Riftborn is the first video game project that I worked with a team on. the entire class had multipe teams, and all of our games by the end of the semester would be presented and placed in a local bar and arcade.
one of the big topics that was a big throughline the whole project was keeping in mind our target audince, which due to the arcade cabiniet's location, was a bar. because of this, we had to simplify many of our mechanics, and one of the hardest parts was figuring out how to teach the player through showing rather than telling. learning over time how to build a game like this and getting feedback from professors was really important to my experience.
Riftborn is a 2D side-scrolling beatemup arcade game that takes place in a time rift, meaning that you fight enemies from all across history.
My role in the project was just refered to as "lead design" which mostly just means I was the one person on our team working in engine, placing art assets, changing the map, setting where and when certian enemies spawn, and polishing the game visually. Riftborn was really the first time I worked on a game project that had a person on my team dedicated to programming. because of this, I could focus more on the aspects of the game design process i enjoyed more, like level design.
As I said earlier, the project that resulted in Riftborn was a collaboration with a local arcade and bar, if you're ever around Peoria (for whatever reason) check out 8-bit beercade and try to find the big branded Bradley university arcade cabinet!