Back to Projects Magicaffeine
Magicaffeine is a fantasy simulation game. One day, craving the familiar comfort of coffee, you try a local brew only to find something terribly wrong with the taste. The flavor is dull, bitter, and completely lacking the soul you once knew. Determined to bring real coffee to this strange world, you open your own coffee shop to spark a cultural revolution, one cup at a time.
Unique Features
-
Order Matching
Players must choose the proper cup according to the customer’s request. -
Ingredient Mixing
Drag and drop items to match the customer’s desired stats perfectly. -
Scoring System
Serve the coffee and see your score based on how well you fulfilled the order.
My Role: Lead Artist & Art Implementor
I was responsible for making several game assets and implementing all of the final art directly into Unity. Also maintain communication to other teams to make sure the project is going smoothly and have a same vision.
The Problem & The Solution
The Problem:
- The art team had wildly different art styles, and some of them didn’t understand how to make proper game assets.
- The game designer and the artists sometimes had clashing visions for the game.
- The programmers needed assets early to make sure their logic was actually working correctly.
The Solution:
- I prepared a single source of truth tool (using figjam) for the team containing strict art directions and asset templates.
- To prevent misunderstandings, I made clear guidelines like moodboards to unify everyone’s vision.
- I instructed the programmers to use simple placeholder assets to test their logic, which kept development moving while the artists finished their work.
- Maintained active communication between teams to make sure the project went smoothly.
Technical Details
- Asset Integration: Handled the pipeline for importing and accurately setting up all 2D assets inside Unity.
- Workflow Standardization: Built core templates and art direction guides to keep the entire team globally aligned.
Challenges & Learnings
Managing a big team is really hard, but with good communication and a well documented pipeline, we made it work!
Another big challenge was that I needed to teach some of my team the technical rules for making game assets, all while doing my own job of making and implementing the core art. It was honestly very time consuming, yet I ended up learning a massive amount about communication and leadership along the way.
Magicaffeine is a fantasy simulation game. One day, craving the familiar comfort of coffee, you try a local brew only to find something terribly wrong with the taste. The flavor is dull, bitter, and completely lacking the soul you once knew. Determined to bring real coffee to this strange world, you open your own coffee shop to spark a cultural revolution, one cup at a time.
Unique Features
-
Order Matching
Players must choose the proper cup according to the customer’s request. -
Ingredient Mixing
Drag and drop items to match the customer’s desired stats perfectly. -
Scoring System
Serve the coffee and see your score based on how well you fulfilled the order.
My Role: Lead Artist & Art Implementor
I was responsible for making several game assets and implementing all of the final art directly into Unity. Also maintain communication to other teams to make sure the project is going smoothly and have a same vision.
The Problem & The Solution
The Problem:
- The art team had wildly different art styles, and some of them didn’t understand how to make proper game assets.
- The game designer and the artists sometimes had clashing visions for the game.
- The programmers needed assets early to make sure their logic was actually working correctly.
The Solution:
- I prepared a single source of truth tool (using figjam) for the team containing strict art directions and asset templates.
- To prevent misunderstandings, I made clear guidelines like moodboards to unify everyone’s vision.
- I instructed the programmers to use simple placeholder assets to test their logic, which kept development moving while the artists finished their work.
- Maintained active communication between teams to make sure the project went smoothly.
Technical Details
- Asset Integration: Handled the pipeline for importing and accurately setting up all 2D assets inside Unity.
- Workflow Standardization: Built core templates and art direction guides to keep the entire team globally aligned.
Challenges & Learnings
Managing a big team is really hard, but with good communication and a well documented pipeline, we made it work!
Another big challenge was that I needed to teach some of my team the technical rules for making game assets, all while doing my own job of making and implementing the core art. It was honestly very time consuming, yet I ended up learning a massive amount about communication and leadership along the way.