This was a school project by a team of 5 where we could explore any kind and genre of game we would like to make. We decided on a first-person psychological horror game that emphasizes puzzle-solving and exploration as its core design principles. The game’s objective was to uncover the history of our character and overcome the puzzles that await the player. The game aimed to have a narrative of redemption through its gameplay and story.

Pillar

Discovery: Discover the memoryless main character’s life by resolving puzzles guided by a voice on the radio.

Exploration: Explore what was a hippie-cult compound to obtain clues to escape.

Social psychology: Throughout the game, the player will learn how certain societies think and how experiences can affect themselves and everyone in their inner circle. 

After finalizing our game concept, I dove into programming to develop the three core systems we identified: First, the door mechanics for opening and closing doors, which serve as the main obstacles for players. Second, a grab-and-drop system that allows players to interact with their environment, search for keys, and unlock doors. Lastly, we needed to implement a note system to provide hints to players, aiding them in solving puzzles and enhancing their overall experience.

Grabbing system

Players needed a way to interact with the world to explore the game’s setting. That’s why we developed this system. There were several approaches, such as inventory systems to track objects or simply grabbing and interacting with objects to trigger events. However, our goal was to create an immersive experience. We wanted players to feel like they were moving and grabbing items physically. Therefore, we designed the system to be as literal as possible. Players can approach an object, hold the interact button, and grab it. This allows them to move, place, and examine items, such as keys, to find the correct solutions and advance in the game

During playtesting, we found that relying solely on environmental hints to guide players could lead to misunderstandings or missed clues. To address this, we developed a note system. This allows level designers to place messages throughout the level, providing players with additional guidance to solve puzzles and progress through the game.

For this game, I had the opportunity to design one of the levels. My goal was to reinforce the mechanics the player had already learned, such as interacting with objects to open doors. I introduced a new element: multiple keys for a single door. This gave the level an investigative feel, as the player needed to search an apartment to find all the keys to unlock each room. Within each room, they would find an object that provided the final key needed to progress to the next level.

Finally, I worked on the UI, including the main menu and pause menu, to create a polished, finished product. I also designed icons to help players distinguish between interactable objects and decorative ones. This was based on additional playtesting, which revealed that players were unsure about which items could be grabbed and which couldn’t.

This project was my first experience using Unreal Engine 5 to create a bigger project and my initial experience working within a team aimed to create a game experience. I gained a lot of knowledge about the engine and learned valuable collaboration skills. My primary responsibilities were code-related, which allowed me to enhance my understanding of Unreal’s visual programming, variable usage, actor communication, sound implementation, and basic UI implementation.

Additionally, this project served as an introduction to level design, a field I hadn’t explored much before. I deeply enjoyed the experience and learned a great deal about guiding players and utilizing in-game mechanics to create a cohesive and engaging level.

Living in

Montréal, Canada

Email

sfb199762@gmail.com