Platform: Nintendo DS

​

Game Engine: Proprietary

​

Role: Co-creator of IP, Level design, features design, playtesting/tuning, game design documentation,

​

Divergent Shift, ( previously known as Reflection), is a title that I co-created, and worked on with a number of colleagues as an undergraduate at USC. It is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer for the Nintendo DS, where the player takes the role of Kirra, a young adventurer, who must re-assemble a shattered reality when she finds and accidentally breaks a magic mirror.

​

Divergent Shift is a twist on the traditional 2D side-scroller, in that the player controls both Kirra who is right side up on the top screen, yet simultaneously controls her reflection on the bottom screen.  The challenge is that the levels themselves are not symmetrical on both sides, yet Kirra and her reflection interact with objects on either screen simultaneously. For example, if there is a platform on one screen, but not on the other, Kirra may stand on it on both screens. Conversely, if there is a hazard such as a spiked pit on one screen, she must also avoid it on both. If Kirra dies on one screen, she dies on both.

​

​

 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

The player must navigate both characters safely through levels, and are filled with traps and obstacles including spiked pits, crushing blocks, moving platforms.

​

Additionally, a second mechanic introduced in the game utilizes Kirra on the top screen and her shadow on the bottom. Both characters still move simultaneously, but now have the additional ability to de-sync themselves, adding another layer of game play complexity.

​

My specific role on the project was that of a designer, although I wore multiple hats. In our initial version, I was the sprite artist creating the static character sprites and animations, as well as doing puzzle level design. In the current version, my role was mainly as a level designer, doing the placement of assets and creation of puzzles using a proprietary level editor that our programmers created. In the finished version of the game, there are four levels that I designed. As co-creator, I also helped brainstorm on the mechanics of the game, level progression and difficulty scaling, and contributed to lore as well.

​

In March of 2009, Reflection won the IGF mobile "Next Great Mobile Game" contest award, the only non-iPhone game to win an IGF mobile award that year.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Divergent Shift shipped on August 16th, 2010. It was developed by Team Reflection, of which a number of members went on to found an indie studio, Intrinsic Games.

 

Published by Konami, our game was available for download on Nintendo's DSiWare store for 800 points.

​