PREMISE

Khemia is a web-based game created by Hoozinga Game Media in 2010. It was built in Unity3D for the Vermont Department of Health (Vermont Quit Network). Khemia was designed both to be a distraction from cigarette cravings and to provide tools to quit smoking cigarettes via the integrated MyQuitKit tool.

In the game portion, targets float in patterns around a pool. Players must hit sequences of targets to clear them from the board, the objective being to clear them all. With twenty-five levels in each of the two modes (Shot Count and Time Attack), there’s plenty of action in Khemia, especially when used with the MyQuitKit tool. The kit keeps track of each individual player’s attempts to quit smoking, tracking craving levels, money saved, reasons for quitting, and tips for breaking the habit.

Khemia can be played at the Vermont Quit Network’s website: http://vtquitnetwork.org/game/

MY ROLE

I covered a large number of roles on the Khemia project. I initially helped the design team in some of the design direction discussions. When production began, I was involved in the level design, balancing each level for the appropriate number of targets as well as their rate and direction of movement. Later in development, I moved to constructing the MyQuitKit software within Unity, bridging the gap between the designers, artists, and programmers and integrating their individual pieces to form the Kit itself.

Throughout the entire project, I served as the primary QA tester as well, giving design feedback and bug reports.