Spiritual Bond

This game was created to submit for Kenny Jam 2024 on the theme 'Connection'.

This was my first-ever game jam, where the challenge was to create a game in 48 hours around a specified theme. As a game artist, I faced the added difficulty of working with pre-provided assets, but I embraced the challenge. My collaborator and I brainstormed and conceptualized a simple cooperative or solo game where the player is tethered to a ghost, guiding them through a castle to solve riddles and collect items. Given the constraints, I took on the roles of level designer and UI designer, shaping the game's layout and interface to enhance the cooperative or single-player experience.

Level Design:

I developed the core level design concept: a cozy, easy-to-navigate mansion made up of clearly readable rooms, each functioning as a small puzzle space. 

Level layouts were built around the game’s co-op mechanic—where the ghost can pass through walls while the player cannot. Rooms were intentionally designed to encourage cooperation, with puzzles that required communication and coordination between both characters — such as the ghost accessing unreachable spaces to assist the player.  The mansion’s layout was kept simple and intuitive to reduce friction, allowing players to focus on teamwork and discovery rather than navigation. 

I collaborated with a teammate to design approachable puzzle interactions, focusing on clarity and a gentle difficulty curve to maintain a cozy, low-stress experience. Using provided 3D assets, I built all rooms and levels, reinforcing mood and player guidance through candlelit lighting, clear sightlines, and subtle visual cues that supported puzzle readability and progression.

I also, made a simple pressure plate puzzle (using UE blueprints) where player had to place a weight on the plate to access another area in the level.

UI Design:

To give the game a cohesive story and enhance its overall experience, I also designed the UI and narrative in Unreal Engine, ensuring that the game felt more like a complete journey rather than just a typical game jam project.

The fact that this game placed second in the Kenny Game Jam 2024 surprised me. The challenge of creating a whole game in such a short amount of time was was both exciting and rewarding.