A

As the Lead Designer and sole designer on our team. I took ownership of the overall design direction across every stage of development. Working in a small team meant wearing multiple hats, requiring me to bridge the gap between creative vision, system mechanics, and technical execution.

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1. Gameplay & System Design

I was responsible for designing the core gameplay loop and shaping the player experience to answer one core question: "What is it like to live with ADHD-I?" I translated key symptoms into interactive mechanics:

• Floating Thoughts (Bubbles) Mechanic

  • Design Goal: Simulate weak working memory and task retention.

  • Implementation: Players must tap and hold a thought bubble to stay focused, but can only hold one thought at a time. Releasing it causes the thought to fade, representing how easily people with ADHD-I forget tasks mid-execution.​​

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• Fake Floating Thoughts (Bubbles) Mechanic

  • Design Goal: Evoke sensory and cognitive overwhelm.

  • Implementation: Decoy thought bubbles spawn to confuse the player, mirroring how children with ADHD-I often mix up details or fixate on the wrong objective (e.g., buying flour instead of bread).​​

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• Distraction Mechanic

  • Design Goal: Convey high susceptibility to environmental triggers and time blindness.

  • Implementation: Objects like cats, toys, or snacks trigger sidetracks that waste in-game time and budget. This illustrates how external stimuli cause players to lose focus and perform unintended actions without noticing.

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• "Calling Mom" Mechanic

  • Design Goal: Replicate external scaffolding and parental support structures.

  • Implementation: Players can call "Mom" to recover lost thought bubbles. This captures the nostalgic yet realistic dynamic of a child running errands, getting disoriented, and needing a parent's reassurance to get back on track.

 

2. UI & UX Design

I designed all the wireframes, user flows, and final UI layouts. To align the interface with the game’s educational theme:

• Paper & Doodle Aesthetic: I styled the menus to look like handmade paper with scribbled notes, giving the interface a playful, school notebook feel that fits an educational game.

• Clean Vertical HUD: Because the game plays in a portrait layout, I kept the HUD clean and minimal so important information remains easy to read at a glance without cluttering the screen.

 

3. Narrative Design & Worldbuilding

As the narrative designer, I established the game’s world, premise, and pacing. To give the game a strong sense of identity, I set the story in a nostalgic Asian neighborhood:

• Culturally Grounded Setting: I designed the environment around suburban landscapes commonly seen in Southeast Asia, infusing local architectural details and everyday cultural touches into the world.

• Setting & Premise: Developed the core story and background setting, anchoring the gameplay in a relatable, real-world context.

• Narrative Flow & Objectives: Mapped out the overarching game progression and mission objectives, ensuring that every task and quest felt naturally tied to the setting and premise.

 

4. Level Design

I designed the 3D levels featuring a Southeast Asian suburban neighborhood and a local grocery store:

• Authentic Yet Gameplay-Focused Layouts: Modeled the interior of the grocery store on actual local neighborhood shops, balancing real-world spatial authenticity with clear player movement and gameplay flow.

• Atmospheric Lighting: Configured lighting setups throughout the neighborhood and shop to match the game's warm, nostalgic, and educational mood while keeping key objective areas easy to spot.

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5. Quality Assurance & Direction

• Led regular playtesting sessions to identify bugs, balance issues, and pacing dead zones.

• Worked closely with our programmers and artists to iterate on feedback, ensuring every system, visual asset, and feature stayed true to the creative direction.

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6. Sound Design

I find and list out every sound effects and music background needed in the game.

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7. Game Trailer

I captured and edited the gameplay and make it to a game trailer (Game trailer link).