Christopher McGerr - Game Designer

Projects at Glasgow Caledonian University

I studied at the undergraduate level in Glasgow, on the BSc (Hons) Computer Games (Design) course at Glasgow Caledonian University where I achieved a first class degree.

As with most modern games-related university courses, the course at Glasgow Caledonian has a yearly Integrated Project during the first three years where students from the three major disciplines (design, programming, and art) come toghether to complete a game based off of a brief provided by lecturers - which they have respond to present the results of within the last few weeks of the semester. These projects are completed on a part-time basis since they are given equal status to the other modules on the course.

Caledonian Theatre

January 2010 - April 2010
Game Developer
5 Part-Time

Caledonian Theatre was the first team-based project I ever had the opportunity to work on. The project was part of my first year coursework and involved two psychologists, two developers, and an artist - the objective of the project was essentially to create a game for a fictional theatre inspired by the popular web game Diner Dash.

This project was created using Unity3D with the final objective being a browser based game to be placed on the website of the fictional theatre, with the option of having a seperate downloadable executable for further marketing purposes. In addition to the creation of the game, the project had to be pitched to the 'client' in the form of the lecturers, with emphasis placed on the future of the industry within the free-to-play realm of games.

More information about 'Caledonian Theatre'...

Angst

January 2011 - April 2011
Game Designer
4 Part-Time

Angst was created in the second semester of my second year at university and was my first experience of designing a 2D platforming game with a simplified set of mechanics. The game was created by a team of four, with two designers and two programmers working on the project. During the course of the project I specialised in level design, creating multiple small levels for the project.

The brief for the project, aside from the requirement of being a 2D platformer, was that it had to be based on one of the short stories featured within David Eagleman's Sum: Tales of the Afterlives. Angst an imagining of heaven being a cosmic factory where the workers maintain the logistics and maintenance of the universe, with individuals having the chance to 'holiday as a human'. The game based on this tale was designed around the concept of one of the disgruntled workers attempting to escape from the horrid conditions to take his holiday early.

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Nebula

January 2012 (Global Game Jam)
Game Designer
5 Full-Time

Nebula was a small game developed as part of Global Game Jam 2012, meaning that it was completed within a 48 hour time span.

The project was completed using XNA game studio, with the final product being made available for judgement by the judges of Scottish Game Jam 2012, held in the Saltire Centre at Glasgow Caledonian University. The theme of this Game Jam was simply a picture of Ouroboros, and the symbology of rebirth. It is available to download from the Global Game Jam website.


More information about 'Nebula'...

Flock-Off!

January 2012 - April 2012
Game Designer
8 Part-Time

My third Integrated Project at Glasgow Caledonian University was a game based heavily on the works of George Carlin and Bill Hicks. This project was by far the largest scale project that I worked on at Glasgow Caledonian University, and featured a team of three designers, a psychologist, two artists, and two programmers. To me, the game also serves as a reminder of the importance of proper management in development.

The project was developed using XNA with the final objective being a technical demonstration that could be used to port the game to a more viable platform. In addition to the creation of the game, the project had to be pitched to the 'client' in the form of the lecturers, with emphasis placed on the relevance of the piece with regards to the philosophies of Carlin and Hicks.

More information about 'Flock-Off!'...