UT Shield

Game Development and Design Program | University of Texas at Austin

Fall 2024

2D

GDAD Capstone Course

The 2D Capstone Course in the GDAD Program at The University of Texas at Austin occurs each fall and challenges students to utilize all their new skills to create a final project. Undergraduates from the Departments of Arts and Entertainment Technologies, Computer Science, and Radio-Television-Film were assigned to one of five teams, and each team developed their own unique 2D video game.

Below are the results of the Capstone.

Spirit Free Guarantee

Team 1: Spiritless Studios

A top-down view of a stylized classroom setting from a digital game. A cartoon cat character in a red-striped outfit navigates around desks, chairs, and various items like backpacks, juice boxes, and glowing orbs. Red lockers line the classroom walls, and shadowy ghost-like figures hover near the back. The UI includes a score counter ("50"), a timer ("1:34"), and a character health/status bar. The overall aesthetic is playful and hand-drawn, with an adventurous, school-themed vibe.

Spirit Free Guarantee is a time management game where you and your friends need to cleanse all the spirits from your school within the time limit, using a variety of tools to clean up a variety of enemies! Play solo or multiplayer online within up to 4 players!

Genres: Simulation
Platforms: Mac, Windows, Android
Expected ESRB: E10+
Team Members:

  • Victoria Cheung – UI/UX Artist
  • Julieta Cruz – Lead Animator
  • Joy Ekechukwu – Programmer, Narrative Designer
  • Dariela Hernandez – Lead Artist
  • Jeuk Hwang – Lead Programmer
  • Relena Lai – Programmer
  • Edward Renteria – Programmer, Game Designer
  • Benjamin Tanwar – Game Designer, Audio Designer, Scrum Master

Trailer  | Presentation

Hit Me

Team 2

A glowing neon-style logo reading “HIT ME” is centered in the image, displayed over a dark, smoky background. Three red playing cards with the letter “J” and the words “HIT ME” faintly visible are positioned behind the text. The design evokes the aesthetic of a high-stakes card game or arcade-style combat game. Faint graffiti-style drawings, including a green bunny face with Xs for eyes, add an edgy, underground atmosphere to the scene.

Step into the high-stakes, neon-lit criminal underworld in Hit Me!, a beat ’em up where lady luck is your own lifeline! Embody Jack Paught, a renegade with a cybernetic grappling hook, fast fists, and a deck of volatile cards that can alter reality. Brawl and tweak your deck to bend fortune in your favor. How long can you survive before you go bust?

Genres: Beat ‘Em Up, Platformer
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Mobile
Expected ESRB: M for Mature
Team Members:

  • Rach Allen – Artist. Level Designer
  • Beau Cormican – Audio Designer
  • Ethan Luong – Producer, Scrum Master, Level Designer
  • Dillon Luong – Programmer, Game Designer
  • Lila Mali – Artists, Animator
  • Diego Mendez – Programmer, UI/UX Designer
  • Phoebe Reeder – Artist, Animator
  • Angela Walters – Programmer, Game Designer

Play Game | Trailer | Presentation

Golfin’ Slayer

Team 3

A colorful digital illustration featuring a cartoonish yellow character with large, black eyes, wearing a mint green beret and pink sweater, standing on a soft, cloudy surface. Behind the character is a whimsical, fantasy landscape with a castle on the left, golf tees and floating islands on the right, and a scribbly white creature with large teeth crawling toward the viewer. The scene is playful and surreal, evoking a storybook or animated video game style.

A day on the green turns into a duff in the rough. You find yourself in a realm of golf-themed oddities and monstrosities alike. If you’re to find a way out, you’ll have to putt, drive, and swing your way there.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Roguelike
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Xbox
Expected ESRB: T for Teen
Team Members:

  • Jack Alsaffar – Art/Animation
  • Breeze Ayala – Narrative Design, Level Design, Production
  • JD Bauer – Game Design, Level Design
  • Jaime Bunker – Art/Animation, Narrative Design
  • Grace He – Programmer
  • Branden Heng – T echnical Artist, Programmer, Scrum Master
  • Joaquin Niles – T echnical Artist, Programmer
  • Lemuel Sarfo – Audio Design

Play Game | Trailer | Presentation

Tempo Tails

Team 4

A stylized raccoon character with wings runs across a broken wooden platform, targeting enemies shaped like musical notes with angry faces and blades. A green circle indicates an active rhythm or aim mechanic, with a visible score and health meter at the top. The visual style mimics vintage animation with scan lines and chromatic aberration, blending rhythm-based gameplay with combat in a side-scrolling format.

Tempo Tails is a genre-blending, heart-pounding music experience. You take control of Tango, a scruffy raccoon, and need to fight against evil robots in a dystopian world. Your actions, your enemies, and even the world around you are all synced to the beat of the music. Play through a variety of techno songs, backdrops, and challenges as you race to the finish!

Genres: Rhythm, platformer
Platforms: Mac, Windows, Web
Expected ESRB: E10+
Team Members:

  • Kuba Bard – Artist/Animator
  • Andy Chang – Programmer
  • Joshua Hale – Designer
  • Kayla Han – Programmer/Scrum master
  • Daniel Ragland – Sound designer/Musician
  • Shadow Sincross – Programmer
  • Apollo Tardy – Artist/Animator

Play Game | Trailer | Presentation

V-Shift

Team 5

A bold, stylized red title logo reading "V-SHIFT" set against a dark, speed-lined background. The lettering has sharp, angular edges with a pixelated, retro aesthetic that suggests action or intensity, giving the impression of a fast-paced video game or digital animation.

V-Shift is a high-intensity, fast paced battle platformer where mastering your movement is the key to victory. Choose your champion and become the best gladiator in a galaxy-wide alien arena. Master the V-Shift: velocity is damage, stillness is death!

Genres: Multiplayer fighter
Platforms: Mac, Windows, and Xbox
Expected ESRB: T for Teen
Team Members:

  • Mary Gavrilova – Level Design/UI Design
  • Mason Mockler – Lead Artist
  • Jiwon Park – Assistant Producer
  • Jadon Putman – Sound Designer
  • Max Somarriba – Programmer
  • Paul Toprac – Producer
  • Sarina Varela – Assistant Artist
  • John Vu – Programmer
  • Alex Wilson – Programmer

Play Game | Trailer  | Presentation

×