up in division, judgement, and differences, when we could be focusing on our similarities and how we all belong as one.
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Over the next several months, I devoted time to designing my game, from the characters to the individual levels. The product was four polished sheets of wireframes, color scheme, environments, and storyboarding.
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Players would be in the shoes of Yume, the main character, who as an alien trying to make her way to Earth upon seeing people like herself. The game's name, YuMe, was a twist on the Japanese word yume, meaning "dream". When "you", the people on Earth, and "me", the player/Yume, come together, the dream comes true.
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MEETING DEVELOPERS
I submitted my game design idea to Google Play's Change the Game Design Challenge, where I was selected as one of five winners to have the opportunity to fully develop our games with game developers. We were invited to a trip to LA, where I met the other amazing winners, toured Google and NBC Universal, filmed videos at the YouTube Space, and discussed my idea with a team of game industry professionals. Trying so many new things and meeting the welcoming community, I was excited for the upcoming months where I would lead the development of my game.
DEVELOPMENT
Having bi-weekly meetings with the production team, I guided them with my vision for the game while learning more about each step of the game development process. I also learned the need for compromising, as time and resources were limited. It forced me to evaluate what the core components of my game were, and what elements were not as important.
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The end product was released to the Google Play Store in October of 2019, where it has since then amassed a community of over 78,000+ players and multiple of international accolades. Seeing the support, I continue to individually develop new levels and teach other young girls game development as an intern for Girls Make Games.
