FEATURED PROJECTS
CLIFFHANGERS
Party Platformer Game - Unreal Engine
VOCALMANCER
Vocal Input Game - Unreal Engine
Crabsticks
Physics Based Party Game - Unreal Engine 5
About Me
== INTRO ==
I'm Connor Gradwell: an ex-student who has just finished his third year at the University of Staffordshire, and is EAGER to break into the games industry!My main passion is for Gameplay Design and Narrative, exemplified by my prior work and by my hobbies.
== HOBBIES ==
My primary hobby is playing Video Games, which is what inspired me to join the industry in the first place. My favourite genre of game is RPGs, but I also enjoy a variety of other genres such as: Platformers, Survival Horror and Puzzle Games. Some of my favourites games include: Pokémon Sun, Persona 4 Golden, SOMA, Fallout New Vegas and Spider-man PS4.
I also enjoy watching and engaging with Movies/TV Shows and the behind the scenes happenings that go into the production. My favourite movie is Pirates of The Carribean: Dead Man's Chest, and my favourite show is Doctor Who.
Finally, I love playing D&D, which helps inspire me to be narratively creative. I've been a long term DM before, as well as a regular player.
This has had me writing backstories, designing bossfights and engaging with world mechanics in unique and interesting ways.
== EXPERIENCE/QUALIFICATIONS ==
My qualifications thus far mainly come from my Distinction★ in BTech Information Technology and my current average for the two years of University, which sits at 72% (1st).My main draw for experience in the industry is from my part in developing TIGA award nominated game: Crabsticks. This had me working in a professional environment with a large scale team.
CLIFFHANGERS
Party Platformer - Unreal Engine
VOCALMANCER
Vocal Input Game - Unreal Engine
Crabsticks
Physics Based Party Game - Unreal Engine 5
One More Night
Survival/Tower Defence - Unreal Engine
KOTH_POOLROOM
TF2 Map - Hammer Engine
Enraptured Demo
RPG Demo - PyGame
CLIFFHANGERS
Party Game - Unreal Engine 5
== DESCRIPTION ==
Cliffhangers is a 2-4 player party game in which each player takes control of a medieval fantasy inspired animal character and races across a player-built obstacle course to reach the other side of a treacherous pit. They are awarded points for getting trap kills, pushing other players off into the void and reaching the end the fastest. Most points after 10 rounds wins! 👑
== DETAILS ==
This project was developed with a team of 28 talented individuals: Rolling Barrel Games. For this project I took on the role of Design Lead, piloting a team of seven other designers through various disciplines, such as UI Design, Gameplay Design, Level Design and Audio Design. I led weekly design meetings in addition to more individual support/communication with my team, as well as regularly attending Leads Meetings in which we discussed inter-department topics and the timeline for the game's development.This was a valuable experience in learning about team structure and the importance of an efficient development pipeline. Many of the leadership skills I began this project with were developed over the course of the three months spent on it, and it all culminated in us winning the Collab26 Industry Choice Award! 🏆More specifically, as a designer I worked on:- GDD Template and Maintenance
- Carousel, options and Menu UI
- Character Controller
- Trap Design
- Powerup Design
- Gameplay Loop Design
- Points Design
== SKILLS UTILISED ==
- Gameplay Design
- Team Management
- Leadership Skills
- UI Design
- Working in a large scale team
== THE TEAM ==
For this project, I ran the Design Team as one of eight talented designers!Some stand out co-workers were: Harley Webb, Ally Savidge and Joshua Hooton!
