Two Dots
Two Dots is an award winning puzzle mobile game with millions of players around the world! Players connect dots and interact with over 50 mechanics to solve puzzles and progress through new worlds.
As a Game Designer at Dots, I've made over 1000 levels, lead the development team for mechanics I pitched, communicated with Product team to help make new features, created a new feature for our new game Garden Tails, made sure live events are running smoothly, and much more!
Mechanics I've Worked On
Pinecones
Wrote out the full spec for Pinecones and helped ideate its metaphor.
Goal: The Two Dots team wanted to create 3 new mechanics that would be AB tested to see if they would improve the FTUE.
For any game, the First Time User Experience determines if a player will commit to a game or not. Two Dots is an 8 year old game and we were looking for ways to improve the FTUE. With a better understanding of our players, we ideated mechanics that would work well with the game's linker gameplay and be beginner friendly.
I was in charge of writing the design spec for Pinecones, testing Pinecones with every single mechanic, and overseeing Pinecones throughout the development process.
Coconuts
Was the primary Game Designer who lead the development team to create Coconuts! From pitch to release!
Goal: I wanted to create a new obstacle that challenged the players in a different way.
Coconuts fall under the same archetype of blocker mechanics as Fire Dots, Vines, and Slime. However, Coconuts spread in a much different way that changes how players approach Coconuts.
Fire Dots: will burn any other Dots around them if they are not hit with an adjacent connection. If any Fire Dots are hit on the screen, none of them will spread.
Vines: will spread and cover a single Dot around them. Groups of Vines spread individually, so hitting one group of Vines won't stop the other from spreading.
Slime: spreads underneath Dots and can be cleared if they are hit twice. If any Slime on the board is hit, none of it will spread.
The difference between Coconuts and these mechanics is that Coconuts do not spread infinitely. If the other mechanics are not dealt with, it's possible for players to reach a point where there is so much Fire/Vine/Slime that they might as well give up.
To mitigate this, Coconuts will always split into halves, and then quarters when they are hit. So each Coconut will only take over 4 spaces on the gameboard, and there's a limit to how many Coconuts and Coconut pieces can be on the board so they will never spread infinitely.
However, the unique challenge of Coconuts is that the way they spread is unpredictable. When a Coconut splits, they will replace a random Classic Dot on the gameboard which can mess with a player's plans. While randomness feels a bit unfair to players, another beauty of Coconuts is that they will only bite when you mess with them. While I was playtesting Coconuts, it felt interesting to have a threat that you can choose to deal with later. This was an interaction that did not exist within Two Dots yet.
Hedgehogs
Was the primary Game Designer who lead the development team to create Hedgehogs! From pitch to release!
Goal: I was eager to work on a mechanic that I thought would be helpful to players and fit Two Dot's cute aesthetic. I'm glad that Hedgehogs ended up being a mechanic that both players love to play with and the team loved to make!
This section is currently WIP!
Working on an another unannounced Mechanic!