Trailer
Details
HardDriverz is an Arcade Racer with customizable kart pieces across 6 different tracks. I balanced multiple systems within the game, such as the modular kart pieces, pickups, and drifting. I set out with the goal to make each custom kart to be the best in specific scenarios me and other level designers set up.
Team Size: 54 Developers
Software: Unreal Engine 5.5
Development Time: 240 Hours / ~4 Months
Focus: Systems Design, Balancing
Systems Design & Balancing
My Roles and Responsibilities
Created and balance 4 categories of kart modifications, with 3 pieces in each category
Collaborated with Programmers, Artists, Producers, and Game Designer to create base balancing for all the systems and drift
Worked with a team of fellow Level Designers to ideate and prototype pickup ideas. Worked with Programmers to implement refined pickup ideas
Design Goals
Balance 12+ Sets of Mod Kit Pieces
A drift that is easy to use but hard to master
Create Mod Kit pieces that are “best in context”
Early in development, I created a spreadsheet to keep track of the modular pieces as they were iterated
I also created a leaderboard with the modkit pieces used to incentivize and encourage the team to playtest and beat each other’s scores
Presented the first pass at balancing during the Vertical Slice milestone
We tested our first pass at balancing by testing the min and max limits of each mod kit together
Post-Mortem
What went well?
Early Focus on Balancing
Started working on balancing very early in the project
Found pickup references and stayed true to those pillars throughout development
Found the Fun
Once drifting was implemented, we found the fun and the morale and enjoyment of the team greatly increased
Interdisciplinary Blockers
Being blocked for majority of important sprints with little communication led to less time in engine to test
Decision-Making
Decisions about the core pillars of our game weren’t set for a long time, so it didn’t allow time for the systems to be created and iterated in the time they needed
What needs improvement?
What did I learn?
Communication with Leads and Producers
Leads were receptive to communication and concerns from the team and it was very easy to communicate and receive feedback from them.
