Lone adventurer-WIP

Game Overview

This third-person platformer places you in the role of a lone desert wanderer, exploring a mysterious and ancient world. As you journey through the vast, sun-soaked landscape, you discover magical staffs, each granting unique abilities. These staffs are the key to overcoming a variety of environmental puzzles, unlocking new paths, and progressing through forgotten ruins. The game combines platforming challenges with magical interactions, encouraging players to think creatively and master each staff’s power to navigate the world and uncover its secrets.

Role

Game Design, Level Design,

Technical Design

Year

2025

Software

Unreal Engine 5, Git, Adope

Staff Design & Implementation

Technical Implementation:

The magical staff system was designed with efficiency, modularity, and scalability in mind using Unreal Engine’s Data Asset system. Each individual staff is defined by its own unique data asset, which includes key details such as the staff’s mesh, name, and behaviour. These data assets are then plugged into a single child actor component that dynamically changes the staff's appearance and functionality in-game based on the selected asset.

To handle functionality, each data asset also contains a reference to a custom component that defines the staff’s behaviour. These components all inherit from a base component, allowing shared functionality to be managed in one place while still enabling each staff to have its own custom logic. This approach allows me to create and implement new staffs quickly without duplicating code, while also keeping the system lightweight and maintainable.

This setup not only speeds up development but also improves design flexibility. I can add new staffs, modify functionality, and instantly test them in-game without the need to swap out assets or manually reconfigure logic. It’s an efficient system that fully leverages Unreal Engine’s modular design features.

Telekinesis Staff:

The Telekinesis Staff allows the player to lift, move, and place certain objects in the environment. It's primarily used for solving spatial puzzles, such as moving large blocks to create paths or repositioning objects to trigger pressure plates. The staff offers precision control, allowing the player to manipulate objects mid-air, rotate them, and set them down to affect the world in a meaningful way.

Light Staff:

The Light Staff is designed to illuminate dark areas and activate ancient light-based mechanisms. It creates a glowing orb or beam of light that can reveal hidden symbols, power ancient devices, or guide the player through visually obscured paths. This staff is often used in puzzles that require lighting sequences, timed activations, or exploring shadowy ruins where visibility is limited.

Wind Staff:

The Wind Staff unleashes bursts of wind capable of launching the player across large gaps, propelling movable objects, or activating wind-based mechanisms. It’s used in platforming challenges where extended jumps or timed aerial manoeuvres are required. The staff adds a kinetic element to puzzles and is often combined with other abilities to reach higher or distant areas.

Magnetic Staff:

The Magnetic Staff manipulates certain metal surfaces and objects. With it, the player can pull or push metallic platforms, rotate gear-based puzzles, or connect pathways by magnetically locking components into place. It’s particularly useful in multi-step puzzles that require positioning or timing and adds an element of mechanical logic to the game’s puzzle design.

Main part of code to allow different staffs be equipped and put away

This project is a stylised third-person puzzle platformer set in a vast and mysterious desert. Players take on the role of a lone wanderer, transported to an ancient, forgotten land where powerful magical staffs lie hidden. Each staff grants a unique ability used to solve environmental puzzles and traverse the world. The game is built around a level-by-level structure, with each level introducing a new staff and teaching the player its mechanics through carefully designed encounters and challenges.

As the player progresses, the puzzles begin to blend the abilities of multiple staffs, encouraging players to think creatively and use their growing knowledge in new ways. This gradual layering of mechanics creates a rewarding sense of mastery and problem-solving without overwhelming the player early on.

The environment plays a key role in the overall experience. The stylised desert is designed to evoke a sense of mystery, scale, and wonder, with sweeping vistas, ancient ruins, and subtle environmental storytelling that invites players to uncover the world’s secrets. The overall tone is minimal yet inviting—focused on calm, satisfying puzzle-solving and light exploration rather than fast-paced action.

This game is intended to be a simple yet engaging experience that balances relaxing gameplay with thoughtful design, ideal for players who enjoy environmental puzzles, light platforming, and discovering new ways to interact with the world through magical tools.

Platforming & Puzzle Design

The core platforming and puzzle design in the game is built around the idea that each magical staff is not just a power-up, but a tool—a unique mechanic that players must master and apply in increasingly creative ways. Each level introduces one staff at a time, teaching the player how it works through intuitive puzzle layouts and interactions. As the player progresses, puzzles begin to blend the abilities of multiple staffs, requiring thoughtful combinations of movement, timing, and logic.

Rather than relying on traditional key-and-lock design, each platforming challenge is built with intent. For example, the Wind Staff allows the player to traverse large gaps or reach high ledges, while the Telekinesis Staff enables object manipulation to create paths or solve weight-based puzzles. The Magnetic Staff affects certain environmental elements, opening doors or shifting parts of the level to unlock new routes, while the Light Staff activates ancient light-sensitive mechanisms, guiding players through dark or hidden areas.

This system encourages experimentation and exploration. Puzzle solutions often have multiple approaches depending on how the player chooses to apply the staffs' powers, offering flexibility and a rewarding sense of discovery.

Level Design & Visual Style

The game is set in a stylised, sun-drenched desert world designed to evoke a strong sense of mystery and ancient wonder. The landscape is vast, quiet, and atmospheric, with environmental storytelling that hints at a long-lost civilisation. Crumbled ruins, colossal stone structures, and weather-worn carvings are scattered throughout the world, suggesting a place once full of magic and purpose.

From a level design perspective, the desert setting complements gameplay by providing clear visual language and spatial readability. Sand-covered ruins and stone landmarks help guide players through the space using leading lines, well-placed points of interest (POIs), and subtle lighting cues. The open environments feel natural but are carefully structured to make navigation intuitive and to highlight puzzle elements without overwhelming the player.

The stylised art direction—featuring soft colors, minimal textures, and exaggerated shapes—not only enhances performance but also improves object visibility. Important puzzle components and interactive objects are visually distinct, which makes it easier for players to identify what can be used with each staff. This also supports non-verbal communication in the design, allowing players to understand gameplay objectives through visuals alone.

Together, the environmental design and platforming elements create a cohesive and engaging experience that balances exploration, discovery, and satisfying puzzle-solving.

Lone adventurer-WIP

Game Overview

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