Corp. Monsters
In 2012, I was asked to design the characters and environment for a mobile game named Corp. Monsters. The project lasted about 6 months and proved challenging for a number of design and technical reasons. The end result, however, proved to be a solid mobile game experience and it ranks as one of my favorite projects to have worked on.
The object of the game is simple. When your annoying coworkers stand up and taunt you, fling office supplies at them to make them sit back down – kind of like cubicle based whack-a-mole. But do it quick, or else you’ll lose your temper…and the game.
Office Space Design
The design of the office changed a lot over the course of the project. The original idea was to have a bleak corporate environment that would reflect the frustrations of the game’s characters. The bleakness of the game’s settings came across too well to initial users who commented that the experience of playing was depressing.
It was decided that I should come up with a “wackier” design with a more appealing color pallet and less right angles. After some brainstorming back and forth with the game’s creator we eventually settled on a more fun, modern looking office.
Original “bleak” corporate office space design
Experimenting with different cubicle styles and colors
Nearly final “wacky” office design – skewed angles and a more eye catching color pallet
Character Design and Animation
The creator of Corp. Monsters had already envisioned the personalities and general look for each of the seven character before I was hired. Working to realize his vision, I drafted several sketches of each character before modeling them in 3D.
Animating the characters proved a challenge at first. Animation “segments” were created and applied to each character. These segments would be triggered by an event such as getting hit by a projectile. Because the animation segments were shared between characters, each character needed to have the same proportions and armature structure while looking physically unique.
Preliminary portrait sketch of the nerdy office character
Armature structure for upper torso, head, and facial movements
Early test pose and texture map for the office backstabber character
Test poses for the office manager
Test poses for the office nerd
Completed cast of Corp. Monsters
Projectile and Prop Design
The Corp. Monsters game includes an assortment of props and projectiles that can be unlocked and manipulated to gain points during gameplay.
Each projectile was designed to have a unique relationship to each character and trigger a unique animated response. Other props are placed around the office and could also be interacted with or knocked over for points.
Sketch of the slingshot showing the basic geometry
Basic geometry of the gold pile for the opening screen
Office philodendron plant that can be knocked over with a projectile
Assortment of completed office projectiles