The Project

Advertising influences our understanding of normality. A conscious examination of the images we are confronted with on a daily basis is therefore necessary. In a Design Science Research Methodology process, the interactive exhibit LiT was developed, which examines the representation of family in advertising in Germany over a period of 120 years. In an exhibition environment, advertising posters on the subject of family are contrasted with the laws of the time. The evaluation shows that the use of the exhibit stimulates thematic discussions; the installation was rated as having very high pragmatic and hedonic qualities.

The installation should intuitively encourage people to question their own perceptions and encourage discourse on the understanding of family.

My Tasks

In this project, I was responsible for all steps from conception to implementation. It was particularly challenging to combine all the components into a working system at the end.

The Project

Communication via digital channels has become a big part of our everyday professional and social lives. Not only can this be tiring, but it also eliminates important components of human communication. In a society flooded with stimuli, this quickly leads to reduced attention. Under what conditions can conscious listening over distance succeed? What is missed in contact over distance? The functional prototype takes up the answers and aims to enable more intimate communication. For this purpose, omitted components of communication are reinterpreted. The ritualistic flow of each conversation ensures a conscious experience. In this way, the prototype creates a private, shared space.

My Tasks

The two of us developed the concept and the structure of the prototype together. While my team partner then concentrated on the design of the object, I took over the programming.

The Project

A digital card game in which users plan the revolution together or prevent it. By taking part in missions, money and experience are gained, allowing participation in more challenging missions. The players take part in the form of a card game and chat with each other during the game.

The main aim is to find out whether everyone really has the same goal or whether an opponent has sneaked in to sabotage the mission.

My Tasks

One of my tasks was to translate the rough concept into a logical screen flow. To do this, I created a click dummy in Adobe XD, which formed the basis for the implementation in Unity. Unfortunately, the project was not published, so I am not allowed to show any results or interim results here.

Another big part of my work was the design of the cards - narrative as well as logical. It was particularly important that the game is fair and you can feel progress over a longer playing time.

The Game

Ah – Die App is a client project that I directed. The WDR app is aimed at children between 8 and 10 and is intended to impart knowledge in a playful way.

Together with Lumpi, the stuffed dachshund known from the television show "Wissen macht Ah", the player explores the endless brainspace. In the process knowledge, ahs and chic accessories are collected. As the app is live operated new content can constantly be added via a content management system.

My Tasks

We worked very closely with the client, so one of my biggest tasks was communicating with them. I wrote a detailed Game Design Document and kept it up to date all the time. We met at least one time per week and iterated my concepts, for each meeting I prepared a presentation.

Another huge task was working on the game's progress system and the CMS. I also built levels in Unity and evaluated playtest-results.

The Game

Explore strange and wonderful islands and dark labyrinths below in this narrative puzzle platformer. Guide young mechanic Mo on her quest to repair a world on the brink of collapse. The powerful Omni Switch at your disposal may not be enough to fix the damage that hides beneath the surface…

My Tasks

I've been working on Minute of Islands from day one until the very end.

Among other things my tasks included things Content Management, Gameplay Scripting, Puzzle Design and Level Design. I also assigned the tasks among our team of Game Designers.

The Game

Almost every personal project I ever worked on included some kind of multiplayer mechanic. When my friend Lina, who among other things is a twitch streamer, and I started working on a small game together we wanted to allow streamers and viewers to interact.

In Ghastly Garlic Game the streamer plays Knorbert, a garlic bulb whith really wobbly legs, who is trapped inside a haunted house. The viewers can move around various objects via the twitch chat, scaring Knorbert or trying to make him tread on lego bricks until he runs away.

My Tasks

We came up with the concept together but my main task was implementing the twitch integration and the random generated levels. We initially didn't about the gameplay for long. Instead we partly developed the game live during twitch sessions and gathered ideas from the community.

It has been an interesting experience doing playtests that early and I enjoyed getting permanent and direct feedback. We have a bunch of new ideas how to improve the gameplay but unfortunately we didn't find the time to implement them yet.

