Mama Hawk

Game Design · Level Design · Creature Design · Programming · Mobile Development

Summary

Mama Hawk is a mobile action-arcade game developed by the indie collective GUMBO in collaboration with ComputerLunch, where players control a hawk mother as she hunts animals, avoids hazards, and feeds her growing brood of chicks. Featuring expressive 2D animation, handcrafted puzzle encounters, and a lively ecosystem of creatures with distinct behaviors, the game blends action, timing, and playful problem-solving.

During development, Mama Hawk was showcased at several major public events, including PAX East, Otakon, YouTube Space NYC’s Frederator Indie Night, NYU Game Center Playtests, and Play NYC, where it was selected as one of the show’s “Favorites of Play NYC.”

I joined the project as a Level Designer, but quickly grew into a hybrid role encompassing Game Design, Creature & AI Programming, 2D Animation Integration, UI support, worldbuilding, environmental effects, and production coordination. I created levels, designed and implemented many of the game’s creatures, tuned difficulty, optimized mobile performance, and supported public demos.

All of my work shipped in the final game.

Main Website (Computer Lunch) • Apple Store

Project Overview

Mama Hawk’s art and visual identity were created by Kati Nawrocki, whose hand-drawn characters and environments formed the heart of the game. I converted these assets into animated, functional Unity components and helped build the worlds they inhabited.

The project was led by Andrew Garrahan, with AI architecture created by Roman Sharf. I collaborated closely with Andrew, Kati, Roman, Mike, and the broader GUMBO team to bring both gameplay and presentation to life.

My work contributed to:

Level design & worldbuilding
Creature behavior & puzzle encounters
Environmental & atmospheric effects
UI design & implementation
Animation integration
Difficulty balancing & progression tuning
Public playtesting & production support

Tools Used

Unity (C# scripting, animation system, scene building)
SourceTree + Git (version control)
Xcode (mobile debugging & device testing)
Trello (task management & sprint planning)
Google Analytics (event tracking & user understanding)
Photoshop (sprite formatting & asset preparation)

What I Worked On

Level Design & World Building

I designed and built levels across multiple worlds, responsible for both structure and aesthetics:

Designed platform layouts, traversal paths, and level pacing
Placed Baby Nests, hazards, and creature spawners
Converted Kati Nawrocki’s art into Unity-ready sprites and animated assets
Created layered parallax backgrounds for depth and motion
Added weather effects like rain, drifting leaves, and atmospheric motion
Decorated scenes to support readability, game feel, and player flow

These levels were crafted to support Mama Hawk’s swipe-based movement and creature-driven puzzle challenges.

Creature & Gameplay Programming

A major design pillar of Mama Hawk is its ecosystem-based puzzle encounters. Every creature behaves differently, forcing players to adapt strategies, read movement patterns, and plan timing.

Working within the AI foundation created by Roman Sharf, and under the direction of Andrew Garrahan, I designed and implemented many of the individual creatures and their behaviors, including:

Creatures I developed:

Crows — fly across screen in varied patterns; test timing & prediction
Deer — sprint away when spotting Mama; encourage stealth & flanking
Bunnies — hop rhythmically; teach movement anticipation
Gophers — hide in underground holes; add patience-based puzzles
Skunks — release stink clouds; introduce temporary area hazards
Pigeons — drop projectiles; bring vertical threat management
Fast mice — dart unpredictably; require precision timing
Jumping fish — leap rhythmically from water; form timing puzzles
Porcupines — shoot spikes; create mid-range projectile encounters
Road Runners — sprint rapidly; challenge interception strategies

Each creature had:

Line-of-sight logic
Distinct behavior cycles
Custom animation & timing cues
Puzzle intent within the level
Interactions with other animals (predation, blocking, hazard creation)

These behaviors were integrated into levels as expressive, readable puzzle challenges.

Production, Coordination & Playtesting

I supported development workflows by:

Managing tasks in Trello
Coordinating cross-disciplinary needs
Preparing builds for public showcases
Participating in playtests, including:
- PAX East
- Otakon
- YouTube Space NYC – Frederator Indie Night
- Play NYC
- NYU Game Center sessions
Gathering feedback and iterating on levels and creature behaviors

These sessions shaped onboarding clarity, creature readability, and difficulty tuning.

UI/UX & Visual Systems

Assisted in designing and refining the in-game store UI
Added environmental polish to the overworld map
Ensured UI clarity and readability for mobile devices
Supported menu transitions and cohesive visual flow

Difficulty Balancing & Progression

I tuned moment-to-moment difficulty by adjusting:

Creature timing, speed, and aggression
Platform spacing and routeing
Spawn timing and density
Pickup placement and player risk balance

I worked alongside Genaro Vallejo, who managed overall campaign progression, ensuring each level fit naturally into the world’s difficulty arc.

What I Learned

Mama Hawk strengthened my abilities to:

Work as a hybrid designer–developer across art, code, and design
Build expressive 2D worlds with cohesive game feel
Create puzzle-driven creatures grounded in readable AI behaviors
Blend animation, timing, and layout into unified encounters
Balance mobile gameplay for clarity, speed, and user ergonomics
Iterate rapidly based on public playtests, including child-focused sessions
Collaborate across a multidisciplinary indie team
Connect creative decisions to product goals and retention strategies
Optimize mobile games for both performance and engagement

Personal Reflection

Mama Hawk was the project where I genuinely felt like a game designer for the first time.
It combined everything I love — expressive creatures, puzzle systems, worldbuilding, animation, and technical problem-solving. Working with a small, passionate team taught me how joyful and collaborative indie development could be. The experience shaped my design instincts and reinforced my passion for creating playful, character-driven interactive worlds.