1. Idea%on
Before
we
landed
on
Chad
we
had
an
idea
for
a
puzzle
game
in
which
you
controlled
mul%ple
cubes
that
could
climb
on
top
of
each
other
and
stacked
to
get
over
a
wall.
I
think
we
all
decided
that
this
game
could
end
up
being
boring
and
possibly
quite
hard
to
do.
We
knew
we
wanted
something
instantly
addic%ve
and
something
rela%vely
simple
to
do
for
our
first
ever
game.
I
thought
back
to
my
childhood
with
games
and
remembered
this
one
mini
game
that
was
part
of
an
old
Gameboy
Advanced
game
that
I
was
extremely
addicted
to.
It
was
an
endless
runner
of
this
small
guy
that
had
to
dodge
these
endless
rounds
of
obstacles.
Mo
suggested
a
game
with
a
similar
premise
ska%ng
game
with
limited
controls
in
which
you
can
either
jump,
double
jump
and
duck
out
the
way
of
these
obstacles.
The
group
liked
the
idea
and
immediately
started
brainstorming
stories
behind
this
ska%ng
character,
what
he
looked
like
and
what
his
name
was.
We
drew
influence
from
the
cool
‘ska%ng
dude
persona’
like
such
character
as
Mart
McFly
from
Back
To
The
Future
and
other
cool
dude
characters
like
Ferris
Bueller.
This
drew
us
to
the
80’s,
the
decade
in
which
most
of
the
character
we
were
discussing
came
from.
We
also
came
up
with
the
name
‘Chad’
a
name
that
we
believed
summed
up
this
American
cool
guy
persona.
We
quickly
started
discussing
the
art
design
for
the
game
and
how
we
all
wanted
this
retro,
colourful
design
reminiscent
of
the
80s.
We
wanted
the
style
to
mirror
that
of
games
made
in
the
80s,
and
to
evoke
a
nostalgia,
so
we
decided
on
a
complete
’8-­‐bit’
design.
We
started
looking
at
8
bit
art
and
8
bit
cityscapes
and
drew
out
some
quick
character
art
of
the
basics
of
what
this
cool
dude
would
look
like,
blond
mullet,
sunglasses.
Then
Andy
ran
with
it,
crea%ng
a
character
designed
in
8
bit,
incorpora%ng
the
basics
of
our
basic
sketches.
Pre
Produc%on
The
pre
produc%on
stage
of
Chad
was
all
about
taking
ac%on
on
what
we
were
planning.
A
significant
element
was
developing
the
character
of
Chad
in
different
ways.
Our
first
design
for
Chad
looked
almost
like
a
collage
and
didn’t
really
have
a
dis%nct
style.
Aside
from
the
chunky,
bold
cartoon
features
were
actual
real
life
stock
photos
of
hands
and
shoes
and
looking
back,
this
looked
odd
and
a
liRle
too
plain.
The
feedback
that
we
received
from
our
ini%al
pitch
was
mainly
posi%ve,
with
the
storyline
and
theme
being
credited
for
its
originality.
We
men%oned
an
8
bit
theme
and
our
target
audience
urged
us
to
move
forward
with
that
rather
than
the
design
of
Chad’s
model
that
we
already
had
on
show.
So,
whilst
keeping
some
his
defini%ve
features
in
tact,
we
dras%cally
modified
his
image.
The
addi%on
of
the
leather
jacket
added
a
layered
look
to
his
characters
fashion
sense
and
added
more
depth
to
both
his
look
and
his
image.
Chad
Development Pipeline

2. We
began
work
on
the
background
and
objects
found
in
the
game.
ATer
some
research,
we
devised
a
way
to
create
a
template
for
8
bit
art
in
Illustrator.
We
also
researched
how
to
create
effec%ve
8
bit
art
via
tutorials
and
looking
at
work
we
liked
online.
The
buildings,
inspired
by
an
8
bit
skyline
we
had
found
on
Google
image,
were
the
first
to
be
drawn
out.
We
tried
hard
to
form
a
realis%c
metropolis,
layering
smaller
buildings
over
larger
ones
and
going
into
as
much
detailed
as
varying
window
sizes
for
different
buildings.
We
created
two
different
pages
of
the
buildings
in
different
arrangements,
in
an
aRempt
to
vary
the
paRerns
of
buildings
scrolling
past
in
the
game
to
make
it
more
realis%c.
Making
sure
to
colour
the
majority
of
it
with
purple,
a
colour
the
opposite
side
of
the
colour
wheel
to
the
buildings
lighter
green
shade,
the
background
was
next
to
be
“pixeled”
in.