The Game

Meet your gang members in bikerbook! The road, your bike and you. Now and then beating up other gangs – what could go wrong? Post on bikerbook, reply to private messages and make new friends or enemies. Where does the fun stop tough and where does the responsibility begin?

We took part in the bpb game jam with the topic being radicalization. In our prototype you are Karl the giraffe and new to the city, but you are already part of Ronny's gang.

My Tasks

After various workshops and lectures on radicalization and how to prevent it we came up with the concept together. The next step for me was to start working on the sequences and texts. For the first time I used Twine – since this day I can't imagine life without it.

The Game

In the KiKANICHEN app children from 3 to 6 years can immerse themselves in the paper crafted world of Kikaninchen. The app includes various minigames: there are exciting exploratory tours. Snippet animals can be created, adventurous vehicles invented and videos be watched.

Parents can set a timer to limit the children's usage time and download videos.

My Tasks

Most of the concept was already done when I began working on this app. I became the missing link between concept and implementation. I designed flowcharts that could be used by the artists, so the knew which assets would be have to be created. They were also used by the programmers as the charts covered all edge cases.

At the same time I wrote a detailed Game Design Document, knowing the app would get several updates, which would potentially be realized by other persons.

The Game

To this day I love radio-plays and as a kid I really liked the coose-your-own-adventure books. I wanted to combine both of them as I'm really interested in non-linear storytelling. I developed the prototype of an voice-controled app that should feel like talking on the phone to someone.

Basically you get a call from a young woman who tells you, she lost her memory but found your phone number on her forearm. It seems that she had be kidnapped and asks for your help.
The player has to calm her and give her advice on what to do next. There are several endings.

My Tasks

I developed the concept, designed the story, wrote the textes, recorded the audio and implemented the prototype using Android Studio and an api.ai (which became Dialogflow) agent I created.

I love working in a team, but to be honest, I enjoyed that I had ten weeks in which I could just follow my vision. Even though I had never written any code in java (thankfully it's close enough to C#) or programmed an ai agent before, the most challenging part was still to organize all my tasks and find useful workflows.

In the end, the prototype felt a bit wonky due to the speech recognition not being perfect. However I see the whole project as an experiment that was very successful in my eyes.

The Game

Solve mind-bending puzzles in a world full of mystery and save the family of the flute-noses! Their dynasty has been watching over Asposia for centuries on end. In secret, they fill the roly-poly world with light and life. But when their existence is discovered, they become hunted. Emil, a trader for odds and ends, made all the Asposians believe that the dynasty is in cahoots with dark forces. The only one who can stop the evil Emil is the heir to the throne: Robert.

Switch seamlessly between playing our charming Asposian heroes Robert and Laura, and their clumsy but friendly pigeon, Peck. Learn new songs on your magic flute nose, to activate ancient artifacts and invoke the wind! A patented, multi-level hint system enables everyone to finish the game!

My Tasks

At the time I joined the team most of concept had already be fnished. However implementation had not even begun. My tasks included managing every art and audio asset and scripting the gameplay. Furthermore I wrote a lot of texts that where meant to be placeholders but somehow made it into the final game.

The two original designers had created a reference document for each chapter containing information about all needed screens and the general sequence of the puzzles. In the next step I transcribed their documents into asset lists and excel sheets. Those excel sheets could be exported directly into the game engine.

The Game

Who I am? A bunch of stuff and high tech. A jabbering fish on shore leave. I am a digital toy visiting you in your world instead of trying to get you into mine. My Name is Krull. Karsten Krull.

Karsten Krull is a “living toy”. Its inside consists of the Raspberry Pi 2 and various additional technical components. The grumpy fish communicates its needs through speaking and it is almost impossible to comply with these needs as each action leads to new problems.

Moreover Karsten can be seen as a relational object – among other things children not only have fun but learn about communication, social competences and the instant consequences of their choices.

