Computer Art
Project
UC San Diego Senior Project blends computing and art into a pixelated game
Year:
2026
Role:
Artist and Game Developer
Supervisor:
Brody Condon
Softwares:
Canva, Adobe Fresco, Aesprite, GameMaker
Overview
For my senior project at UC San Diego, I set out to bridge my background in Visual Arts and Computer Science through game design. In just ten weeks, I designed, animated, and coded waterLines, a playable demo exploring the environmental costs of technology.
Conceptual Phase
The process started with developing ideas for what I wanted my game to be. I was inspired by the Interdisciplinary Computing and Art curriculum's analysis of AI, and I wanted to incorporate the water crisis brought on by emerging technologies in my game.
Once I had a premise, I needed to figure out a game mechanic and protagonist.
Game Premise
You are an employee at the “fix it” foundation, a handyman business that is dedicated to helping the community and solving problems. You are tired of your job and feel like you are drowning in work. One day, you come across an alien artifact that can replicate the work that you do. You bring it to the town and call a meeting to vote on whether to keep the artifact. Everyone votes to keep it, and you can finally relax now that mundane problems can be solved with the artifact. However, the artifact requires a lot of water to work, and since everyone is using it, the water is draining quickly. You decide to team up with the plumber and your fellow handyman to solve the water crisis.
Visual Translation
I converted my original sketches and concept art into pixelated sprites and assets to place into my GameMaker file.
Using many different tutorials on youtube and gameMaker documents, I developed a game environment that had aggressive enemies, collision mapping, and sprite animations.
Impact
I presented this project on a Sony Trinitron and let people play the game during the senior showcase. The reception was overwhelmingly positive I passed my last requirement to graduate at UC San Diego with this project.
