Coal Rush
is a game that mixes the shoveling of coal, into a wild west era locomotive, with railroad switching. We wanted to bring a fast-paced experience into the arcade world. The two players compete to not get caught by the bandits at the bottom of the screen.
During Coal Rush’s development, I was involved in both programming and design. For instance, I developed a track-laying algorithm that sorted all the available train tracks, and appended them sequentially which then makes up the level. This means that each playthrough is different. In addition, I implemented gameplay mechanics, U.I., audio and sound.
I also designed levels, SFX, gameplay, and player-interactions. UX is always at the forefront of my design-philosophy, and it was especially important for the team during development. The challenges with an arcade game like Coal Rush are somewhat unique as there’s both a physical and digital experience. Keeping the players’ safety, entertainment, and overall experience in mind, allowed us to create a captivating environment where players felt safe and fully engaged while playing.
Gamasutra / Game Developer wrote an article about Coal Rush ahead of our alt.ctrl.GDC exhibition.
Coal Rush won Best Arcade Experience at the Gotland Game Conference 2018, and went on to win a ticket to the show floor at alt.ctrl.GDC in San Francisco 2019.
Here is some of the development material
Game Design Document
Concept Document
Various scripts
Jeppe Willatzen 