SkyHaven | BV Portfolio

Client Expectations

The Expectations from the client were very clear from the start. Not a lot was allowed and there were quite a lot of restrictions. First of all the game had to be very easy to play and understand, so no difficult controls or complex mechanics. The game also had to be very quick to play, so you could just open it up and play a quick round whenever you wanted. The game also had to

fit within the festival theme and show the brand well. And lastly and most importantly the game had to have their brand colors featured well within the game. Everything had to be pink and green, ofcourse we were allowed to stray a bit from it but those colors had to be the most prominent within the game.

Overall the expectations were very clear and we had to make sure we met them all.

The team

Our team consisted of 2 IGP's, 2 GGP's and 1 GD students. Each with our own roles and responsibilities to make sure the project ran smoothly.

Bram (Me): Main Aniamtor, Manager, 3D artist and helping with the game design.
Simon: The Sound artist and game designer.
Rupert: The programmer.
Marius: The main artist and character designer.
Audric: The tech artist.

My Role

My main job within this project was to create various 3D animated assets for the game. Aka the main animator. This included the main character, the parrot, as well as several obstacles and props that populate the festival environment. I was responsible for rigging and animating these models to ensure they fit seamlessly into the game's aesthetic and mechanics.

Next to being the main animator, I also took on the role of manager for the project. This meant I was involved in coordinating tasks among team members, ensuring deadlines were met, and facilitating communication between the team, the client and the supervisors.

Short Overview:

Group Size: 5 people

Time: 3 months

Client: Win For Life (Belgian National Lottery)

Extra:

Group Projects Final Presentation: Final_Presentation

Early concepts and development

The game went through several concept stages during the brainstorming phase. Our first idea was a cup tower balancing game that used the phone’s gyroscope for control. We even developed a working prototype — full of bugs, of course — but it captured the core concept and was genuinely fun to play.

After discussing the prototype with the client, the idea was rejected because cups could be associated with alcohol and drinking, which didn’t fit the project’s vision. Despite that, the client liked the gyroscope mechanic and insisted it remain a core feature. This decision became an important design constraint that shaped the next iteration of the game.

After initial concepting we moved into another brainstorming phase, exploring a broad range of ideas — from experimental concepts to more straightforward designs. We presented the full slate of proposals to the client so they could choose the direction that best matched their vision.

Ultimately, the client selected a simpler concept: an infinite runner flyer. Although modest in scope, this concept proved to be an excellent fit — it clearly showcased the parrot character, captured the festival atmosphere, and aligned strongly with the brand.

Brainstorming & Designing

My Work

The Parrot

The parrot is the main character and is always up close on your screen so he needed some good animations fitting the stylised artstyle. I went for a simple yet nice looking animation style with not too much difficult movement.

Fly: This was the first animation created to get the parrot moving and look lively within the scene.
Walk: Then nextup is the walk animation, since the little guy needed to run over the ground and speeds up over time so I made him do a little waddle with very fast movement.
Slide: A slide animation was also needed since we had the idea of a non flyable area and we didn't want to use the standard walk.
Land: A landing transition for in between the flying and walking.
WallHit: And a wallhit for when you hit an obstacle and you lose the game. I tried to squash him on impact, bounce back a bit, stand up as if everything is okay and then pass out from the hit.
More: Since there are too many animations to show I only picked out my favourites. If you want to see more, please contact me.

Parrot

Partygoers

The Partygoer

The Partygoer is an obstacle within the festival that helps bring the scene to life. You’ll find them scattered around the grounds dancing, cooking, chatting, or just jumping along to the music — your typical carefree festival crowd. Their presence makes the world feel busy and full of energy, giving the festival its lively atmosphere.

However, as fun as they look, they’re still obstacles standing in your way. When the player bumps into a Partygoer, they react in an expressive, playful way — clutching their stomach, stumbling backward, and looking confused, much like the parrot’s reaction. It’s a small detail that adds humor and personality while keeping the world feeling dynamic and reactive.

The PortaPotti

The PortaPotti serves as a reactive obstacle within the festival environment. As the player navigates through the toilet area, they encounter PortaPotties that dynamically respond to their proximity — either toppling over or swinging open to reveal a Partygoer inside attempting to block their path.

Each obstacle is introduced with a brief animation cue: a shaking PortaPotti hints at an impending fall, while a slightly opened door reveals a curious Partygoer peeking out. As a subtle detail, the Partygoer is always present inside the PortaPotti, visibly bracing for impact just moments before it collapses or bursts open.

PortaPotti

Partygoers

Burgerboy

Burgerboy is a Partygoer carrying a tall, stacked tower of burgers. He constantly wanders around, trying to balance the tower, but because his view is blocked by the towering pile, he often ends up bumping into the player by accident.

When the player collides with him, Burgerboy and the burgers react dynamically: the entire stack topples over, spilling burgers onto the floor, while he falls to his knees in disbelief. This humorous and lighthearted reaction fits perfectly with the game’s playful tone.

More Props

Alongside the specific obstacles like the Partygoer and PortaPotti, I also created various additional props to populate the festival environment. These included items like food stands, decorations, and other festival-related objects that help bring the scene to life. All of these props have simple animations that constantly play troughout the game to make the world feel lively and dynamic.

Speakers: The speakers are meant to look like they are blasting music by vibrating the scale. The slightly move around showing the beats.
Lights: There are multipel vartiations of this light each with a different way the lights move but this is what they all generally look like. All at once they constantly move smoothly around lighting up the scene.
Flags:: The flags are very basic aniamtion, I used a IK rig to quickly move them around and look like they are moving due to the wind.
FerrisWheel: The Ferriswheel is the most basic out of them, justa slow rotation 10 seconds. it slowly starts up and slowly slows down whilst the cariages all stay nicely alligned with the same rotation as if gravity is pulling on them.
More: These are a couple of the props used, there are a few more not shown, if you want to see them, contact me or play the game

More Props

Parrot

The Starting Scene

This scene was first fully set up in Blender, where I added the headset and soda can as extra bones to the parrot’s rig. This setup allowed me to animate them seamlessly alongside the parrot. The animation itself is kept simple — a gentle idle motion as the parrot swings on a hammock, with subtle head nods in rhythm to the music, bringing the character to life.

For the takeoff animation, things became a bit trickier. Right before taking flight, the parrot drops both the headset and soda can. To handle this transition, I made the props gradually shrink and disappear — a creative workaround for the fact that their bones were part of the parrot’s rig. While this setup made the idle animation easy to manage, it complicated the separation needed for takeoff. By animating them out of view, I could keep the scene clean and visually smooth as the parrot lifts off into position.

Final Presentation

Back to Work Next Project: Blizzy

Vibe For Life

Project Overview

Tools Used

Client Expectations

The team

My Role

Short Overview:

Extra:

Early concepts and development

Brainstorming & Designing

My Work

The Parrot

The Partygoer

The PortaPotti

Burgerboy

More Props

The Starting Scene

Final Presentation