51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú

How Co-op helped Alicia LeClercq learn to wear the many hats of a game designer

During my co-op, I had the opportunity to work as a Junior Game Designer at 81monkeys Studio, an indie game studio based in Port Moody. The studio is currently developing World of Anterra, an open-world pixel RPG inspired by classics such as Ultima, while also taking on work-for-hire projects.

Throughout my internship, I contributed to both of these projects, which allowed me to experience various areas of game design. On their work-for-hire, I mainly worked on the game's secret ending by writing character dialogue and enhancing the overall experience from beginning to end. One of the highlights while on this project was designing enemy placements, where every encounter required careful decisions based on the surrounding environment, the player's progression, and how each battle naturally guides the player through the world while introducing new challenges. 

When I transitioned to World of Anterra, my responsibilities shifted toward asset management and gameplay balancing. I compiled a sheet of the game's assets to ensure it accurately reflected the latest in-game content and updated item properties such as weight and size to create values that felt believable while still supporting an enjoyable gameplay experience. 

Being able to contribute to two very different projects, helped me learn the numerous hats that game designers wear to help shape a player's experience, whether through storytelling, encounter design, or behind-the-scenes balancing systems.

Collaboration in Action
One of my favourite aspects of working at 81monkeys Studio was the collaborative and friendly environment. With a team of around fifteen people, it was easy to connect with artists, programmers, and fellow designers to ask various questions regarding the game itself or just out of pure curiosity. Rather than working in isolation, everyone was encouraged to share ideas and seek feedback, making communication an integral part of the development process.

As game designers, we regularly met with the Lead Game Designers to review our work and discuss the thinking behind our design decisions. These meetings quickly became a valuable part of my co-op experience, where not only did I receive constructive feedback on my work, but I also gained insight into the goals and intentions behind each design choice. At the same time, we were encouraged to ask questions, share our ideas, and explain the reasoning behind our proposals, creating an environment where collaboration and learning went hand in hand.

An experience that reinforced the importance of communicating ideas visually was balancing the ration values of food items and clothing item sizes in World of Anterra. Although all the data was neatly organized in a spreadsheet, it wasn't easy to compare how one item was compared to another immediately. To make this information more intuitive, I created a visual scale that grouped the items based on their amount or size. This made it much easier for the team to compare values, discuss potential adjustments, and confidently reach a final decision together. It also showed me that effective communication isn't just about presenting information, it's about presenting it in a way that helps others quickly understand and contribute to the discussion.

Lessons Learned
Looking back, one of the biggest surprises during my co-op was how much my background in graphic design improved my approach to game design. Before starting, I expected to develop primarily as a game designer. Instead, I found myself drawing on my design experience in creating mock-ups, presenting balancing changes, and in understanding the player's experience. These experiences showed me that communicating ideas visually can make complex information much easier to understand, allowing other designers to evaluate different options more efficiently and reach decisions together with greater confidence.

I also learned that one of the best ways to grow as a designer is to ask questions and share your ideas, even if they are not ultimately implemented. Every discussion with the Lead Game Designers gave me a better understanding of the thought process behind their decisions and introduced me to new ways of approaching gameplay, progression, and the players experience.

Overall, this co-op gave me a much deeper appreciation for the collaborative nature of game development. Beyond improving my technical and design skills, it strengthened my confidence in communicating ideas, receiving feedback, and working with people from different disciplines toward a shared creative vision.