== DOCUMENTATION ==
Crabsticks
Party Game - Unreal Engine 5
== DESCRIPTION ==
Crabsticks is a Party Game for 2-4 players in which each player takes the role of a Crab in a crab cage, duking it out in a series of fun, ball-based minigames with only a popsicle stick to their name. At the end of the day, only one of you can be crowned the top crab, and I'm sure it'll break many friendships when it comes out.🦀
== DETAILS ==
I helped develop this game during my SPO Internship (2025) at the University of Staffordshire. This was a paid internship that had me working on a industry grade project at the University on projects in their in house development studio: Oatcake Interactive.I was one of three of the earliest Student Developers on Crabsticks, and worked over the first three weeks of my Internship to develop a variety of rapid prototypes for a pre-established control scheme and help establish the gameplay loop of the game.The following six weeks had me working alongside the award-winning 1UP Scheme to develop the game further. The game is set to be released sometime next year.
== SKILLS UTILISED ==
- Rapid Prototyping
- Gameplay Design
- Level Design
- Working within a Team
- Working in a Professional Environment
== THE TEAM ==
For this project, I was part of a 20+ person team. It was developed by the Talented Creatives of the award-winning 1UP scheme (2025).My design team collaborators were: Will Spencer, Alex Smith, Jonathon Scoffin, Tom Howard-Saunders and Allyson Frazier!
== DOCUMENTATION ==
CRABSTICKS is still in active development. Due to my internship at Oatcake Interactive ending, I do not have access to the TDD, GDD or any other documentation created thus far. I am looking into gaining access at the moment.
KOTH_POOLROOM
TF2 Map - Hammer Engine
== DESCRIPTION ==
Built in the late 1960s atop a mysteriously condemned gravel pit, Badwater Poolrooms was meant to be a beacon of family fun, municipal pride, and aggressively underpaid lifeguards. Instead, it became embroiled in one of the most pointless, violent corporate disputes in American history.Redmond and Blutarch now vie for control of this long since abandoned Poolhouse, determined to lay their own claim to it!
== DETAILS ==
This map was created in an 8-week time frame, during which it went through many improvements and revisions based on feedback collected and analysed. This ranged from small balance tweaks, to entire reworks of map sections to achieve a strong and fair balance between the two teams.This map went through 5 separate playtested iterations before it was completed, with many alterations, additions and improvements made over the rigorous QA sessions.It was an invaluable experience in the Level Design pipeline, and helped me to think more critically about how players of the FPS genre approach a level.
== SKILLS UTILISED ==
- Iterative Development
- Rigorous QA Process
- Level Design
- Changelog Creation
- Adapting to a new engine
== VIDEO SHOWCASE ==
== DOCUMENTATION ==
Enraptured Demo
RPG Demo - PyGame
== DESCRIPTION==
The demo for a game that was set up to be a modern retelling of Orpheus's journey into the underworld to save his wife: Eurydice.In this retelling, she died to a man with a snake tattoo, and Orpheus is a struggling musician barely making rent. The Gods barely even interact with the mortal plane, and care not for some guitar wielding demigod...
== DETAILS ==
This demo was developed iteratively over the course of 2 months, and was my first experience with the PyGame engine as well as my first time developing a game outside of methods such as Scratch and Microsoft Makecode. This included having to code custom collision bounds, player movement, clickable buttons and scrollable text.Everything in this project was created by me EXCEPT for 2/3 audio tracks. All art, sound effects, programming and animations were developed by me.
== SKILLS UTILISED ==
- Solo Developing
- Game Development Log Creation
- Programming in Python
- Pixel Art
- Sound Design
- Music Composition
== VIDEO SHOWCASE ==
== DOCUMENTATION ==
One More Night
Survival/Tower Defence - Unreal Engine 5
== DESCRIPTION==
The world is over! Society has fallen, and only those lucky few remain. Your goal? Gather what little resources you can and use them to guard the water tower that gives you life. At least the zombies only come at sundown... just gotta survive One More Night.
== DETAILS ==
This project was an amazing opportunity to study the design rationale behind 2D survival games like Don't Starve Together, as well as horde based top down games like Clash of Clans or Vampire Survivors. It provided me with the base for my most advanced AI project yet, with zombies that needed to be both lightweight AND intelligent enough to navigate a changeable level in which the player build defences while prioritising different towers based on various factors.
