SeaFeud

Game Summary

Made with Unreal Engine 5, SeaFeud is a fast-paced, light hearted, underwater kart-racing game. With a choice of 8 characters, players join the race and dynamically change between 4 types of fish as they dash towards the finish line. This game was made by Cohort 32 at SMU Guildhall and is free to play on Steam.

Info

Engine: Unreal Engine 5

Development Time: 12 weeks (February – May 2023)

Role: Student Lead Level Designer

Team Size: 46

My Role

I served as the Lead Level Designer for this project. Together with 7 others (leads and producers) I helped to coordinate a group of 46 developers. For the level design discipline, I worked with one producer to plan out our milestone/sprint deliverables and time schedules. On a daily basis, I attended lead meetings, led scrum meetings, and communicated with stakeholders about the progress of our game. When I wasn’t in meetings, I was in the room with my fellow level designers answering questions, giving announcements, and ensuring that things were on track. This allowed me to familiarize myself and become comfortable with the pipelines that are used in game development.


I was faced with several challenges from interpersonal conflicts on the team and having to make hard decisions (such as cutting a track). Although it was hard at times, it is one of the best experiences I’ve had. I was able to improve my leadership, communication, and organizational skills. 

Screenshots

Cropped SeaFeud Banner
2023-07-12 23_19_35-Media Player
SeaFeud Screenshot
2023-07-12 23_20_20-Media Player
2023-07-12 23_20_38-Media Player
2023-07-12 23_21_15-Media Player

Post Mortem

What Went Well

  • I was able to foster a good relationship with all of my team members placed under my lead
  • Within the lead team, I handled disagreements well by listening to their side, absorbing what their point of view was, and thinking before responding. When we couldn’t come to an agreement, I agreed to disagree professionally and did what was best for the team
  • I developed several ways of delivering information to the level design team. This made it more likely that everyone was on the same page with new developments

What Went Wrong

  • At the beginning, the communication within the lead team was not the best. This led to inefficiency, confused team members, and missed opportunities
  • Both the lead team as a whole and I did not cut out things that were not working early enough. This led to some frustration amongst the team
  • At times, I stretched myself too thin and did not rely enough on my producer to handle some tasks that needed to be done. This caused me to forget to get back to people, fall behind on some tasks that weren’t necessary but helpful to the team, and tire myself out (especially during the beginning) 

What I Learned

  • Overall, the main thing I learned during this project was how to communicate better with others. I learned to read others and why it is important to do so
  • I learned how to coordinate a team of 17 level designers and divide the tasks amongst them
    • A part of this involved learning people’s personality types and dynamics to create teams that would work well together
  • I learned how to mediate when people clashed during discussions or while working