I designed this video game while I was enrolled in couse called Immersive Landscape (opens new window) at Harvard. The premise is that the year is 2114, and Earth is in a post-apocalyptic state. You are wandering through an inhospitable landscape in search of resources to stay alive. To escape conflict, you’ve been traveling South, and are making your way through the unexplored Sonoran desert. In the distance you see a geodesic dome...as you get closer you discover that It is an artificial closed ecosystem that was created to support life! However, getting inside the biodome you are horrified to see that everything has been clearcut! The entire artificial ecosystem has been scavenged of living materials! But, all is not lost...you notice that the soil structure, artificial water cycle, air, and sunlight are all still there...the key ingredients for photosynthesis and plant growth to occur! To survive you must use your shortwave radio to communicate with the synthetic biologists from your gang back in Los Angeles (players with a printed manual helping you from outside the game) to figure out how to regenerate this biodome ecosystem using synthetic biology before you run out of the food and water you are carrying!

Role: Lead Game Designer

Tools Used: Cinema 4D, Unreal Engine 4, Ableton Live, Adobe Premier Pro

Methods Used: Game design, learning experience design, 3D art mock ups, jobs to be done interviews, rapid prototyping, usability testing, desirability testing, playtesting

In Collaboration With:
Preston Bezos (Lead 3D Artist)
Sebastian Perez (Lead Programer)
Trent Piercy (Senior Programer)
Jennifer Kaczmarek (Synthetic Biology Content Expert)