LANTERN IN THE WOODS

Created in 2nd year with a team of 7, Lantern in the Woods was my first experience of a long term project in a large group.

A 3D platformer, the game revolves around an unnamed girl who is trapped in the forests of Baba Yaga from Russian Folklore. My main roles were as Producer, Designer and Programmer, but I also acted as Technical Artist and Voice Actor.

Enviroment & World Creation

Using floating islands allowed us to prototype levels quickly in conjunction with the character's controls, without having to worry about large structures or making permanent choices early on.

Collectables, taking the form of "Lost Souls" and voice notes left by the mysterious horseman, litter the level, showing a clear path through the challenges while creating atmosphere.

Being responsible for building the level itself was my first experience with organising and optimising large levels within Unity.

Player driven Panic

The key mechanic of the game revolves around using "Baba Yaga's Lantern" to active hidden platforms to progress. Doing so, however, will summon deadly ghosts which chase the player.

Designing the encounters revolved around creating situations which could challenge the player, leading to panicked split-second decisions between moments of calm.

The mechanic came from the search for a unique selling point which would tie together gameplay, visuals and narrative.

Programming & Technical Art

My main programming focus over the project was on the character controller, ensuring that it worked well with the level design and was forgiving without being easy.

As well as retopologizing the protagonists model, I wrote shaders for the water, fire, collectables and post-processing effects.

Additionally, I was responsible for the stone walls, castles and trees.

Finally, I used Unity's profiling tools to optimise the code, shaders and level geometry.