Game Design
Bonded
Senior Thesis
During my senior year at LIU, I was required to work over the course of two semesters alongside a small team to create a game from start to finish for my senior thesis.
After going through personnel changes, subsequent timeline setbacks and story changes, my team and I were able to produce a prototype game – Bonded.
Bonded tells the story of a brother/sister duo who were separated from their parents and each other.
You, the protagonist, play as a seventeen-year-old boy. You find yourselves in the hands of the law, behind bars in a juvenile detention center.
Knowing you need to be reunited with your sister, you embark on your journey to break out of juvie and follow the trail of your sister’s wake.
What you uncover instead is the truth of your sister’s disappearance and the devastation of your sister.
At the climax of the game the protagonist is forced to make a moral decision – save your sister and return to your lives of penny-pinching and petty crime, or, save yourself from your sister’s entrapment and free yourself from the life she has planned for you both.
In the end, my teammates and I were unable to finish the storyline of the game, but we were able to create a narrative-driven prologue and first chapter of our story, introducing players to their protagonist and the moral conundrum they are faced with.
Being inspired by games such as Life is Strange, the Fallout series, and Persona 5 and indie games such as Florence and Little Nightmares 2, we created a unique blend of free-roaming, sandboxy, third-person-perspective gaming with a sardonic touch.
In The Spotlight
In-Game Screenshots and Highlight Videos
“Haven’t you noticed that you’re here and she’s not? You’re alone with me, and I’m the only one trying to help you.”
Officer Blanco
Shown here in a play test highlights the mechanic working as intended.
From The Vault
Storyboards and Plot Overview, Dialogues, and Game assets
Graphic design
Brand Package
Mountain Manor Crafts
While working independently, I was contacted by a small business owner named Stefanie to create a logo design for her small business, Mountain Manor Crafts.
Luckily for me, the business owner and I knew each other beforehand and had already a well-established rapport and friendship – after all, we had been neighbors for nearly two decades.
Me, a recent graduate and in need of work, figured that, after all we had gone through together – living next door and helping each other out over the years – it was my time to shine and provide my neighbor with everything necessary to represent Mountain Manor Crafts as a bona fide small business, (and as a thank-you to giving me a job in my time of need.)
Although, before I could get started, I needed to discuss with my client what she needed from me as a whole. We discussed at length the metrics of my work to be. What is Mountain Manor Crafts? What themes come through while business is being conducted; what message does Stefanie wish to send to her own customers when she’s making a sale? What matters to her and her work? All of these questions I sought to answer through my artistic expression in my graphic design. And answered they were.
Mountain Manor Crafts is a nature-inspired, rustic company which operates out of central New York State. Being inspired by the scenery and earth-toned colors surrounding the home business, Stefanie delivers each of her handcrafted laser-etched and wood-carved creations to customers seeking quality, handmade crafts. Whether it be a cutting board made with dedication, or a t-shirt or apron printed with words of love, Mountain Manor Crafts is a homegrown option for anyone looking for a homespun custom creation.
Yet, Stefanie, much like I, was only getting started. And in order to progress strong, you need a solid foundation.
And so, after working for several weeks, I came out on top having not only completed the logo design as promised, but delivered a full Brand Package for Mountain Manor Crafts so that they should find success proper with all the necessary accoutrements.
Included in the Brand Package is: the Logo Design and full Logo Suite; a custom Color Palette; custom Typography; a noted “incorrect usage” slide for guided application; and custom Brand Assets and Pattern for any and all digital and printed applications.
Presented below is the full catalog of work I completed for Stefanie and her Mountain Manor Crafts.
Alexandra Hoth 