Death of the Artist
Gameplay Engineer & Programmer
GameMaker Studio · Team of 5 · 2025
A 2D narrative adventure centered on exploration, character interactions, dialogue, and an artwork-selling system.
Game Overview
Death of the Artist is a 2D narrative adventure developed by a five-person team in GameMaker Studio. Players explore interconnected spaces, interact with characters, progress through dialogue and narrative events, and sell artwork through an in-game interaction system.
I focused on player movement, room transitions, dialogue and NPC interactions, cutscenes, tutorial systems, UI, and gameplay integration.
My Role and Contributions
Systems Worked On:
Player Movement · Dialogue · NPC Interactions · Selling System · Room Transitions · Cutscenes · Tutorial · UI
- Implemented WASD player movement and room transitions, including fade effects.
- Developed the dialogue system supporting NPC conversations, character portraits, and narrative interactions.
- Implemented the artwork-selling system, integrating dialogue, UI, sales information, and player interactions.
- Developed NPC interactions, cutscenes, and tutorial functionality supporting narrative progression and player onboarding.
- Integrated, unit tested, and debugged gameplay and UI systems through team testing and iteration.
Technical Highlights
A. Dialogue and Selling System:
Developed dialogue and interaction systems supporting conversations between the player and NPCs. Integrated the artwork-selling system with dialogue and UI to support player sales interactions and display relevant sales information.
B. NPC and Narrative Interactions:
Developed NPC interaction systems supporting character portraits, dialogue presentation, and narrative progression. Implemented contextual interaction prompts to communicate when players can initiate conversations and other actions.
C. Player Onboarding:
Implemented an in-game tutorial introducing players to movement and core interactions, providing contextual instructions as they begin exploring the environment.
Challenges and Solutions
A. Coordinating Dialogue and Gameplay State:
Challenge: Narrative interactions needed to coordinate dialogue, NPC state, player input, and UI without disrupting gameplay progression.
Solution: Implemented interaction logic connecting player-triggered NPC events with dialogue and UI states, maintaining a consistent flow between conversations and gameplay actions.
B. Integrating Selling with Dialogue:
Challenge: Artwork selling needed to function within NPC conversations while correctly updating gameplay and UI state.
Solution: Integrated selling interactions with dialogue and UI systems, coordinating player actions, sales information, and conversation flow as a unified gameplay sequence.
Development Team
Team Size: 5
University of Utah