Bringing Karsten to life was a great experience and a huge challenge. We used technologies we never used before and the designing and working processes were different, too. We had to work on individual components for a long time before we could finally assemble them. Bringing this project to life required accurate planning and enormous trust in its vision.

My Tasks

Designing an interactive toy and a character at the same time led to a whole new bunch of tasks. It may sound strange but I guess what I learned most during this project was how to achieve new skills fast.

The Game

In parallel to my studies I worked on a research project at the GAME CHANGER Institute of the University of Applied Sciences Berlin (HTW). The project includes a website and various city tours. My job was to work on the corresponding game.

We decided to focus on daily life in Berlin during the Weimar Republic. There are six locations at different times and three protagonists the player has to switch between in order to solve the quests. The protagonists as well as the NPCs are inspired by real biographies. Their changing living conditions are closely tied to historical events.

My Tasks

I was very happy when I was asked to work on this project as a narrative designer because storytelling has always been a passion of mine. It was also challenging because of the serious topic.

The Game

This game is all about Dara. Dara is your little companion living inside the Sony SmartWatch 3.
A total of four different minigames can be unlocked. To accomplish this, the player has to drop off Dara at one of three predefined locations in the real world, which are marked on an integrated map. Once dropped off, Dara will either start eating, painting or doing exercises until picked up again. After a certain time of any activity, a new minigame is unlocked. In these games, Dara can smash bugs, play basketball, dress up or fly around using a jetpack.

We chose the SmartWatch as an interface device as it was relatively a new platform and we hadn’t seen any games for it so far. The purpose of the prototype was to explore the features and possibilities of the SmartWatch. Beginning with a real time strategy game we ended up with Dara – a bad-tempered being which accompanies the player.

My Tasks

This project required flexibility and the will to re-think. Actually, we designed the game while implementing it. I did one of the minigames, using voice input, but my main task was to design and implement a menu working on the watch.

The Game

A solitary bar in the middle of the desert, a tottering human being and his two-wheeled old friend… The drunk protagonist is mounting the bike as is the player. He steers and pedals in place, therefore the pixel cyclist is guided through an unusual environment.

Working on this game was extremely challenging and fun at the same time, especially due to the time frame of just 3 weeks. I’m confident my teammates would agree that we have learned a lot about time management, our personal frustration tolerance – it’s limit – and last but not least about bicycles.

My Tasks

In this project I had a great variety of tasks and I really enjoyed it. The team was absolutly great and for the first time we concentrated on time management including daily stand ups and tried to not completely neglect our work-life-balance.

The Game

Mysterious beats from nowhere. A luminescent world and a circular, colorful platform surrounding a tall column. Your first step on the platform causes it to spin and every further step changes it permanently.

HighLight has been my first game developed in Unreal. At the beginning the teamsize of six persons were really challenging but in the end it allows us to implement several levels, a highscore list, save points and other luxury features.

I have to admit that until today I like playing HighLight – maybe because it's the only game I'm really good in, due to endless hours of testing.

My Tasks

Most of the time I spent on learning the Unreal Blueprint System. In our group we were only two people scripting and both of us had to start from zero. Every implementation meant spending a lot of time on research and trial-and-error. Above all “High.Light” strengthened my personal frustration tolerance.

However, I also learned a lot about teamwork and how to independently acquire new knowledge and put it into practice.

The Game

A dozy world, nebulous sounds and a single small being trying to bring its environment back to life. The character mµ moves calmly through a world reminiscent of a plant cell structure, transforming it to a cozy place and searching for further life.

Mµo is a 2D-Sidescroller containing various puzzle elements.

My Tasks

At the beginning there was no clear division of tasks. None of us had developed a game before. Therefore our biggest challenge was to figure out workflows and how to organize a project and a team.

At the beginning we tried to do everything together. Each of us thought about the artstyle, each of us drafted possible character designs and each of us tried to get access to Unity3D and C#.

We designed the level together but as soon as we started implementing our prototype in the game engine it was already very clear who would undertake which tasks. I found myself coding and working on the sounds.