She Sells Seashells

She Sells Seashells is a fossil-hunting and collecting game for touchscreen tablets, set in Victorian Dorset.

Players accompany Mary Anning, the famed “Mother of Palaeontology” as she gathers the stony remnants of long-lost creatures from the Mesozoic Era, and get to learn about both these fascinating animals and Mary Anning’s own life along the way.

Made in collaboration with Alice Torres Tailfer (Art), Aaron King (Music) and Diego Hernandez España Cadena (sound design).

This game was developed over five weeks for a module called "App Factory", the focus of which was on creating a game for mobile and smart devices.

I wanted to make the most of the touchscreen medium, and make a game that relied heavily on finger-based interactions, like tapping, tracing, swiping, etc.

I also wanted to make sure there was a real sense of progression to the game, mostly thanks to the fossil compendium, whose sound design, music and visuals all evolve in tandem with the player's discoveries.

Additionally, finding all the fossils unlocks a jukebox in the main menu, where players can listen to all of Aaron's great tracks whenever they want.