Q&A with Kitty Scheres: Developing 'On the Bubble'

What was the assignment for this project? 

Kitty: ‘The project was part of the third-year curriculum. It was a year-long game development project with a strong technical focus. The goal was to create a spiritual successor to the game Super Monkey Ball, using a custom engine and incorporating features such as a level editor and path tracing for rendering. We called it “On the Bubble.”’ 

‘Our team consisted of eleven programmers, one visual artist, and one producer. I initially joined another project but switched to On the Bubble after the first block, as it aligned better with my technical interests.’ 

How has the development process unfolded so far? 

Kitty: ‘Block A was all about the concepting phase, followed by implementation. The first major task was building the engine, which formed the foundation for gameplay development. By the end of block B we had a small gameplay demo of a ball rolling through the first level in Super Monkey Ball. With custom physics and raytraced graphics.’ 

‘As we progressed into block C, we focused on improving the pipelines for creating gameplay content while also focusing on updating our ray tracer to a path tracer, making a working level editor, and improving the stability of the custom physics. This was also when we welcomed our visual artist, giving the game more shape. We began testing the game, including the level editor, gathering feedback from people both inside and outside BUas.’ 

‘In the final block, we worked on integrating the User Generated Content systems with Mod.io for the game. The main goals were polishing the game and getting the level editor in a state where it can be shipped with the game. Development continued post block D, and we officially released the game at the end of the summer.’ 

Tell us about the game! 

Kitty: ‘On the Bubble is a single-player game inspired by Super Monkey Ball. The core gameplay is simple: you control a ball, rolling from the start to the finish while avoiding obstacles and collecting items for a higher score.’ 

‘We developed it using a custom engine, implementing rendering and physics ourselves. One of the unique additions with the feature for creating and playing user created levels —something not present in the original Super Monkey Ball games.’ 

You can check out the game on Steam: On the Bubble 

What was your role in this project? 

Kitty: ‘My primary responsibility was implementing the UGC management system. This involved setting up and integrating the systems for uploading, searching through, and downloading user created levels. We used the Mod.io SDK (software development kit), and I spent a significant amount of time ensuring its smooth implementation. This enabled players to share their creations and download levels made by others, enriching the game's replayability.’ 

How did you like working on this project? What challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them? 

Kitty: ‘I really enjoyed working on On the Bubble. It was an interesting and challenging experience. However, if I were to do it again, I would approach planning differently.’ 

‘One of the main issues we faced was making decisions too late in the process. For example, UI implementation was delayed, even though it was crucial for the level editor and the UGC integration. Additionally, we also kept pushing certain gameplay related decisions forward until we had no choice but to make a decision. These last-minute decisions created avoidable challenges.’ 

What are your future plans? 

Kitty: ‘I am currently doing an internship at Cyborn in Antwerp, a company specialising in VR and mixed reality games. Here, I am working on Wall Town Wonders, a recently released game for Meta Quest 3. The game allows players to build a city in their living room using augmented reality.’ 

‘I am particularly interested in exploring what I can achieve within XR programming. My internship mainly involves implementing mini-games within Wall Town Wonders, and ensuring the stability of the game by fixing bugs. For example, I have worked on the dates in the valentines update and the bouncy fertilizer balls in the fertilize mini-game. This experience has given me more hands-on involvement in gameplay development, which I find exciting.’ 

You can find Wall Town Wonders here: Meta Quest 

Where can people find more about your work? 

Kitty: ‘You can connect with me on LinkedIn or check out my portfolio'