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SGD Jam II · 2020 · Winner, Mechanics

Blaster Buds

Game DesignerGrid puzzleTeam of 5

A duel of wits on a grid, set in the vacuum of space. Your rival mirrors your every move: move and it moves, shoot and it shoots. Victory comes from making the level fight for you.

Blaster Buds key art
Blaster Buds trailer Trailer

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Role
Game Designer
Team
5, with Teresa Costas, Alberto Portero, Irene S. Carbonell & Carlos Fernández
Award
★ Winner, Mechanics category, Spain Game Devs Jam II
Year
2020
Platform
PC · Windows & Mac
Links
itch.io
01

The game

Blaster Buds is a duel of wits on a grid, set in the vacuum of space. You and your mirrored opponent share every input: move and it moves, shoot and it shoots. Victory never comes from outgunning the other side; it comes from reading the level and making the environment fight for you.

02

One input, two agents

The mirror mechanic means every level is designed twice at once: each tile placed for the player is also a tile placed for the opponent. Asymmetric level geometry becomes the only source of advantage, which turns level design into the game's real antagonist. That is exactly why the jam awarded it Best Mechanics.

03

What I designed

  • The mirrored-action core mechanic and its rule set (movement, shooting, hazards).
  • Puzzle levels ordered as a difficulty curve that teaches through play, not tutorials.
  • A hazard vocabulary (asteroids, walls and pits) that converts symmetry into strategy.