My Contribution

• Led a cross-disciplinary team of 3, including an artist and a music/sound producer, managing the production pipeline.

• Designed and documented the core gameplay loops.

• Defined the game's narrative direction and wrote all the in-game texts.

• Programmed the entirety of the game’s codebase, focusing on the interaction and game feel, using Unity 6000.

Important Note

This project is currently ongoing. While the gameplay is solid, we are still experimenting and doing our best to integrate all the art assets into the game and polish them to our desired vision right now.

Inspiration & Design Pillars

During the middle of my junior year, I started experiencing burnouts. This project is made to share my voice and feelings. I wish anyone who's struggling would at least feel like they aren't alone and at least try to take care of themselves both mentally and physically so they could find the balance in their lives and keep their passion burning.

With a message and goal in mind, I set up the design pillars for the game.

1. The game narrative will be carried out by text along with using "fire" to symbolize passion.

2. The player should feel calm but still interactive. The gameplay should feel like they are sitting and talking with a friend.

3. The gameplay should take 5-10 minutes.

Introduction

The player will be introduced with a sequence of sounds before lighting up the fire inside their lantern. They will shortly be introduced to the friendly text talking to them, warning them that the wind is strong tonight and if the player wants to keep the fire burning, they have to take care of it.

After this, the player can only do 2 things.

1. Feed the flame, making it bigger and alive.

2. Block the flame from the wind, preventing it from going out.

Failing to protect the fire and letting it go out will trigger a scene asking if the player wants to try again or take a break in a non-punishing manner to make it feel as relaxing and low-stakes as possible.

Crafting The Game Feel

I wanted the fire to feel cozy, personal, and safe. Something the player feels relatable to a certain degree.

Feeding the flame will brighten up the environment, making it feel cozier than the cold and dark lighting around the player.

For blocking the flame, I added the vignette and muffled sound to convey the closeness and tightness of the player themselves using their body to shield the flame from the wind.

Environment Game Feel

With the wind being a big part of the game, I've also made sure to put in the effort into how the environment around the player interacts with the wind tunnel system of Unity.