PARLIAMENT PARODY
OVERVIEW
My goal was to create an accessible experience that will make you laugh while raising awareness on the worlds' biggest issues. The result is a game that has a nasty politician (the player) "shoot down" good ideas and accelerate mankind’s doom.
Parliament Parody is a satirical, point-and-click shooter.
My Role:
Game Design, Programming,
Sound Design
Watch Me
Play Me
A GLIMPSE INTO THE TALE
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Under Pressure: I led focused and decisive development under the constraint of time.
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Ludonarrative Harmony: I created game mechanics that reinforce the narrative in a perfect way.
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All Players Welcome: By strategically balancing the game's difficulty, I broadened the target audience by 50%.
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Modularity: By using Data Tables and Structures, making diverse gameplay becomes a matter of tweaking variables and creating basic AI behaviours.
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Player Perception: Through sound design, I guide the player to engage with the game as intended.
The Full Story
During a game jam hosted by LaSalle College Montreal and Room8 Group, I led a team of five to create Parliament Parody, completing the game in just 20 hours. The theme was “a world on the brink of sociopolitical collapse due to polarizing opinions”.
I began by gathering the team to brainstorm. My usual process involves exchanging ideas with my teammates, and refining concepts until we land on what resonates most. The exercise proved highly effective, both in generating innovative ideas and boosting team morale.
My goal was to incorporate the theme in the most complete way possible. After some deliberation, I proposed a twist—taking on the role of the villain intent on hastening humanity’s demise. The mechanic, where the player literally “shoots down” good ideas, seamlessly complemented the theme. I also added an in-game time limit to heighten pressure and reinforce the sense of impending doom.
The player shoots good ideas (white speech bubbles) with bad ideas (red projectiles).
The player must hit their target before it floats upward and touches the ceiling.
Failing to do so adds time to the countdown, prolonging humanity’s demise.
To ensure accessibility, I chose an arcade-style, point-and-click game with intuitive controls. To balance accessibility with challenge, I introduced a dynamic system that gradually increases difficulty by adding new target types with varying behaviors, keeping players engaged regardless of skill level.
A challenge we faced early on was clearly signaling which actions were "correct" for the player. Since the player is the villain, their aim is to prevent the in-game timer from recovering time. In other words, they must ensure the time runs out. To clarify this, I implemented distinct sound effects for every action, with comically positive and negative tones ensuring unambiguous feedback.
In the end, we met our scope and completed the project early, allowing time for polishing and QA. We exceeded expectations, delivering a humorous and engaging game. Players praised the comical punchlines, providing highly positive feedback.
Game Loops
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The game relies on a simple and direct loop, where the player beats round after round to hear its unique punchline.
Contributors
Thank you to my awesome teammates who helped make this project come to life!
Ariane Rancourt
3D Modeling, Animations
Dhairya Sheel Rawal
UI/UX Design, Level Design
Manyu Vikrant Kumar
3D Modeling
Saryat Khan
Programming, Game Design