It is a 3D third-person musical puzzle-platformer game where the player controls Saira, a merchant able to sing Echos to alter the environment and overcome the obstacles in front of her.
I worked on this project as a Game Designer (controls, mechanics, puzzles, UI), as well as a Level Designer (flowcharts, maps, grayboxing). A second Game Designer worked on the Narrative Design (Worldbuilding, Characters, Dialogues, Cinematics) and on the Game Design with me.
You can find below a video explaining the gameplay prototype I made at the 2/3 of the project, there are still placeholders (animations, UI).
Context
- The world of Echo of the Sky is set in a fictional universe inspired by India and Hinduism. A long time ago, as the Earth was dying, the gods sent the remaining territories up into the sky, and offered three powers to humans:
- Voicers can, with their voice, alter the environment around them using the 5 elements (Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Ether).
- Hearingers can hear everything, from hidden discussions to unspoken words, intuitions and desires, beyond the usual human understanding.
Touchers can, with a simple touch, feel and act on humans, like healing them for example.
The game is based on the story of Saira, a merchant with the power of Voicers who finds a book one day. This one contains a poem that she doesn't understand completely, it leads her to a temple outside her city, where she discovers the song of the Air.
This is the beginning of a journey in search of the final stage of Purusharta: Emancipation. During her journey, she will develop her power, through the obstacles but also through the encounters she will make.
The map above is the level design for the Vertical Slice we are producing, the Siddhinath Bath Village. Starting from a flowchart determining the places Saira would have to go through, I made this map showing the Golden Path that players have to complete to reach the Water Tower, where the rest of the level presents more complex puzzles to test the players' thinking and dexterity skills.
Here is the state of the level with one week to go, there is still some skinning and polishing to do but most of the work is done!
Collectable secrets that tell the story of the locations explored are scattered throughout the level and add a challenge of exploration and platforming for the most curious players!
You can watch my level creation process on Unreal Engine 4 in my demo-reel: