Don't Break Your Controller

Walter Luciano

Stratford, CT

BFA (Web/Interactive Media Design)

Advisor: Sue Huang

Video Game
Link to Don't Break Your Controller

Don’t Break Your Controller is a metagame that explores the management of frustration levels while playing a game in order to prevent one’s gamer rage from causing real life consequences. The player plays a platforming game (game inside of the game), and every time they die a rage meter builds. The player must manage their rage through various methods so that they don't break their controller, which will cost them currency that could be used to buy other controllers.
The game was made using the Unity engine and utilizes multiple assets such as Destructible 2D by Carlos Wilkes. I have looked into several different studies that were done on the causes and effects of “gamer rage.” Reasons for gamer rage include the game not working or the player losing. The consequences of it can range from being rude to other players to breaking an object, usually the controller, which in some cases may have been their phone.
This project teaches the player the importance of controlling their frustration. It addresses the problem of “gamer rage” by putting the player into a situation where they must try to control their emotions and avoid breaking their controller in a fit of rage. They would then have to pay to replace the controller if they wished to play again, which is very expensive. It teaches them that the best thing they can do if they feel angry at a game is to take a break and do something that can help calm them before trying again. This way they can properly manage their frustration before it escalates to a point where it’s too late.

Artist Bio

Walter Luciano is a Digital Media and Design student at UConn Stamford and an aspiring web and game designer. He has a concentration in Web/Interactive Media Design. He is 21 years old and lives in Stratford, Connecticut. His life crossed with video games when he was very young, as he grew up with a Playstation 2, although the games he could play on it were limited. It was when his dad brought home a Playstation 3 that he became truly fascinated with them. He noted how many ways each game was different and how that affected how he felt while playing them. He started further diversifying the types of games he played, noting these differences in each one. In high school, he took two game design classes that used Gamemaker Studio. When attending college at UConn Stamford, he decided to major in Digital Media and Design, and he has taken multiple classes that focused on the creation of interactive digital media, including web design, scripting, and video game design classes. He has experience using Visual Studio Code, Processing, Adobe products, GameMaker Studio, and Unity.

https://walterluciano9.wixsite.com/mysite
https://www.linkedin.com/in/walter-luciano-59a249267/

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