Shaman RPG game by AIE Students

In this 3rd person action RPG, discover and embrace your shamanistic powers as Alejandro, a Spanish conquistador who unravels Filipino mythology and explores new dangerous territories.

Combining the traditional RPG elements of exploring lands, levelling skills and upgrading your arsenal, Shaman incorporates a fantastic tale of a hero taking on dreaded evil enemies to keep his lands safe.

Bonnie Lawson, artist & animator, commented on the background of the storyline and how the team had to work together to achieve the desired feel of the game. “The inspiration from the game came from Filipino folklore and it was really cool learning about the setting and making sure things felt like they fit in the universe. Concepting and creating the main character, Alejandro, was a highlight to me and it was really useful talking to Nico and Patrick to make sure the character design felt distinctly Filipino while also having a Spanish influence.”

Throughout development the team faced a variety of challenges, however, if managing a team of 9 didn’t pose enough difficulty for project managers Byron Carter and Nico Padua, COVID-19 was the ice cream on top nobody wanted. “Due to the post covid lockdown environment, multiple team members worked from home permanently, and while this was occasionally a struggle, we set up systems via discord to help simulate us all being in the same workplace.” Byron also commented on how the team were able to work through the challenges and ultimately “able to utilise a lot of different skill sets and specialisations.”

When looking back at the project Caleb Rolph, artist & animator, had wise advice for future students “Teamwork is the most important part of the process to success, even if one person is off hiking and not doing what they should be doing, then the team doesn’t exist.”
In any size studio, whether it be 2 or 3, or 500+, teamwork is quintessential. A harmonious team working together solves problems, a scattered and discombobulated team creates them.

Congratulations and well done to all the students who contributed to Shaman:

• Byron Carter - Designer – Project Management, Systems & Engine Coordinator, Gameplay & Mechanics Design, UI Design & Programming
• Bradley Whitehead – Artist – Environment Artist, Lighting, In-Engine Environment Set-up
• Bonnie Lawson – Artist – Character Artist (Player character, NPCs), GUI, 2D & Concept Art, Animator (Player character)
• Caleb Rolph – Artist – Character Artist (Boss enemy, NPCs), Rigger, Animator (Boss enemy)
• Nico Padua – Designer – Level Design, Gameplay & Mechanics Design, VFX & Particle Systems, Project Management
• Kosta Nassis – Programmer – General Systems Programmer
• Alex Plane – Programmer – Boss Enemy AI Programmer
• Patrick Padua - Programmer – Player Systems Programmer, RPG Systems Programmer
• Shade St.Jude – Designer – Narrative Design

For those who would love to know more about Game Development or Film VFX, kickstart your journey with an AIE Game Art, Game Design, Game Programming or VFX course today!