Resonance is the core mechanic, designed to be both narrative and gameplay driven. With a single input, players can interact with almost any object in the world. Doing so triggers a unique sound tied to that object while unlocking a corresponding diary entry, expanding the game’s lore piece by piece.

Used near objects, Resonance reveals their presence through layered sounds, creating both puzzles and discovery moments. Using it also slows Juna’s walk and run speed, turning the act of listening into a deliberate, situational choice that can shape puzzle design.

The goal was to build an “out of the box” system usable everywhere, solving puzzles, uncovering secrets, finding collectibles, or discovering easter eggs. By tying lore and mechanics to sound, Resonance becomes the core gameplay loop, blending exploration, storytelling, and interaction.

To ensure clarity and consistency, I designed a color system that ties directly into both mechanics and narrative. Colors are not just aesthetic, but a language the player learns to read across the whole game. Each type carries a clear meaning:

- Blue marks listenable objects, unlocking lore pages and enriching worldbuilding.
- Red signals blocked or inactive elements.
- Green is tied to teleports, puzzles, and transitions between areas.
- Gold-orange, the game’s core identity color, highlights puzzles and key points of interest.

These cues appear through lighting, runes, and environmental design, then extend into the in-game diary, where the same palette highlights important words. The result is a consistent visual language that guides the player intuitively, blending color theory with gameplay.

This puzzle introduces two enemy types with opposite states:

- Patrol enemies are visible, follow fixed paths, and react to player proximity.
- Dormant enemies are invisible by default but awaken when Resonance is used.

Activating Resonance freezes patrol enemies while activating dormant ones, requiring constant state-switching to progress.

Enemies are slightly faster than the player, making timing and positioning critical. To maintain balance, distant enemies pause their behavior, and collisions cause mutual destruction.

The design goal was to create a reactive challenge where survival depends on rhythm, awareness, and strategic use of Resonance to navigate a shifting, hostile space.

Part of a larger four-puzzle sequence, this challenge tests timing and auditory skills. Three rune-marked stones must be tuned simultaneously using Resonance. Activating a stone rotates it counterclockwise while producing audio feedback: static or distorted tones for incorrect angles, and a clear “correct” sound within its synchronization range.

Each stone slowly resets to zero when released, requiring players to manage multiple stones in real time. Angles are forgiving, with hidden buffers of 5-10° to keep the puzzle fair. To avoid frustration, rotations are capped between 0-360°.

The design goal was to push the Resonance mechanic in a new direction, shifting from exploration-based listening to precise auditory timing and coordination.

The goal was to craft a finale that felt unsettling, surprising, and memorable, breaking expectations at the game’s peak. The final boss abandons standard mechanics, shifting into a text-adventure where gameplay becomes a battle of choices rather than reflexes.

The player faces a familiar NPC revealed as the god of the Spirit Realm. The fight unfolds through branching decisions, leading to failure or one of two endings. Instead of combat, it tests morality, reasoning, and the weight of past choices.

The result is a boss that feels both out of place and perfectly fitting: a deliberate tonal shift designed to leave players with a sense of strangeness, resolution, and the bittersweet weight of finishing the game.

Using Resonance in any menu triggers a hidden background, reinforcing consistency between mechanics and presentation.

The original scope was larger, but I redesigned it into a compact one-shot experience to ensure focus and finishability.

Presented at 5 conventions, where I refined my ability to observe player behavior firsthand and adjust game design accordingly.

The final development phase over Christmas had me and another designer crunching daily until the 28th, gaining firsthand experience in high-pressure, intensive development.

Designed as a dynamic pacing break from the game’s slower, methodical rhythm. The goal is clear: reach the shining egg on a pedestal at the center of the arena. Stepping too far into the sand triggers roots that drag the player underground, forcing a restart from the last orange marked platform.

To solve it, players use Resonance to hear footsteps of an invisible NPC moving across the arena. Resonance slows movement, so they must alternate between listening carefully and running to keep up. Occasional visual hints help, but relying only on sight leads to repeated failure.

The NPC sometimes sprints ahead or fakes its direction, forcing players to read both sound and timing, making the puzzle a blend of perception, rhythm, and decision-making.

Checkpoints scattered along the path reduce frustration, keeping the challenge engaging without punishing too harshly.