Knox Student Creates Game on Steam For Senior Honors Project

When asked about doing a senior Honors project, computer science major David Sulpice ’26 was immediately inspired and couldn't resist the opportunity.

Over the last year, Sulpice has focused on designing his own game, Balance is Everything, as part of his project. Sulpice’s work will culminate in the game’s release on Steam, the world's largest digital distribution platform for computer gaming, later this summer. According to Associate Professor of Computer Science Jaime Spacco, Sulpice is the first Knox student to have a game available on Steam.

“My advisor, Jaime Spacco, encouraged me to pursue honors focused on game design,” Sulpice said. “During the summer, I drafted ideas that would form the basis of my project, aiming to study and build a game from start to finish.

“I really wanted to do something cool my last year at Knox, sort of that feeling of fear of missing out. Overall, it was a cool experience. I’m glad I did it, especially now that I’m on the other side of it.”

Sulpice, who admits to being an avid gamer even though he has never used Steam before, is no stranger to game design. Even when he was young, he would imagine how game elements work and even draw out levels on paper. But he also admits this project was more intense than past games he has worked on.

“I’ve made games before, but I’ve never devoted this much time to a single game, not consistently at least,” he said. “It’s been a large block of time, but an amazing experience to see how a game grows and how different influences affect the game. What really hit me most is how flexible you have to be in the process of making a game, how much you have to deviate from the original plan. The game looks very different, and I attribute that to long talks with my advisor and family members who have played the game. I think it’s a better game overall because of these inputs.”

Sulpice’s game blends the fast-paced, task-oriented action found in traditional challenge games with intermissions where players can slow down and freely explore the game’s environment without pressure or a time limit. This design aims to balance excitement with moments for players to relax and immerse themselves in the surroundings.

“I always admired games that balance those two,” he said. “A little pink bird is bouncing on apples, so you have to be aware of your surroundings because you don’t always have solid ground to place yourself on. It’s also an auto-scroll game; the screen moves whether you move or not, so you have to keep pace, which can be sort of stressful. I also have levels in between that are kind of ‘chill levels.’ There’s no time limit, no enemies, you can explore the environment and interact with other things or players. I wanted to give players a chance to recover from fast-play and also get to understand the world of the game.”

Sulpice has completed the game, now must submit to Steam for the site’s 30-day review period. His goal is to submit it to Steam so it is available this summer.

“I encourage people to wishlist it because after those 30 days, it should be online,” Sulpice said. “Steam has really high standards and moderators that test games for glitches or content violations, and they have quality control, which is really nice; it helps to have those standards, but also the hard feedback, positive or negative, which is what I really want from people.”

Now that his project and game are complete and ready for the public, Sulpice is considering his next steps—both in game development and other possible fields.

“It’s been amazing, it was a valuable experience overall,” he said. “Having those higher standards and learning what the gaming market is looking for in games and seeing if people are drawn to it is great. I’m expecting a lot of hard feedback, but that’s what makes it such a valuable experience. Plus, it’s cool to have a game on Steam.”