== SKILLS UTILISED ==
- Project Management
- AI Development
- Mechanics Design
- Level Design
- Gameplay Design
== DOCUMENTATION ==
VOCALMANCER
Vocal Input Game - Unreal Engine 5
== DESCRIPTION==
VOCALMANCER was a four month exploration of the use of Vocal Input technologies in games. This project served as a great dive into the design methodologies behind games that use Vocal Inputs as a central game mechanic, and the limitations that come with the technology.It also let me make cool spells.
== DETAILS ==
VOCALMANCER consists of a modular spellcasting system that is controlled via the player's voice. To achieve this, I did research into various methods on how Vocal Input could be handed in Unreal Engine 5.6.1, exploring in engine options and plugins alike, before settling on the use of the Sphinx plugin.A bespokely designed system stores and processes the individual data dictated by the player, before instancing the spell chosen and using data tables to give it the relevant alterations, all while a visual display of the spell being crafted is shown in the player's right hand.
== SKILLS UTILISED ==
- Solo Developing
- Game Development Log Creation
- Design Principles Research
- QA Testing
== VIDEO SHOWCASE ==
== DOCUMENTATION ==
Food Feud
Party Game - Unreal Engine 5
== DESCRIPTION ==
In the cut-throat culinary world, there are two types of stickmen - the chefs... and the saboteurs! Join the vicious battle in this local multiplayer game where it's Good VS Evil to construct the best or worst dish of all time. Enjoy the contrast of steak and ice cream! Revel in the chaos of burning your opponents Crème Brûlée while forcing them into a corner with your vicious right hook! Only one chef can win...
== DETAILS ==
This is a submission for the 2025 Ukie Game Jam, from team 56: 117 Games. Made in Unreal Engine 5.4.4 in a 32 hour time frame and the theme of "Contrast".The aim of the game for the blue player (The Chef) is to gather foods from the shelves and the fridges to cook and craft a balanced meal (using the four food groups: Sugar, Protein, Carbs and Veg). The goal of the red player (The Saboteur) is to disrupt their cooking, and to throw burnt or raw food onto the plate while their opponent isn't looking. At the end, an equation is run to judge the meal, and a winner is decided.
== THE TEAM ==
Connor Gradwell - Level Design, Technical Assistant, Game Designer
Thomas Brookshaw - Game Designer, Sound Design, UI Design, Technical Assistant
Isaac Williams - Lead Technician, Game Designer
== SKILLS UTILISED ==
- Level Design
- Gameplay Design
- Working with a deadline
- Games Programming
== DOCUMENTATION ==
Misc Game Jame Projects
Genre Mix - Unreal Engine 5
Flightless Lovebirds
Platformer - Unreal Engine 5
== DESCRIPTION ==
Perry the Penguin has recently gone through a breakup with his beloved girlfriend: Penny the Penguin. How sad.Luckily for Perry, Penny has said she will take him back if he collects 5 fish of an undisclosed species for her. Some may call it fate, some may call it cod-digging and some may call it emotional manipulation, but whatever the name he must now collect 5 fish.
== DETAILS ==
This is a submission for the Freshers Jam 2023, created by Group 22: Fishy Games.
Created in Unreal Engine 5.1 in a time frame of 24 hours. The theme was "Connection".The objective of the game is to try and collect five fish hidden on the map in the smallest time frame possible. This project was also my first time using Unreal Engine 5, and therefore was only a very basic project.
== THE TEAM ==
Connor Gradwell - Game Programmer, Game Designer, Level Designer, Game Artist
Christopher Miller - Game Artist
itzasylum - Game Artist
== SKILLS UTILISED ==
- Pixel Art
- 2D in Unreal
- Game Jam Experience
- Games Programming
- Sound Design
== SHOWCASE VIDEO ==