Our
background
design
s%ll
does
resemble
our
s%mulus
image
but
we
thought
best
to
use
a
wider
range
of
bright
colours
to
enhance
the
80’s
theme.
To
inspire
the
game’s
story
and
theme
and
its
development,
we
decided
to
start
work
on
the
musical
aspects
of
the
game
early
on.
We
pieced
together
a
main
music
track
and
had
formed
the
idea
that
the
levels
would
progressively
gain
pace
so
two
other
tracks
were
created
but
in
higher
pitches
and
with
faster
BPMs.
However,
these
tracks
were
soTened
with
light
keyboard
melodies
that
held
the
cheesy
vibe
of
the
80’s
pop
music
but
lacked
the
true
sound
of
the
era’s
synthesisers
and
this
would
give
the
game
a
lack
of
authen%city.
We
decided
to
create
a
new
set
of
tracks,
all
different,
that
featured
a
melodic
main
theme,
a
up-­‐tempo
and
bass
dominated
gameplay
track
and
then
a
u%lity
track
with
some
harmonising
synth
riffs
to
fill
any
gaps
where
we
might
need
music.
We
also
used
the
keyboards
to
create
sounds
for
poten%al
enemies
and
power
ups,
the
enemies
being
represented
by
the
distorted
sound
of
a
modified
drum
machine
snare
and
the
power
up
sound
being
a
very
fast,
ascending
scale.
We
posted
these
sounds
on
our
Soundcloud
account
for
anonymous
feedback
and
it
came
back
strong.
It
turns
out
that
the
more
authen%cally
retro
something
sounds
nowadays,
the
more
fascina%ng
it
seems
to
be…
Produc%on
The
beginning
of
our
produc%on
was
a
liRle
rushed
to
say
the
least.
We
elongated
the
default
tablet
screen
we
had
open
in
Gamesalad
to
a
great
extent
and
simply
added
a
range
of
different
rectangles
and
cubes
in
a
long
line.
We
at
least
created
the
yellow
cube
that
would
end
up
actually
being
‘Chad’.
However,
the
parallax
scrolling
background
could
not
be
formed
in
such
a
limited
game
environment
as
there
was
nothing
destroying
the
instances
of
the
background
that
were
already
past
the
leT
of
the
screen.
We
found
a
way
around
this
though,
with
the
crea%on
of
spawn
and
destroy
rule
for
the
instances
and
a
few
strategically
placed
aRributes.
ATer
adjus%ng
the
size
of
our
designed
background
and
buildings,
we
were
able
to
insert
them
in
and
shortly
aTerwards,
and
add
in
the
corresponding
images
to
cover
the
rectangles
that
were
ac%ng
as
the
wall
obstacles.
A
member
of
our
team,
Andy,
spent
hours
mastering
the
technique
of
randomizing
the
spawning
of
the
obstacles.
He
created
several
‘randomize’
aRributes
in
the
spawn
actor
and
assigned
each
obstacle
to
a
different
number
and
if
that
number
was
randomly
selected,
the
corresponding
obstacle
would
spawn.
An
issue
that
arose
towards
the
laRer
part
of
the
main
produc%on
period
was
the
size
of
Chad’s
design
image
to
cover
his
Gamesalad
actor.
When
first
added,
it
appeared

3. really
detailed
yet
small
and
the
walls
were
about
three
%mes
the
size
of
him!
Sure,
it
made
the
jumps
he
made
look
epic
but
it
appeared
less
than
realis%c.
ATer
going
through
a
phase
of
Chad
not
showing
up
at
all
due
to
some
turned
off
aRributes,
we
finally
modified
his
correct
size.
Sound
was
added
to
the
game
towards
the
later
part
of
the
produc%on
process
as
well,
yet
other
elements
were
s%ll
being
prepared
whilst
this
was
happening
such
as
the
perfec%on
of
the
character
anima%on
and
some
minor
adjustments
with
the
obstacle
spawn
rate.
One
of
the
seemingly
yet
preRy
effec%ve
decisions
that
had
to
be
made
was
the
choice
for
a
gameplay
music
track.
Obviously,
by
this
point,
we
understood
that
our
ini%al,
intended
main
theme
would
hold
that
status
as
its
chord
progression
and
melody
were
far
too
relaxed
and
joyous
to
be
able
to
mo%vate
players
in
the
way
that
the
actual
gameplay
music
needed
to.
