Xylem: The Code of Plants
Position: Assistant Game Designer
I am currently working as an Assistant Game Designer on Xylem: The Code of Plants for the UCSC Design and Verification lab. Xylem is an iPad puzzle game currently undergoing the review process for the App Store. It involves making complex observations about plant species found on a mysterious island. Xylem is unique in that its aim is not just fun: it actually has a goal of crowd-sourcing formal software verification through players' gameplay! That is, each game level actually represents a real piece of code; when a player solves a puzzle, they are making a statement about that piece of code that, if verified to hold true, will help the code become stronger and less vulnerable to attacks.
My current main role is the design of the tutorial for the game, in which I author levels and content for the game and implement them via an internal design tool. I am a core part of the design team and as such am involved in discussions about all levels of the game’s design. In addition, I run playtests for the game, and analyze, post, and report on the findings of the playtests.
Xylem was released on the App Store on November 13, 2013. You can view the App Store listing for the game here.
Official press releases for Xylem:
http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2013/12/04.aspx
http://news.ucsc.edu/2013/12/xylem-game.html
Other press for Xylem:
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/darpa-games-crowdsource-debugging,news-17961.html
http://blog.sfgate.com/techchron/2013/12/08/defense-department-taps-gamers-to-prevent-cyberattacks/