About the project

With Gorlami! portfolio finished and tons of lessons learned, we knew it was time to help others navigate the exciting world of game development. With our brand and expertise, we became the bridge for agencies and studios with tons of ideas but lacking the know-how. Dive into one of the projects where we brought into life.

Project Description

Gorlami was tasked with creating a game for the re-election campaign of Recife's Mayor. Aiming to engage young voters and inform the users what has been done by his current administration. 

The game took the form of an interactive city builder, allowing players to virtually experience the Mayor's accomplishments like the newly renovated Botanical Garden and the launch of free coding programs for students.

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My Role

On this phase at Gorlami!, I was responsible for the creative direction of the projects, as well as for the strategy of dissemination and profitability, making sure we had a healthy ROI (return of investment) of the projects within the company, managing customer and team interests and helping defne the product vision commercially guiding the success of a product and leading the cross-functional team that is responsible for improving it.

I was also responsible for planning, executing and closing projects. Defning the project, building its comprehensive work plan, managing budget and team as well as expectation of stakeholders.

My responsibilities included: 

• Team Leadership - I led a talented team consisting of 3 programmers and 3 animators throughout this phase, ensuring seamless collaboration and efficient progress.
• Weekly progress meetings - Conducted weekly meetings to track production progress, ensuring that the project remained on schedule and addressing any challenges or roadblocks as they arose.
• Resource Coordination - Coordinated resources and facilitated effective communication across cross-functional teams to ensure project success.
• Client Engagement -  I maintained regular contact with our client, presenting project milestones and ensuring that their expectations were met. This communication was essential for project alignment and client satisfaction.‍
• Continuous Improvement - I promoted a culture of continuous improvement within the team, encouraging members to share their insights and ideas for enhancing our project development process.

On the day to day operation, my work also involved: 

• Oversee sprint planning, create and own the product backlog, and keep track of progress throughout sprints
• Oversee production cycle of each project, managing schedule, staffing, and delegation of responsibilities
• Create and own the Asset & Development Plan in consultation with the rest of the team
• Monitor other documentation and ensure its accuracy across the project
• Serve as scrum master
• Lead team through Sprint Reviews and Sprint Retrospectives, and document those conversations
• Plan and manage QA and user testing for each milestone

Post Mortem - Recife Pra Frente

This postmortem will share key takeaways from our journey, highlighting both the effective strategies we implemented and the pitfalls we encountered on this phase where we led directly with clients. 

What went right: 

• Getting around all the red tapes that working with a government client can offer
• Engaging Core Gameplay - The core gameplay loop successfully provided satisfying challenges and engaging mechanics, leading to positive player feedback and high retention rates
• Clear communication, efficient workflow, and resource allocation within the development team ensured smooth development and project completion.

What went wrong: 

• JIRA had a lot of overhead excess features built into it, which raised the barrier to entry and lowered the adoption rate 
• Character Designs crunched due to time management difficulties and occasional miscommunications on deadlines 
• Misunderstanding the target audience's preferences led to design elements that didn't resonate with the core player base

What I learned: 

• To prioritize playtesting and iterative design: Rigorous testing and incorporating player feedback early in development can prevent major issues and ensure a polished final product.
• To strike a balance in monetization: Design a monetization model that provides reasonable value for players while generating sustainable revenue for the game's continued development.
• To refine target audience research: Conduct in-depth research and utilize accurate data to better understand the audience's preferences and expectations.