PC game in which two players must communicate to brew a potion and pass a magical exam.
View GitHub Repository View Spellbook PDFThe first player is the Student. The Student controls the game, where a series of ingredients must be added to a cauldron to correctly brew a potion. These ingredients are contained in unlabeled vials within strangely marked boxes, so the Student is unlikely to find the right ones on their own. The second player cannot see the game, but they have access to a document called the Spellbook, which details processes to locate the right ingredients. The two players must communicate to create the potion and pass the Student's exam.
Communication is the game's primary source of fun. One player describes a symbol on the screen as "a mushroom with two arms holding a spear", and the other player laughs incredulously as they try to match that description to a picture in the Spellbook. Misenchanted Exams is designed around getting players to say funny things to each other. The puzzles and the time limit help to create a hectic experience in which both players are trying to describe silly things as clearly and quickly as possible.
I designed the game's levels as well as the Spellbook. This process involved coming up with the majority of the puzzle systems, potion ingredients, and level permutations. I worked with a team of four other RIT GDD students to create this game. We communicated regularly to ensure that my designs were feasible to develop within our deadline. I also supervised playtests of the game throughout development to collect feedback and iterate based on that feedback.
