Projects

public / 2022

Bash Out

Team-based multiplayer Discord activity.

A team-based multiplayer Discord game where players worked together to knock opponents out of the level, score points and target the MVP for bonus rewards.

Showcase

Bash Out Gameplay

Project Context

Bash Out was a team-based multiplayer Discord game where players worked together to knock opponents out of the level and earn points. Bonus points were awarded for taking out the Most Valuable Player, giving teams a focused target during play.

The game included multiple levels with different challenges to keep matches fresh. During development it went through several iterations, including a shift from free-for-all gameplay to a team-based format.

I joined later in the development cycle as a supporting developer. I contributed to power-ups, UI improvements, bot difficulty tuning and texture resource optimisation. The team consisted of two developers, an artist and a producer.

The game had a trial run on a public Discord testing server, which is why I can include it in the portfolio. It did not go to wider public release and has since been removed from the testing server.

Object-Oriented And ECS Architecture

The game used object-oriented programming alongside an entity-component-system style architecture. This helped keep gameplay systems, rendering and interaction logic modular while supporting reusable behaviour across levels, power-ups and bot systems.

Discord SDK

The Discord SDK was used to integrate the game with Discord, allowing players to start and join games directly from their Discord environment.

The SDK also supported platform concerns such as authentication and embedded activity behaviour, helping the game feel more native to Discord.

A/B Testing And Analytics

Bash Out used A/B testing to optimise gameplay mechanics such as power-ups, controller methods and bot difficulty curves.

Analytics tracking was used to understand player behaviour and engagement. That data helped guide refinements to the gameplay experience rather than relying only on assumptions.

Realtime Gameplay And Bots

Bash Out supported realtime gameplay between friends. Bots were available as a fallback when there were not enough players, allowing sessions to stay populated and playable.

The game supported different bot difficulty levels so the challenge could be tuned for a wider range of players.

Technical Aspects

  • Object-oriented and entity-component-system architecture
  • Realtime team-based multiplayer gameplay
  • Discord SDK integration
  • Multiple levels with varied gameplay challenges
  • Bot fallback and difficulty tuning
  • A/B testing for power-ups, controls and bot difficulty
  • Analytics tracking for player behaviour and engagement
  • Texture resource optimisation

Challenges

  • The game shifted from a free-for-all format to team-based gameplay during development.
  • Realtime multiplayer needed to remain readable and fun inside a Discord activity context.
  • Bots needed to provide a fallback for missing players while still supporting different skill levels.
  • The project had a limited public testing-server run and did not release widely.

Contributions

  • Joined later in the development cycle in a supporting developer role.
  • Designed and implemented power-ups.
  • Improved the game's UI and interaction feedback.
  • Updated the bot difficulty curve for smoother gameplay.
  • Optimised texture resource usage to improve performance.
  • Worked with A/B testing and analytics to refine gameplay mechanics and player engagement.