We
had
two
tracks
to
choose
from:
a
track
featuring
a
low,
fuzzy
bassline
and
stereotypically
8
bit
and
retro
sounding
instruments
layered
over
the
top
that
provided
a
somewhat
glitchy
melody;
and
then
a
track
backed
by
a
more
melodic
bassline
in
a
slightly
higher
register
with
a
stronger,
finer
melody
that
is
complimented
by
strong
harmonic
nota%on.
It
was
a
piece
with
character
vs
a
piece
with
musical
appeal
and
we
had
to
pick
the
character
to
boost
the
game’s
atmosphere.
Players
want
to
really
dig
in
to
the
8
bit
world
and
that
track
provided
such
a
gateway!
Most
sound
effects
on
the
other
hand
were
scouted
from
an
online
directory
apart
from
the
death
sound,
which
I
created
by
sounding
a
deep,
short,
somewhat
blunt,
two
note
descending
scale
in
E
minor,
on
my
synth.
Sounds
such
as
the
jump
sound,
were
adjusted
pitch
wise
in
order
to
correspond
effec%vely
with
both
the
music
and
the
game
environment.
Post
Produc%on
The
alpha
version
of
had
had
received
some
very
promising
feedback,
despite
the
fact
that
it
featured
virtually
no
artwork
and
just
mechanics,
so
with
a
liRle
bit
more
ar%s%c
detail
linked
in,
we
expected
posi%ve
reviews
from
Beta.
Fortunately,
we
were
right.
The
theme
was
an
engaging
success
that
complimented
the
simple
mechanics
to
form
a
fun,
casual
liRle
game.
We
wanted
to
add
more
though.
We
knew
that
we
could.
There
was
no
voice
ac%ng
for
Chad,
which
we
had
planned
to
incorporate
all
along.
There
was
also
no
anima%on:
he
needed
to
make
some
sort
of
movement
when
he
jump
and
landed
whilst
on
the
board
and
there
needed
to
be
some
sort
of
physical
consequence
triggered
when
he
crashed,
rather
than
the
glitch
stop
swiTly
succeeded
by
the
game
over
screen,
that
the
game
came
to
when
he
collided
into
an
obstacle
before.
Adding
in
the
jump
anima%on
was
just
a
case
of
lowering
the
bounciness
of
his
actor
to
stable
it
a
bit
and
making
sure
that
the
frames
of
it
didn’t
move
to
fast
or
to
slow.
We
understood
that
it
was
all
about
enforcing
the
absolute
correct
amount
of
seconds
between
frames
to
ensure
that
the
way
he
moved
was
swiT
enough,
yet
smooth
enough.
The
‘destroy’
anima%on
,
as
we
called
it,
was
significantly
harder
to
create,
as
we
not
only
had
to
design
a
whole
new
pixel
work
of
art
but
we
also
had
to
stop
both
the
background
and
all
other
obstacles
from
moving
as
soon
as
Chad
would
collide
with
one.
We
grasped
some
inspira%on
for
8
bit
explosion
artwork
online
and
drew
out
a
similar
design
in
illustrator
but
in
the
colour
blue,
so
that
it
didn’t
blend
in
too
much
with
the
already
reddish
background.
Mo
rather
comically
recorded
some
vocal
sound
effects
to
accompany
Chad
using
the
simple
acous%cs
of
the
four
walls
of
his
bedroom.
The
shouts,
screams
and
cheers
that
he
produced
were
later
added
into
the
game,
using
the
same
randomise
behaviour
as
the
obstacles,
except
this
%me
just
for
sound
and
with
the
addi%on
of
some
“blank”
numbers,
to
ensure
that
Chad
doesn’t
cheer
necessarily
every
%me
he
jumps.

4. The
thought
of
adding
in
a
further
amount
of
obstacles
didn’t
arise
un%l
the
latest
stages
of
the
post
produc%on
phase.
Just
as
we’d
thought
we
really
had
a
game,
we
broadened
our
thoughts
and
perspec%ves
and
strived
to
make
it
beRer.
The
idea
of
moving
obstacles
such
as
vehicles
may
have
been
a
simple
and
rather
obvious
op%on
yet
it
makes
such
a
difference
to
the
gameplay,
adding
an
extra
factor
for
the
player
to
bare
in
mind,
the
wariness
of
the
speed
of
the
obstacle,
as
well
as
its
size.
The
designs
for
the
lorries
and
sports
cars
were
added
in
to
the
randomised
obstacle
spawner
rules,
only
the
Lorrie’s
speed
was
change
to
500
rather
than
the
wall’s
standard
300
whilst
the
sports
car’s
speed
was
placed
at
400.