What's this about?

I founded Duck Matter Studios to create transformative games with a positive social impact. Our first title, BallArena, explores body dysmorphia and the challenge of overcoming it:

  • I secured funding through an Austrian grant for innovative, society driven products
  • I directed a team of five professionals across research, art, and marketing
  • I developed a vertical slice ready for publisher funding

Challenges

Accountability

A game about mental health has to be scientifically sound so it communicates the right message and avoids unwanted side effects.

Individual

The journey toward self-acceptance is deeply individual. People are at different points in life, so the experience needs to cater to each.

Low budget

BallArena began preproduction without much budget. Because external investment was uncertain, the concept had to minimise costs.

Stigma

A game aiming to transform its target audience must not stigmatise it. This in turn means we wouldn't be able to promote one of its USPs.

Strategy

Two core loops

The game balances a toxic, extrinsic core loop, which we would market to the audience, and a healthy, intrinsic one, the hidden end goal always in reach.

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Project feelings

A journey this personal has to be felt. Video games are a multimodal medium, so we made sure the message came through on every level, including the controls.

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Generative nature

Keeping the content generative would allow us to minimise content production costs, but at the same time dynamically adjust to each players needs.

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Two core loops

Extensive research

I began by consulting a clinical psychologist, who recommended key literature. I also studied social media to get a broader picture. I then compiled the data collected and mapped the relationships within it. I chose to keep social context minimal so the game would stay focused on the personal nature of the journey.

Hey, I'm Nicki! I'm a clinical psychologist that has been working for the past 11 years to improve the mental health of my clients, both in. a single and group setting. I've been consulting the team with my expertise

Nickole Pichler

Systemic approach

I translated the research into game systems in Machinations. It took multiple iterations to match the expected dynamics while staying true to the source material. I chose to model acceptance as a system variable projected onto the avatar rather than the player, as to avoid possible harm to vulnerable players.

Bipolar

On the presentation layer, we portray both an objective reality and an artificial one, shaped by societal expectations. Since questioning assumptions is essential for self-acceptance, the game contrasts a 3D world as ground truth with layers of judgement shown through the UI. The player must learn to tell them apart.

Follow the fun!

Theory helps, but it never fully translates into player contact. That's why regular playtests are so crucial. As iteration times increased throughout development, it became challenging to get regular feedback. It took many iterations to make the game genuinely fun.

Project feelings

Ambiguituity

Self acceptance is a journey that never feels truly safe. It can feel pleasant, but it can also be downright horrifying. We wanted to recreate this feeling in our game world. I directed Shelly towards an art direction which reflected those qualities. There is an eerie quality to the art style and I'm really proud of her work.

Hey, I'm Shelly! I'm a concept artist specialised in environments and props. I participated in many game projects before having the pleasure to participate in a such great game like BallArena!

Shelly Menville

Feel the difference

Games are uniquely defined by game feel: the haptics of game controls and how they translate onscreen. As players steer the avatar, they feel its undergoing transformation. The physics shift and the environment responds differently. The transition between those states is fluid, similar to driving on ice vs dry asphalt.

Insert Coin

Rapid failures

I dropped all software development principles and worked hypothesis driven. Each prototype answered one question as fast as possible. BallArena went through countless iterations across very different game types before becoming a surfing based exploration game. That was only possible through short turnaround times.

Generative nature

Emergence to the rescue

Content that adapts to different personalities over many hours is a money sink. Early on, I modelled long-term behaviour with paper prototypes to ensure enough dynamics to keep surprising players beyond moment-to-moment fun. It also made the game streamer-friendly, since every run could feel unique and individual.

Generative sound

Like the art style, Wobblersound carried the game's ambiguity into the soundscape. I asked them to dynamically generate the music. Because music works on a subliminal level, it reinforces shifts in game feel while also serving as intrinsically motivated self-expression, to the likes of music therapy. They did a great job!

We are a passionate sound studio based in Vienna! We take care of the complete audio pipeline for games. When we heard the pitch of BallArena, we immediately were excited to jump right into the project!

Wobblersound

The world is yours

A game that evolves openly and dynamically needs a world that can support it. BallArena was conceived as an open world where each player carves their own path. Outside a few story beats, storytelling happens mostly through the environment, revealing the eerie world and, ultimately, yourself.

Utilise your past

I had no budget for AAA assets, so I leaned into a tech-art-heavy look rooted in my CG background. BallArena's visuals are amplified by a terrain that deforms as the player surfs it. A major challenge was building a tessellation algorithm efficient enough for mobile, capable of rendering perfectly round waves.

The result

Sliced top to bottom

After 3 years of development BallArena finally made it into a vertical slice. The development was financed by the Austrian government through a state grant. It was an important milestone which enables BallArena to attract further funding.

Hey, I'm Marc! With more than 5 years of experience, I collaborated as a 3D modeler and texturing freelancer for indie game projects in Brazil and Europe. I've modelled those awesome towers you are seeing!

Marc Santana

Let's talk business!

The creation of a business plan was an important new perspective to my mindset. It helped me to think in more strategic terms and contextualise every decision in a business framework. Ultimately, this would focus decision making during critical phases of the project.

Market study

During preproduction, I surveyed our target audience to gauge the game's potential. The response was surprisingly positive, especially because players already understood the game's intent and inspirations despite its early state.

We've come a long way!

So much has happened since this case study was published, the project has moved forward into a very exciting direction! 🤩 If you're interested into this project and are thinking about a future collaboration, how about we exchange for an hour or so?

Let's talk!

NEEEXT!!!