I am...
I am... tells the story of a girl who lost her memory and went on a journey to seek the truth about her existence. She has to collect enough keys to open the locks in her perception and reconnect with reality.
This was a 2-week long solo project. I designed the levels, most of the art and assets and wrote many scripts for the game.
Play the game on my itch.io page
Research & Brainstorm
I was given 2 weeks to make a platform game where there has to be 5 levels with gradually increasing difficulty. I started doing research on multiple popular platforming games and watched their gameplay/played the games for inspiration. Some games that stood out to me were Gris, Alice Madness Returns and Ori and the Blind Forest.
I then analyzed and listed game mechanics/elements I knew or observed and thought of ways to implement them into my game. I wanted to make a game where the player can somehow change form and combine different mechanics to get through a platform. I thought of 4 add-on special abilities I wanted my player to have for each form (unlocks with each corresponding level): Night Vision, Burn, Fly, Duplicate Self.
Level Design
However, after making the first demo and considering the time constraint, I stripped down the list to only keeping Flying as a mechanic (which was turned into the fan making the player levitate in level 5 since I thought this would put be less problematic in terms of player behavior prediction) and Night Vision, also implemented in level 5.
I mapped out the levels and events according to the difficulty, where I want them to go and what they should encounter in order. Then I made the 2D sprites in Illustrator & Photoshop.
Check out the full Game Design Document
Character Design
The character is a spirit who wasn't aware that she died. Hence, I designed her to look like a shadow/silhouette to convey ambiguity with translucent floaty hair. Her form also makes her movement look like she's gliding rather than walking. Her color scheme inverts by the end of the game to reveal that she's a ghost - her dress becomes white and her lower body becomes translucent.
I kept the design sleek and simple as the character is quite small and I only have 2 weeks to make this game.
Visual Guide
