Bitboarders

Platforms: My Roles: Game Director, Game Designer, Character Designer, UX/UI Designer Tools: Unity, C#, VS Studio, Photoshop, Blender, Adobe XD, Substance Painter

Bitboarders is a 4 player free-for-all party game where you ride a hoverboard and attempt to knock out all other players with a plasma trail. The game was pitched and targeted to be complete in a 3-4 month development period. I developed the concept and overall design and worked along side a team of about 7-10 people.

A clip showing the basic movement/controls as well as the level.

Designing the Main Characters

Click on the audio clips to hear their voices.

The main characters of Bitboarders were heavily influenced by elements of the cyberpunk genre. Things like technology, prosthetics, eye wear, hoodies, and an overall punk feel were some of the things I knew I wanted to include in the designs. I knew I eventually wanted to add voices to these characters early on, so I invested time in developing backstories for the game and for each of them as well.

Backstory & Character Bios

The year is 22XX. Earth been transformed due to technological advancements. Space travel is possible. Humans, robots, aliens, and cyborg animals co-exist.

One major change in the entertainment industry is the world of Neo Sports; the next evolution of traditional sports. Large corporations have invested heavily in the new world of "Neo Sports". Stadiums dedicated to every sport imaginable are found in capitals of the world. One such sport is called Bitboarding. Although similar to skateboarding, bitboarding requires a specialized bitboard that allows a user to hover over the ground and accelerate at high speeds. These specialized boards also produce a virtual light trail when performing a boost.

Bitboard Augmented Reality Zones (or BARZ for short) are a special type of augmented reality arena that covers a particular area (typically found in stadiums, but can be configured to be anywhere; even city streets). In this area, it's possible to eliminate players temporarily (and by default, harmlessly) from the game and score points (based on the BARZ configuration settings).

BitSoft, the corporation behind the creation of the Bitboard, hosts a plethora of events all over the world for professional level bitboarders. Bitboarders from all over the world participate in these tournaments to gather points to achieve the top ranking in the global leaderboards. In turn, fame and money awaits the top performing bitboarders.

Karma

Age: 25

An augmented woman who lost her right leg during an illegal bitboarding match in the underground sectors of Avary City. Her goal is to track down the leader of an illegal bitboarding group and stop all crime related to the sport. She's stoic, reserved, and collected. She chews bubblegum as a way to calm her nerves down before a match.

Brax

Age: 40

A cyborg polar bear who dreams of being the first augmented animal to achieve a top ranking in the global leaderboards. Although animals and humans co-exist, there still exists some animosity between the two. He hopes to bridge the gap and show that animals are just as capable as humans in the world of Neo Sports. He's educated, kind, and humble, but has a deep voice and is not afraid to back down from a challenge.

Caesar

Age: 32

An augmented man seeking aid for his ill daughter. He was a former member of an illegal bitboarding group, but decided to quit once his daughter was born. He owns a bitboard repair shop and knows the ins and outs of a bitboard. He's brash, cocky, and sometimes boastful, but can be supportive and kind to people close to him; especially his daughter.

Highwire

Age: 25 (But disabled for a great period of time)

A robot who was developed by BitSoft as a way to test Bitboards during the early stages. BitSoft tossed the beta tester robots in a warehouse after some time and a mysterious mechanic stole this specific model. Because of the advanced technology, he eventually developed a fierce personality and with the help of the mechanic, became a world class bitboarder. His goal is to show BitSoft and the world their mistake of tossing him aside.

Menu UI

I designed the Bitboarders UI with a futuristic theme in mind. Neon green and black were the main colors which allowed the vibrant colors of the characters and background to pop out even more.

I am a big fan of kinetic typography and instantly knew this project would be perfect for it. Bitboarders expresses rebellious and anarchic themes in the story/characters, so the UI also reflects that. The text is sometimes sideways, scrolling, and large to really showcase that aesthetic.

Each screen, however, has a clear indicator of what the user is allowed to do within that screen. The controller buttons and functions displayed at the bottom right as well as the title of the current menu on the left further tells the user exactly what they can or cannot do.

Designing Merch

Bitboarders (along with other games) is one of the games showcased at various gaming expos. In order to help promote the game, merchandise is designed and created to be handed out during these types of events.

Initial pixel character art.

Art is then put on buttons...

...and shirts!