MAY SCHIRMER - GAME DESIGNER
  • Portfolio
  • Resume

May Schirmer

Aspiring game designer, AIE graduate

Below is a sample of my game design work

​

Past Projects

Millivolt​ (AIE cross stream major production) / 2024
Millivolt is a third person puzzle adventure game where you fix everyday household appliances as a miniature robot named Robert.

​This game was my final group project while studying at AIE. On this project, my responsibilities involved:
  • Documentation
  • Level design
  • Basic QA
  • Creation of all sound effects
  • Sound design

Millivolt is available for free on both Steam and itch.io.
Sins and Salvatiom​ (AIE cross stream VR production) / 2024
Sins and salvation is a virtual reality arcade-style game, where a player gains points by using various tools to punish and reward the residents of a planet. The player's goal is to get as high of a score as possible.

This was my first VR project, and it was important to keep in mind the limitations of VR as well as how the human body reacts to motions while in VR while designing the game.

On this project, I mostly worked on documentation and sound design, both editing and recording sound effects for the game.
​Circuit Breakers (AIE cross stream group project) / 2023
Circuit Breakers is a 2 player fighting game where players build a robot with a different weapon on each arm to fight with. At the end of each round, the players can also choose upgrades to help in their next fight.

My role in this project was the lead designer/producer, with my responsibilities being:
  • Creation of documentation
  • Team management
  • Budgeting (was all hypothetical)
  • Basic level design
  • Balancing
  • Basic QA testing
​Midnight Rush (AIE narrative design project) / 2023
Midnight Rush is a story-heavy racing game focusing on a young street racer, Jess, who discovers that a racing team is being funded illegally.

The story focusses on Jess and her friends finding evidence to take down the team known as "The Midnight Demons", eventually culminating in the final gameplay segment shown in this clip.

I was responsible for the entire project which largely involved:
  • Designing the narrative
  • Designing the script and cutscenes
  • Level design
  • Creating gameplay
  • Basic QA testing
​
This vertical slice is available on itch.io.
​Electric Velocity (AIE level design project) / 2023
Electric Velocity is a first person shooter that heavily emphasizes movement with it's parkour mechanics such as wall-running.

This was a solo project, putting me in charge of everything in the game, including:
  • Programming
  • Level design documentation
  • Scripting
  • Animations
The gun model was sourced for free on the unity asset store
The player controller was heavily modified from a tutorial from DaniTutorials on YouTube.

The game is available on itch.io.
Tunnel Vision (AIE end of year group project) / 2021-2022
Tunnel Vision in a short puzzle/escape room game in which the player must use the clues throughout the game to enter further in the sewage tunnel and eventually escape.

My role in this project largely focused on programming as well as some minor puzzle design. I designed:
  • Inventory system
  • Respawning system
  • Item pickup system
  • Door and key mechanics
  • Rotating lock doors

During this project, team members would rotate in and out of leadership positions , allowing us to all have experiences of organizing the team and checking on each other's progress.

The game is available on itch.io.
Model Up! (AIE 3D animation project) / 2020
Model Up! was a short film I created for my 3D Animation Foundations course at AIE. It focusses on two chess-playing robots competing against one another.

Throughout this project, I learned many skills, such as:
  • 3D character creation
  • Character design
  • 3D animation in Autodesk Maya
  • Basic material design in Autodesk Maya
  • Basic sound design

Skills

Software and Tool experience

​Game Design
Gamification
​
Level Design
Grayboxing
Puzzle Design
Minor Programming
Sound Design
Narrative Design
General Game Design
​Documentation

Research
Quality Assurance and Testing
Understanding of player psychology​

Soft skills
Communication
Teamwork
Organization
Adaptability
Interpersonal skills
​Leadership
Game Engines
Unity 3D

3D software
Autodesk Maya
Blender

Scripting languages
C#

Source Control
Github Desktop
Sourcetree

Production
Trello
​HacknPlan

Communication
Microsoft Teams
Discord
Skype

Productivity
Microsoft Office
  • Microsoft Word
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Excel
Adobe Software
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe Premier Pro

About Me

Picture
Ever since I was young, I've loved video games and always wondered what went into making them. I remember my first time playing a video game, Spyro the Dragon on my dad's old PlayStation 1, and thinking how cool it was, I've had a passion for gaming ever since.

I had always thought about being involved with game creation as a career, but would often disregard it as, I had no idea where to start and I didn't know anyone in the industry.

But, through a 3D animation course that was being ran through my high school, I discovered the Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) and, through them, began a Certificate III in Game Design.

I have now completed my second-year game design course at AIE, I have learnt more about what goes into making games, worked with peers on projects and overall enhanced my skills in game design.
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Portfolio
  • Resume