Game Summary

This first-person stealth survival game takes place on a mystical solstice night, where players explore dreamlike environments shaped by “Fractures” from a mythical creature. Each level blends stealth and emotional pacing, guiding players from confusion to mastery without using traditional UI.

Responsibilities

Designed 7 major levels
Concepted, Whiteboxed, User Tested levels
Created over 15 Action Blockouts (Fast Whiteboxes to test in)
Led Level Scripting, Layout Planning, Encounter Design, and pacing Structure
Created Game Design/Level Design Documents
Planned and Structured Project with SCRUM
Managed a 6-person team; balanced scope and systems
Created Feature and Asset Cards for Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration
Lit the level for several different lighting situations

Details

Team Size: 6 people
Genre: First-Person Action, Adventure
Setting: A mystical night during the Solstice event.
Level Duration: 20-25 minutes
Role: Lead Level Designer, Project Manager
Development Time: 10 Weeks
Engine: Unity Engine

Trailer

Beatboards

Concepts

Design Principles

Cinematic Flow: Seamless cutscene-to-gameplay transitions, purposeful camera work.
Player Guidance: Light cues, environmental composition, moving landmarks.
Pacing Variation: Shifts between stealth, traversal, exploration, and chase to maintain engagement.
Progression of Mechanics: Introducing, reinforcing, and combining stealth, navigation, and dimension-based traversal.
Environmental Storytelling: Biome changes, lighting shifts, and layout alterations reflect narrative beats.
Cultural Flow Awareness: Left-to-right movement to align with Western visual scanning habits.

Design Psychology

Emotion-Driven Flow: Levels structured with deliberate pacing, calm > tensions > mastery > release

Mechanic Gradients: Mechanics are introduced slowly through spatial design, escalating in challenge and creativity.
Narrative Through Play: Light, movement, and sound form the game’s storytelling language, no UI or plain text needed.
Failure as Learning: Fail states never break immersion, instead teaching mechanics organically through retry loops.
Environmental variety: 7 different levels offer unique experiences for the player in a narrative-driven story.

Narrative Setup Cutscene

Parallax book page reveal with camera pan to introduce the solstice event and its mystical consequences.
Narrative voice-over paired with subtitles for accessibility and immersion.
Visual layers move at different speeds to create depth and keep the scene dynamic.
Mystical tone in visuals, music, and pacing to establish atmosphere before gameplay begins.

Level 0 - Player House
(Intro)

Cinematic intro via cutscene, using black borders and forced camera to establish a cinematic frame.
Guardians introduced as narrative guides — walking left to right (matching Western reading flow) to naturally pull the player’s gaze.
Smooth transition from cutscene to gameplay: crosshair appears, FoV adjusts, borders fade out.
Housing terrace layout subtly funnels player toward guardians via railing gaps and visual composition.
Early environmental storytelling: solstice event blends human and fantasy realms.
Player onboarding — simple follow objective, first light-based navigation cues.

Level Descriptions

Level 1 – The Forest
(Stealth Introduction)

Guardians lead into dense forest; they pause or react if the player strays — reinforcing player–AI relationship.
First stealth mechanic: bushes as concealment points.
Light as guidance fades gradually, introducing tension and isolating the player.
Player spots glowing blue creature — serves as a moving landmark to guide exploration.
Subtle layout change after a corner, hinting at supernatural shifts during solstice.

Level 2 – Creature
Introduction

Biome shift: forest → mountains; lighting changes to warm tones. Bushes gain a vignette effect when hiding.
One-way drop locks player into the next area — reinforces progression commitment.
Blue crystal clusters act as visual anchors to draw attention and direct movement.
Creature crosses screen left to right, reinforcing reading direction cues.
First dimension-based mechanic: reality fracture with upward particle flow. Player inverts gravity to reach higher platforms.

Level 3 – Stealth Expansion

Vertical level design: canyon with multi-height paths.
Creature patrol patterns form an 8-shape loop, encouraging timing-based movement.
Small blue light creatures assist in directing player path subtly.
Distraction mechanic introduced — throwing glowing rocks to lure the creature away.
Dimensional fractures double as traversal aids and stealth vantage points.

Level 4 – The River

Tight canyon opening transitions to large-scale space — pacing shift and dramatic reveal.
Light and landmarks guide navigation; subtle parkour challenges integrated into route.
Overlook vantage provides tactical preview of enemy patrol routes, safe zones, and noise hazards (water vs ground).
Player baits creature to drop dimensional rift for vertical climb — combining stealth and traversal skills.

Level 5 – Waterfalls
(Traversal Focus)

Slower pacing: no enemies, full focus on platforming rhythm.
Player navigates behind waterfall, performs crouch and precision jumps across columns.
Clear sightline to next major landmark (“The Wall”) — forward motivation.

Level 6 – The Wall

Large-scale vertical challenge with multiple route choices — strategic planning encouraged.
Curved wall design provides intermittent vantage points for route preview.
High-risk traversal: precision jumps and fall hazards maintain tension without enemies.

Level 7 – Climax

Immediate tension: creature reappears, dropping a dimensional fracture with limited use window.
Most complex stealth route yet — vantage points for planning movement.
Sudden chase sequence triggered by creature ambush; player must apply all learned skills (stealth, traversal, timing).
Set-piece finale: forced escape up a mountain, leap into waterfall.
Time-of-day shift signals solstice end; cinematic swim back to village confirms safety.